TEXT: CORE RULEBOOK
  Revised Edition
  Volume 1 and Volume 2
  
   
   
  Roleplaying in the Star Fleet Universe 
  Revised Edition – For GURPS 4th Edition 
   
  Compiled by Jean Sexton with additional material by 
  Stephen V. Cole, Matthew Francois, Loren Knight, 
  Jean Sexton, and Alex Chobot. 
   
  Cover by Dennis Calero. 
   
   Illustrations by Peter Bakija, Alvin Belflower, Dennis Calero, 
  Stephen V. Cole, Mark Evans, Xander Fulton, James Gammell, 
  Ted Geibel, Robert Hubby, Kent Ing, Loren Knight, Matthew 
  Lawson, Kenneth Mayfield, Will McCammon, Jim McGonigle, 
  Dale McKee, Barton Pyle, Adam Turner, and Steve Zamboni.  
   
  Deck plans by Nick Blank. 
   
  http://www.starfleetgames.com/prime/pd-gurps.shtml 
   
            GURPS System Design by Steve Jackson. 
   
  GURPS Line Editor: Sean “Dr. Kromm” Punch. 
   
  SJ Games Playtest Review by Robert Gilson. 
   
  Some background elements were originally created for the  
  first edition of Prime Directive by Timothy D. Olsen and Mark Costello. 
   
  Original Playtesters: Nick Blank, Ken Burnside, Alex Chobot, Garth Getgen, Andrew Harding, Davyd Atwood, C. J. Beiting, Jake 
  Bernstein, Eric Braden, Kurt Brown, Jake Brumley, Aslan Collas, Andrew Cookson, Sebastian O. Couture, Marcus Evenstar, Jamar 
  Fluellen, Timothy L. Freeby, Thomas Gamble, Fred Greene, J. P. Haley, Douglass E. Howard, Christopher King, Brian Kreuzinger, 
  Robin Lamond, Jonathan Lang, Dwight Lillibridge, Jim Morgan, Michael Nichola, Robert Padilla, Kenneth Peters, Craig Pichach, 
  Jonathan Rhee, Steve Schonberger, Bill Schwartz, Richard Short, John Sickels, and David Telemann. 
  GPD4 Playtesters: James B., Glenn Francis III, A. David Merritt, Jarrett M.T. Meyer, and Dan Thompson. 
  GPD4R Reviewers: Al Beddow, Jim Goodrich, A. David Merritt, and Ryan Opel. 
   
  GURPS and the all-seeing pyramid are registered trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. Pyramid and the names of 
  all products published by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated are registered trademarks or trademarks of Steve Jackson Games 
  Incorporated, or are used under license. 
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev is copyright © 2019 by Amarillo Design Bureau, Inc.; all rights reserved. 
  Printed in USA. 
   
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev is published under license from Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. Some elements of this 
  product are copyrighted by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated and are used with permission under that license. 
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev is a product of the Star Fleet Universe. Publication Date 15 November 2019. 
   
  Elements of the Star Fleet Universe are the property of Paramount Pictures Corporation and are used with their permission.
   
  
  Page 2  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Prologue 
  Other GURPS Books 
   
  The following GURPS rulebooks and manuals 
  published by Steve Jackson Games will be found 
  useful by players of GURPS Prime Directive (GPD). 
  They can provide additional skills, rules, actions, and 
  tactics. Some will provide non-player characters and 
  equipment that, while not specifically related to the 
  Star Fleet Universe, could be adapted by GMs (per-
  haps to populate a new planet for exploration). The 
  GURPS system is vast and continually expanding, and 
  you can often find an existing GURPS book that co-
  vers the setting you want to use for your campaign. 
   
  GURPS BASIC SET 
   
  The basic framework for the entire GURPS family 
  of roleplaying games. The GPD 4e Rev Core Rule-
  book includes only some of the GURPS rules (those 
  that specifically apply to the characters in this book). If 
  you want to do more things, then the GURPS Basic 
  Set is the place to look. Essential for GMs, it is the 
  single most-recommended book for GPD players. 
  These rules cover everything in more detail and depth 
  and provide additional insight into the game structure. 
  Many of the other GURPS books that would be useful 
  to GPD players won’t work very well without the 
  GURPS Basic Set rules. Also available is a campaign 
  manual and a GURPS GM’s Screen. 
   
  OTHER GURPS MANUALS from SJ Games 
   
  GURPS Fantasy and GURPS Magic include eve-
  rything a Game Master could want to send his Star 
  Fleet adventure team into really strange new worlds 
  with really bizarre new civilizations. Remember that if 
  alien technology is sufficiently advanced or different, it 
  might as well be magic, so you’d be all set with these 
  interesting manuals. 
   
  More G4e books that will surely be useful to Game 
  Masters are GURPS Space, GURPS Ultra-Tech, and 
  GURPS Spaceships, as these will allow you to build 
  starships and fight space battles. Also of considerable 
  interest might be the GURPS Traveller (in both Clas-
  sic and 4e), the GURPS Vorkosigan Saga Source-
  book and Roleplaying Game, and GURPS Trans-
  human Space Classic. Check the GURPS website: 
  http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/ for continually updated 
  information on new releases. 
   
  GURPS THIRD EDITION 
   
  The third edition of GURPS included over 100 
  books on a wide variety of subjects, from dinosaurs to 
  steam punk, from robots to dungeons, from the wild 
  west to World War II. Key elements included several 
  science-fiction realms. Many of these manuals can still 
  be found in game stores and online stores, and from 
  Steve Jackson Games. Using conversion data (availa-
  ble on-line) and some effort, Game Masters can har-
  vest these manuals for equipment, backgrounds, set-
  tings, planets, starships, and other things to populate 
  and illustrate their campaigns. Order your manuals 
  either through your local game store or through Ware-
  house 23: http://www.warehouse23.com/ 
  More Prime Directive 
   
  The following GURPS manuals have been pub-
  lished by ADB, Inc., specifically as part of the Prime 
  Directive series and the Star Fleet Universe. 
   
  GURPS KLINGONS 
   
  Everything you ever wanted to know about the 
  Empire of Steel. Government, how the emperor is se-
  lected, the military nobility, military academies, the 
  difference between warriors and civilians, the warrior 
  colonies, military ranks and promotion, military awards 
  and decorations, the Knights Paladins (the emperor’s 
  personal inspectors and auditors), Klingon religions, 
  the intelligence services that spend most of their time 
  spying on each other, data on dozens of Klingon ships, 
  and much more. 
   
  SKU 8403, $24.95, Released 2006. 
   
  GURPS ROMULANS 
   
  Everything you ever wanted to know about those 
  distant cousins of the Vulcans. The royal family, the 
  role of the praetor, the great houses and how they 
  wheel and deal in the back hallways of the palace, the 
  role of the Intendance Department, intelligence ser-
  vices and praetorian teams, colony planets, the previ-
  ously unknown suppressed races along the galactic 
  rim, the development of the cloaking device, starships, 
  and much more. 
   
  SKU 8404, $24.95, Released 2005. 
   
  GURPS FEDERATION 
   
  Everything you ever wanted to know about the 
  United Federation of Planets. Government, political 
  parties, the intelligence agencies, Star Fleet Academy, 
  surveys of a dozen member planets, Star Fleet, the 
  Marshal’s service, corporations and the dominant role 
  of business, the Prime Directive, the Non-Interference 
  Doctrine, and much more. 
   
  SKU 8402, $24.95, Released 2011. 
   
  KLINGON G1 GUNBOAT DECK PLANS 
   
  Detailed plans in Traveller-scale (with both hexes 
  and squares) for the G1 gunboat (including its larger 
  command variant), showing engines, crew positions, 
  power systems, weapons, sensors, repair systems, 
  and color “cardstock characters” for all 27 members of 
  the crew. 
   
  SKU 8201, $16.95, Released 2004. 
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Prologue 
  Page 3 
  Glossary 
   
  GURPS is a roleplaying game (RPG), a game in 
  which a referee (the Game Master) guides several 
  players through an “adventure” in which they play the 
  parts of fictional characters. Like any hobby, gaming 
  has its own unique language. To help you understand 
  the concepts and terms used in this game (and other 
  RPGs), we’ll start with a few definitions: 
   
  Adventure or Scenario: The basic unit of play in 
  an RPG. An RPG is never over until the players want 
  to end it, but a single adventure will have a beginning 
  and an end. It may last through several sessions of 
  play or be done in a single evening. 
   
  Attribute: Part of a character’s mental, emotional, 
  or physical makeup (e.g., strength, intelligence). 
   
  Campaign: A continuing series of adventures by a 
  group, it will usually have a continuing cast of player 
  characters and the same Game Master (or team of 
  GMs). A campaign may move from one game world to 
  another, with a logical reason. The overall goal is for 
  characters to learn from each adventure so that they 
  can handle tougher challenges in future adventures. 
   
  Character: Any being (person, animal, whatever) 
  played by the GM or a player in an RPG. 
   
  Encounter: One part of an adventure; a meeting 
  between the player characters and one or more NPCs. 
   
  Game Master (GM): The referee, who selects or 
  writes the adventure, talks the players through it, and 
  judges the results. He is, simultaneously, the enemy, 
  commanding officer, and umpire. 
   
  Game World: A background for play; the setting 
  for an adventure, it can be a GM’s own fantasy crea-
  tion or a published setting created specifically for 
  gaming. 
   
  Non-Player Character (NPC): Any character 
  played by the GM. The GM may control many charac-
  ters, major and minor. In some campaigns, the party 
  might borrow an NPC who is a technical expert 
  needed for a mission; the GM supervises such use to 
  prevent the party from misusing or sacrificing the NPC. 
  Sometimes a guest player thinking of joining the group 
  might use a borrowed NPC so that he doesn’t have to 
  create a character before starting. 
   
  Party: A group of PCs taking part in an adventure. 
   
  Player Character (PC): Any character played by 
  one of the players. Typically, each player controls a 
  single character, but some groups prefer to have each 
  player control two or more, or to have two or more 
  characters and pick one for each adventure. 
   
  Roleplaying Game (RPG): A game in which the 
  players take on the personalities of imaginary individu-
  als, or characters, in a fictional or historical game 
  world, and try to act as those characters would. 
   
  Skill: Something a character knows how to do. 
   
  Species (sometimes called “Race”): The spe-
  cies to which you belong. Nonhuman characters 
  (elves, dwarves, Klingons, and Martians, for example) 
  are common in RPGs. 
   
  Stats or Statistics: Numbers rating a character’s 
  abilities, used to determine what each one can and 
  cannot do. 
  Table of Contents 
   
  Prologue ............................................................. 2 
   
  Rescue on Roon ................................................ 4 
   
  1. Introduction .................................................... 15 
  Introduction to the Star Fleet Universe .............. 16 
   
  2. Creating a Character ..................................... 17 
  Species Profiles ................................................... 42 
  Academy Templates ............................................ 76 
   
  3. Advantages & Disadvantages ...................... 80 
  Advantages .......................................................... 80 
  Perks .................................................................... 108 
  Modifiers .............................................................. 109 
  Disadvantages ..................................................... 119 
  Quirks .................................................................. 142 
   
  4. Skills ............................................................... 145 
  Skill List ................................................................ 151 
   
  5. How to Play .................................................... 183 
  Success Rolls ...................................................... 183 
  Combat ................................................................ 202 
  Injury, Illness, and Fatigue ................................... 223 
  Economics ........................................................... 241 
  Laws and Customs .............................................. 245 
   
  6. End Game Awards ......................................... 247 
  Character Development ....................................... 247 
  Awards ................................................................. 250 
  Promotion ............................................................ 253 
   
  7. Technology..................................................... 254 
  Technology Levels ............................................... 254 
  Shipboard Equipment .......................................... 258 
  Personal Equipment ............................................ 265 
  Personal Weapons .............................................. 273 
   
  8. The Star Fleet Universe ................................. 285 
  Map of the Star Fleet Universe .......................... 291 
  Warp Factors & Space Movement ...................... 296 
  Using SFB or FC for Space Combat ................... 299 
  Background Files ................................................. 302 
  Free Trader Deck Plans ...................................... 305 
  Star Fleet Universe Timeline ............................... 313 
   
  9. Space Combat ................................................ 325 
  Weapon Types .................................................... 327 
  Sample Starships ................................................ 334 
  Shuttlecraft........................................................... 346 
   
  10. Adventure: Rescue on Roon ...................... 349 
  Sample Characters .............................................. 357 
   
  Index ................................................................... 360 
  List of Tables ....................................................... 364 
   
  Publisher’s Information .................................... 365 
  
  Page 4  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Prologue 
  Rescue on Roon 
  0200 Hours, The Swaggering Dragon,  
  North Roon City, Planet Roon 
   
  “Let me get you another round,” the waitress said, 
  whisking away the empty glasses. Christopher 
  Plemmons nodded vaguely and returned his attention 
  to the girl across the table. She was sweet and pretty 
  and seemed genuinely interested in his plight. 
   
  “I can‘t blame Father too much for bringing me 
  here,” Christopher said, “at least not since I met you.” 
   
  “I feel the same way,” Kaelyn replied. “I was happy 
  in the country where I could walk and ride my renoth 
  across the fields, but Daddy got a big promotion and 
  dragged me here to Roon City where I don’t know an-
  yone. The locals are such snobs. They won’t hardly 
  talk to me since I am just a ‘country girl’ and don’t 
  know anything about the city. I haven’t had a single 
  friend until I met you.” 
   
  “Lost souls clinging together,” Christopher replied, 
  taking the refilled glasses from the waitress. His fa-
  ther’s credit chit would stand a few more rounds, and 
  for dragging Christopher to this backwater planet that 
  wasn’t even a member of the Federation yet, Father 
  owed him more than just drinks. Christopher had been 
  bored, lonely, and angry for the three months he had 
  been here, but since meeting Kaelyn two nights ago, 
  things had definitely improved. Not that his father had 
  noticed. 
   
  His conversation with Kaelyn wandered from light 
  to deep, from which restaurant they might try tomorrow 
  to what they really wanted to do with their lives. 
  Christopher mentioned that he would be going to a 
  university in another year, and Kaelyn mentioned that 
  she had applied for the off-world exchange student 
  program that was part of the Federation’s provisional 
  trade mission. Maybe there was hope that something 
  serious could come of their chance meeting? 
   
  “Have you seen the winter lights yet?” Kaelyn 
  asked. 
   
  “No, what are they?” Christopher replied, intrigued. 
   
  “I can’t believe you don’t know!” Kaelyn exclaimed. 
  “They’re like fire in the sky, like shimmers of color. It’s 
  got something to do with electrons and high altitude 
  water vapor and … well, it doesn’t matter. They’re … 
  just pretty, and I want to show them to you.” 
   
  “So … do we find a monitor? … or go outside?” 
   
  “No, silly, you cannot see them in the city. All of 
  the lights here make them too hard to see. We’d have 
  to drive a few kilometers out into the country. I know a 
  place with trees and grass, quiet and romantic …” she 
  let her voice trail off. 
   
  “OK, how do we get there? Is there a local 
  shuttle?” 
   
  “No, silly …” Kaelyn laughed, throwing back her 
  hair in a way that mesmerized him. “I have a ground 
  car. Let’s go.” 
   
  “Now?” Christopher sputtered as he took another 
  drink. 
   
  “Now is always the best time!” Kaelyn said. “I don’t 
  have to work tomorrow, and you said your father would 
  still be tied up in the trade talks. We can watch the 
  winter lights, and then later, watch the dawn.” Her 
  sparkling eyes promised more than just a view of the 
  night sky, and Christopher scrambled to grab his 
  jacket and catch up to her. 
   
  1400 Hours, Captain’s Office, Light Cruiser  
  USS Tasmania, En Route to Roon 
   
  “Come in, Grissom, and sit down.” 
   
  “Yes, Sir,” Lieutenant Commander Grissom re-
  plied, taking the chair the captain had indicated. 
   
  “You know that we have just changed course?” the 
  captain asked. 
   
  “I noticed,” Grissom replied, waiting for the captain 
  to explain the rest. It did not pay to hurry one’s com-
  manding officer. 
   
  “You’ve read the file on Roon, I trust,” the captain 
  asked. 
   
  “Class-M planet inside Fed space. We’ve been 
  watching it for some time. Their technology reached 
  warp capability last year, so the Federation sent an 
  envoy to welcome them to the galactic community. By 
  all accounts, the population took it rather well. Some 
  indication that Orion traders have been doing clandes-
  tine business there for a decade or more. I do believe 
  there is a Federation trade delegation on the planet 
  right now and that we are scheduled to ‘stop by’ 
  sometime next month and give the local big shots a 
  joyride around their solar system. That Roon?” 
   
  “The very one,” the captain replied. “Seems that 
  someone kidnapped the son of the delegation leader, 
  and is pressuring him to walk out of the talks.” 
   
  “I smell Orions,” Grissom responded. The captain 
  frowned at the interruption and resumed his briefing. 
   
  “Rather than following instructions and keeping it 
  quiet, Envoy Plemmons told the Federation ambassa-
  dor and together they called me. The ambassador 
  called the local government and asked them to send 
  their special police unit to get the kid back.” 
   
  “Sensible enough,” Grissom replied. “Any civilized 
  planet has a hostage rescue capability of some kind. 
  What’s in this for us?” 
   
  “Apparently, a hostage rescue job,” the captain 
  replied. “The local police don’t want to go in there and 
  take a chance on getting the hostage killed. Seems 
  that in some recent matter, one with no interplanetary 
  implications, the Roon hostage rescue team blew it 
  and some hostages were executed. All the police will 
  do is negotiate, and the envoy told them he would do 
  that himself.” 
   
  “Please let me know how the negotiations turn 
  out,” Grissom replied as the sinking feeling settled into 
  the pit of his stomach. 
   
  “Not an option, apparently,” the captain sighed. 
  “The kidnappers set a deadline, and the ambassador 
  has asked us to do the rescue, tonight.” 
   
  “The Roon government isn’t going to like that,” 
  Grissom said. “I can see the local trivideo coverage of 
  the ‘Federation Invasion’ of their sacred soil. The op-
  position party will have a field day.” 
   
  “You only hope,” the captain responded. “No, the 
  Roon government is more than willing for us to 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Prologue 
  Page 5 
  intervene. They actually want us to go in and rescue 
  the kid. They just don’t want to get blamed if the res-
  cue goes wrong, or if no rescue is tried at all.” 
   
  “As Hindenburg said, ‘send the police to arrest 
  them.’ Come on, Captain, we’re military. This is a po-
  lice matter. Nobody on this ship is trained for a hos-
  tage rescue job. The Federation has police for this. 
  They have their own patrol ships, and they are trained 
  for jobs like this one. Hell, the local police flagship 
  probably has a prime team on board just for things like 
  this.” 
   
  “Strangely enough,” the captain explained “the two 
  Federation police ships in this sector have both been 
  called away due to increased Orion pirate activity in 
  the Delaram system. Convenient, isn’t it?” 
   
  “OK, we all swore the oath to defend the Federa-
  tion Charter,” Grissom sighed. “I presume that you’ll 
  send Lieutenant Yahnke and his Marines? What sup-
  port can my weapons department provide for them?” 
   
  “Actually, Commander, you will be leading the mis-
  sion. You can pick your team, and you probably want 
  Lieutenant Yahnke and one or two of his troops. Talk 
  to him about who else you want to take, but keep the 
  team small, no more than five or six in total. If things 
  go wrong, I will want to get you out of there in a single 
  transporter lift.” 
   
  “Why me?” Grissom asked. 
   
  The captain steepled his fingers. “Mister Grissom, 
  this mission needs a senior officer who can think on 
  his feet and improvise when things go wrong, who can 
  deal with things I cannot anticipate in my orders. While 
  Lieutenant Yahnke is quite capable, he’ll expect, and 
  we’ll supply, direction for him. You’re a command-
  qualified officer of the unrestricted line. Star Fleet 
  doesn’t hand out gold tunics for nothing. And of my 
  command grade officers, you’re in the best physical 
  condition and you shot Expert with a phaser pistol two 
  months ago.” The captain managed a faint smile. “No 
  good deed goes unpunished, Commander.” 
   
  The intercom chimed. 
   
  “Captain, sorry to intrude,” came a voice over the 
  comm, “but you asked to be told when Lieutenant 
  Yahnke got to the bridge.” 
   
  “Excellent,” the captain replied. “Send him in.” The 
  door whooshed open, and the burly Marine lieutenant 
  stepped into the room and snapped to attention. 
   
  “First Lieutenant Yahnke reporting as ordered, 
  Sir!” 
   
  “Belay that, Lieutenant, and sit down.” The captain 
  quickly briefed the Marine on the situation. 
   
  “Need intel,” Yahnke frowned. “Where is the hos-
  tage? What kind of guards are holding him? How 
  many?” 
   
  “Everything is in this file,” the captain explained, 
  handing both officers datapads. “The younger Mister 
  Plemmons was seen leaving a nightclub with a young 
  lady he had met recently. Police found out that the 
  waitress had helped set up the kidnapping. She gave 
  them a lead on a local businessman; police confirmed 
  it. The young lady’s car was found parked near one of 
  his warehouses.” 
   
   
   
   
  “And what a warehouse it is,” Grissom whistled. 
  “None of the locals noticed that it’s sitting on an out-
  cropping of trithallium ore?” That material would block 
  transporters and most sensors, making any under-
  ground facilities impossible to probe from outside. 
   
  “Warehouse wasn’t built until … hmm, two local 
  years ago, three standard,” Yahnke jotted down a 
  note. “Roon doesn’t have our advanced sensors, the 
  ones that cannot probe through trithallium, not that 
  theirs can either, so the locals don’t realize the signifi-
  cance. The company paid through the nose for the 
  property, and relocated the former tenants into new 
  houses 20 kilometers away.” 
   
  “I smell Orions,” Grissom said. The others nodded. 
   
  “They’ve probably got him underground,” Yahnke 
  sent data to the other pads. “I’ve annotated the blue-
  prints they filed with the planning office; probably been 
  changes since the walls went up. Excavation permit 
  says warehouse number eight is … here.” He paused 
  to think it through. 
   
  “Here’s what we do. Transport to a storeroom of 
  this warehouse, stun a few guards, crack the locks into 
  that elevator, search the underground complex, deal 
  with more guards, find the hostage, pick up any evi-
  dence, and get back up the elevator shaft to a point 
  that transporters can pick us up … Sounds doable.” 
   
  “Sounds sneaky,” Grissom said. “I would have ex-
  pected blazing phasers and the red glare of rockets.” 
   
  “A main force rescue would be too noisy,” Yahnke 
  explained. “They’ll kill the kid if they hear us coming. 
  This takes stealth. We have to sneak in, not blast our 
  way in.” 
   
  “Then I want Daneric-Tren,” Grissom said. “He’s 
  an engineering technician who spent two years work-
  ing on a self-contained colony world. He can figure out 
  their elevators and ventilation shafts. And I want 
  Stulak.” 
   
  “He’s the junior science officer … and a botanist!” 
  the captain objected. 
  
  Page 6  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Prologue 
   
  “He’s Vulcan, which will make interrogations a lot 
  faster if we need the passcodes for a locked door or 
  have to find out anything else is a hurry.” 
   
  “And Corporal Kilrathie,” Yahnke said. “Nobody is 
  better at silent take-downs, if we have to go that route. 
  And I want Private Dellik out of the brig immediately.” 
   
   
   
   
   
  “No chance!” the captain snapped. “She’s a thief, 
  and I won’t have her running loose on my ship. I’m 
  holding her until we can investigate who accepted her 
  enlistment. She can sweet-talk any man out of his 
  money while stealing his phaser at the same time.” 
   
  “You said it, Captain,” the Marine replied, “I rest 
  my case. I’ll need your authorization to get her out of 
  the brig. If she helps us and gives a full statement, we 
  ought to consider a general discharge and leave her 
  on some planet. Call it an incentive.” 
   
  “And, Captain,” Grissom reminded, “she did put 
  back everything she stole before we caught her. It’s 
  just a game to her. We can’t have that on a starship, of 
  course, but she’s not a criminal, just a really good 
  thief.” 
   
  “Preposterous!” he spluttered. “Ok, but I’m holding 
  you two personally responsible for her conduct.” 
   
  “Deal,” Yahnke responded. “I need some flash-
  bangs.” 
   
  “We don’t have any on board,” Grissom advised. 
   
  “Make them,” Yahnke ordered, “…Sir.” 
   
  “No time, they’re too complex,” the captain 
  advised. 
   
  Yahnke growled. “I’ll need cargo bay two until 
  planetfall with no interruptions. Commander, if you’ll 
  gather up the Navy half of our team, and ask engi-
  neering to send a crew of repair technicians to the 
  cargo bay with damage control kits, I will get my peo-
  ple and see you there.” 
   
  “What?” Grissom asked. “Why?” 
   
  “Simulations. The engineers will bash together a 
  mockup of the target, and we’ll run rehearsals all the 
  way to planetfall.” 
   
  “That’s six hours,” Grissom objected. “Everybody 
  picked for the mission is on the day shift. We need to 
  feed them and bed them down.” 
   
  “Nice theory,” the Marine explained, “Don’t have 
  time. If we hit the ground after local dark, we’ll be back 
  in an hour, and that won’t be too much past every-
  body’s bedtime. Buck up, Mister Grissom, you’re going 
  to get tired. Did you think that every mission was going 
  to be scheduled for just after breakfast? You’re in the 
  Marines now.” 
   
  2300 Hours, Basement of Warehouse #8,  
  Celotex Import Export, Planet Roon 
   
  “Is the brat still whining?” Melika asked. 
   
  “Yes,” her sister Annitha responded. “If that’s an 
  example of Federation manhood, I’ll stick to the 
  locals.” 
   
  “Not me,” Besslith answered. “Lieutenant Kahl is 
  going to take me with him on his next run, and I’ll 
  knock the dust of this planet off my feet for the last 
  time.” 
   
  “You and your Orion lover,” Melika sneered. “You 
  can‘t really think he’s serious. He’s probably got a girl-
  friend on every planet. Father told you not to get in-
  volved with him. They’re just business associates. 
  They buy, they sell, and they leave.” 
   
  “Did I say anything about marrying him?” Besslith 
  answered. “I want space, not a husband, and he’ll get 
  me to the nearest Orion base where I can get a work-
  ing passage on a ship and start learning how starships 
  work. By the time I’m 40, I will be the captain of my 
  own raider.” 
   
  “The Orions aren’t going to like this kidnapping 
  business,” Annitha said. “Draws attention. Why do you 
  think they didn’t try to stop the Federation from giving 
  Roon a trade deal? They can smuggle in more stuff if 
  legal products are arriving as well. The only one who 
  profits from blocking the trade deal is our father, who 
  wants to keep the off-world trade illegal, and under his 
  exclusive control. Once the Orions figure out what he 
  did, he’s going to lose his franchise, if not a lot more.” 
   
  “The Orions won’t care one way or the other,” a 
  male voice interrupted. Their brother, Michalik, had 
  walked into the underground office as his sisters ar-
  gued. “Sure, with open trade they can smuggle in 
  more, but they won’t make as much profit on each 
  shipment. Same coin, either way.” 
   
  “How are the negotiations going?” Melika asked 
  him. 
   
  “Very well. Father is working through a series of 
  intermediaries, but the Federation representative is 
  being very agreeable. Seems he didn’t really want a 
  trade deal anyway; it was just a Federation ploy to get 
  more concessions out of our enlightened government 
  over a period of years. He’s going to give the Presi-
  dent a laundry list of conditions for any trade deal, eve-
  rything from changing the minimum wage to restricting 
  the age of workers. The idea seems to be some kind 
  of ‘level playing field’ that the Feds want to establish 
  so that prices will be fair. Our government is con-
  cerned about high-tech imports making entire business 
  sectors obsolete, while the Federation trade rep 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Prologue 
  Page 7 
  seems terrified of the idea that we might charge two 
  centos less a ton for grain than some other planet is 
  charging.” 
   
  “Sounds promising,” Melika said. “Maybe we didn’t 
  have to kidnap the brat after all.” 
   
  “Maybe not,” Michalik admitted. “The trade rep has 
  asked for another day, but Father is sticking to his 
  deadline of noon tomorrow. He wants the Federation 
  rep to make impossible demands of the government 
  and then withdraw for consultations and go back to 
  wherever he came from.” 
   
  “He’ll do it,” Melika said. “The brat is the kind of kid 
  who got everything he ever wanted, which means that 
  his daddy is going to be very willing to do anything to 
  get him back. Obviously a very closely knit family.” 
   
  “Speaking of family,” Michalik changed the sub-
  ject, “where is Kaelyn?” 
   
  “Down the hall having a party,” Besslith replied. 
   
  “She’s not with the prisoner, is she?” Michalik 
  asked. “It was all just an act?” 
   
  “Hell no,” Annitha sneered, “she brought Dahler 
  down here to keep her company.” 
   
  “To keep you company, too, Annitha,” Besslith 
  teased. “Want to explain where you were an hour 
  ago?” 
   
  “WHAT?” Michalik roared, “you brought that dim-
  witted stable boy down here? Can’t you girls keep fo-
  cus for one single night? We need to be alert. I left 
  Chucst guarding the gate upstairs, but we can‘t rely on 
  him alone. One of you needs to get a pistol and a radio 
  and get back to the elevator and stand guard.” 
   
  “Why?” Annitha asked. “The police are hardly go-
  ing to send in their hostage unit when nobody has told 
  them there is a hostage to rescue. And the trade rep is 
  hardly going to risk his precious boy, or the trade deal 
  he doesn’t want, by sending Federation troops in here. 
  The door is locked, the brat is tied up, there’s bouza in 
  the cooler, and all we have to do is wait for father to 
  call. Then we throw the brat in the groundcar and 
  leave him tied to a tree somewhere.” 
   
  “Cool your drives, brother,” Besslith advised. “We 
  just have to wait a few more hours. But I’ll go play 
  guard if it pleases you.” 
   
  2300 Hours, Cargo Bay #2, Light Cruiser 
  USS Tasmania, In Orbit above Roon 
   
  “Excuse me, Commander,” First Sergeant Bourne 
  said, “allow me to adjust this strap for you. It will ride 
  much easier this way.” 
   
  “Thank you, Top,” Grissom replied. While First 
  Sergeant Bourne was not going on the mission, he 
  was the senior Marine sergeant on board, and he in-
  sisted on inspecting everyone’s gear to make sure it 
  was properly fastened and riding securely … and si-
  lently … on their back, shoulders, and waist. Grissom 
  hadn’t had a sergeant fussing over his gear since sur-
  vival school a decade before, and found himself alter-
  nately annoyed and grateful at being shown that he 
  had worn the gear wrong the last few times he had 
  gone on a tactical landing (and had put it back wrong 
  after Bourne had corrected it earlier). Bourne moved  
   
   
   
  on, repeating his apology to Dellik that she was not 
  being issued a phaser. 
   
  The rehearsals had started off poorly, a real com-
  edy of errors, as everybody did everything wrong, got 
  into each other’s way, dropped equipment without re-
  alizing it, or took up a position facing the wrong way. 
  First Sergeant Bourne, without being told to, had 
  rounded up a few Marines to stand in as security 
  guards and a puffy-faced ensign to pretend to be the 
  hostage. 
   
  Once they had the hang of the equipment and the 
  mission, the Marines began throwing curve balls. The 
  hostage wasn’t here. The hostage was already dead. 
  The hostage was unconscious. There were two hos-
  tages. The guards were alert. The guards were asleep. 
  Once a maintenance technician wandered into the ex-
  ercise without anyone knowing it, and Grissom was 
  proud that his team had stunned the man and bundled 
  him out to the evacuation point without missing a beat. 
  They weren’t a real hostage rescue team, but they 
  were a lot better than they had been a few hours ago. 
   
  “Grissom, are you ready?” the captain asked as he 
  walked into the compartment. 
   
  “Yes, Sir,” Grissom replied. 
   
  “Good.” The captain motioned for the team to 
  break ranks and gather around. “We’re in a parking 
  orbit over the facility, and I’ve got the sensor crew 
  scanning it. No reaction, no alarms. They report that 
  almost no one is there. It’s hard to get readings 
  against the trithallium background, but they can only 
  find a few guards on the gates and in two of the build-
  ings, plus what looks like a night cleaning crew in the 
  offices.” 
   
  “I’ll want to review the scans myself,” Lieutenant 
  Yahnke interjected. “Is our planned beamdown point 
  clear?” 
   
  “Nothing there that we can see,” the captain re-
  plied. “We’ve scanned every spectrum we can think of, 
  but there could be physical alarms, motion detectors, 
  heat sensors, and the like.” 
   
  “Not likely in that area,” Dellik said. “They’ll have 
  the outer walls wired, and the area around the eleva-
  tor, but you can’t afford to put sensors in every room of 
  a warehouse complex that big. If the burglars get past 
  the outer walls and rooms and into the interior, it’s too 
  late to catch them. That’s why I picked that room to 
  land in.” 
   
  “I don‘t know,” Grissom said, rubbing his neck, “if 
  the Orions are involved in this, they know what we can 
  
  Page 8  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Prologue 
  do and they’ll have alarms on every square meter of 
  the whole building.” 
   
  “If they do, we abort,” the captain said. “We won’t 
  accomplish anything by getting caught, or by getting a 
  bunch of people killed. We’ll send down a sensor 
  probe first to see if it triggers a reaction.” 
   
  “Mind if I look at the scans, Captain?” Dellik asked. 
  “I might see something.” 
   
  “I have set up auxiliary control for your use,” the 
  captain advised. “You can access and control the 
  ship’s sensors from there.” 
   
  “Fine. Dellik, come with me,” Grissom said. “The 
  rest of you stand by in Transporter Room Two.” 
   
  “Begging your pardon, Commander,” Lieutenant 
  Yahnke said, “but we all need to go to Aux Con. Eve-
  rybody needs to know the lay of the land, and anybody 
  might see a solution to a problem.” 
   
  2310 Hours, Auxiliary Control, Light Cruiser 
  USS Tasmania, In Orbit above Roon 
   
  “I suspected that much,” Dellik said, peering into 
  the sensor scope at dancing lines of electromagnetic 
  energy. “They’re using a Brinks-Braxton 435. That’s a 
  fairly common alarm system, commercial grade, sold 
  all over the Federation. But when we install one, we 
  use substrate chips and crystal transdiodes; the Ori-
  ons downgraded this one to use the local technology, 
  basically transconductors and fiber optics and other 
  stuff. Must not have wanted to give them higher tech.” 
   
  “I don’t even want to ask how you know that,” the 
  captain muttered. 
   
  “Study, study, study,” Dellik grinned. 
   
  “All of which means…?” Commander Grissom 
  asked. 
   
  “That we can use a tachyon burst to fuse this con-
  trol node here,” Dellik explained, “and the whole sys-
  tem ‘fails negative’ and won’t report anything it 
  detects.” 
   
  “Fails negative?” Yahnke asked. 
   
  “It fails and they don’t know it failed,” Grissom ex-
  plained. “The system will report that everything is 
  working if they run a diagnostic.” 
   
  “Won’t work,” the sensor technician said. “The by-
  pass loop will detect the short.” 
   
  “They didn’t install one,” Dellik said. The sensor 
  technician gave her a surprised look. “Check the scan. 
  See? There’s where it should be, and it’s not there.” 
   
   
   
  “Lowest bidder,” the technician smiled, shaking his 
  head. “There is a lowest bidder on every planet.” 
   
  “That’s not your problem,” Dellik said, pointing out 
  something else. “They have old-fashioned cameras 
  watching the front of the elevator, the inside of the ele-
  vator, the inside of the maintenance shaft, and, I can’t 
  tell but I’ll bet, watching the door of the lower elevator 
  lobby. Presuming someone is watching the security 
  monitors, they’ll see us as we move in.” 
   
  “Solution?” Grissom asked. 
   
  “I’ve detected their signal relays and have already 
  started copying the transmissions from the cameras. 
  Give me 15 minutes and we‘ll have enough of their 
  signal that I can broadcast a recorded picture back into 
  their system, and they’ll never know.” 
   
  “Won’t they recognize it’s a loop?” Grissom asked. 
  “I mean, an empty room is one thing, but this camera 
  is showing the guard pacing back and forth in the up-
  per elevator lobby. They’ll figure out they’re watching a 
  loop.” 
   
  “Only if we’re amateurs,” the sensor technician 
  chuckled, winking at Dellik. “We’ll just run the data 
  stream we record through the computer and have it 
  generate minor variations in a random pattern. He’ll 
  stop here, then there, turn around and go back, and so 
  forth. Should fool them for half an hour, maybe more.” 
   
  “What if they call him for something?” 
   
  “That’s a chance we will have to take.” 
   
  “I can’t tap into the monitors in the lower level,” the 
  sensor technician said. 
   
  “We’ll use a tricorder to blank them,” Grissom said, 
  “and we’ll just have to move fast.” 
   
  “These guards concern me,” Corporal Kilrathie 
  said. “If they get wind of us, they can bring two dozen 
  armed men on top of us in a minute.” 
   
  “Just have the captain stun them with the ship’s 
  phasers,” Dellik shrugged. “What’s the problem?” 
   
  “You watch too much trivideo,” Grissom laughed. 
  “Ship phasers cannot be used to stun humanoids at 
  200 kilometers. The power settings don’t go that low, 
  and a beam that weak couldn’t punch through the at-
  mosphere anyway.” 
   
  “Tractor beam?” Dellik tried again. 
   
  “Controls are not that accurate,” Grissom noted. 
  “We can use tractor fields in the ship’s crawl spaces 
  because the distance is short and you do not need 
  much power. But from orbit, we would uproot entire 
  buildings. And we don’t want to kill a lot of people if we 
  don’t have to.” 
   
  “So, what’s the plan?” 
   
  “We could just lock onto the guards and transport 
  them a few miles away,” Daneric-Tren suggested. 
   
  “We don’t want to do that if they haven’t noticed 
  us,” Yahnke warned, “and once they do notice, it 
  would be difficult. Locking onto a running man isn’t that 
  easy. But we might keep that idea on standby for any 
  of them reacting slowly enough or staying at their 
  posts.” 
   
  “Transporter spoilers?” Kilrathie asked. Star Fleet 
  personnel carried small scramblers that made it hard, 
  but not impossible, for an enemy to transport them. 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Prologue 
  Page 9 
  This worked better inside a Federation ship where the 
  scramblers were tied to the ship‘s integrity field. 
   
  “None in evidence,” the sensor technician replied. 
   
  “Can we trip an alarm on purpose?” Daneric 
  asked. “In one of the other buildings, to get half of 
  them running to the wrong threat?” The sensor techni-
  cian nodded and began picking sensors to set off with 
  Dellik. 
   
  “Here’s a thought,” Grissom said. “We can pick up 
  a cubic meter of water from some lake with a trans-
  porter and drop it on them … transport it a few meters 
  over their heads, spread out over a three meter 
  square. Should knock a man down, maybe out, without 
  hurting him too much, and water doesn’t leave a Fed-
  eration signature.” 
   
  “I’ll have that set up,” the captain said. “We’ll even 
  filter the fish out of the water. By the time you’ve 
  walked down to Transporter Room Two, we’ll have the 
  node fused and the video channels spoofed. Good 
  luck, all of you.” 
   
  2328 Hours, Storage Bay Four,  
  Celotex Warehouse #8, East of Roon City, Roon 
   
  “Down and safe, no reaction,” Grissom said quietly 
  into his communicator. His team had transported down 
  already in a crouch, and after materializing had frozen 
  solid for 30 seconds waiting to see if alarms went off or 
  guards burst in. The small sensor probe that had gone 
  before them through the transporter was sitting on top 
  of a crate. Daneric moved to flip the switch that would 
  send it back to the ship. 
   
  “Nothing moving, no electronic response,” came 
  the voice from one of the ship’s sensor technicians. 
   
  “Let’s move,” Grissom ordered. The team moved 
  to the door, Grissom in the lead with Stulak scanning 
  with his tricorder. Daneric-Tren and Dellik followed 
  while Kilrathie and Yahnke scanned the flanks and 
  rear. They were in a room of about 30 by 50 meters, 
  and anything, from a sleeping guard to a sleeping dog, 
  could be in the room with them and missed against the 
  trithallium background. 
   
  Stulak scanned through the door with his tricorder. 
  “The guard is present. He walks a path about five me-
  ters long, first facing toward us, then away.” 
   
  “How far?” Kilrathie asked. 
   
  “At his closest approach, 5.62 meters,” Stulak an-
  swered. 
   
  “Can you take him?” Yahnke asked. If Kilrathie 
  could not take out the guard silently, they’d have to 
  use a phaser on stun, and discharging an energy 
  weapon might trigger other alarms they hadn’t been 
  able to fool. Even the fire alarm would bring more re-
  action than the team could handle. 
   
  Kilrathie nodded. Grissom made to open the door, 
  but Stulak clamped his hand on the commander’s 
  wrist, motioning with his eyes to the right, where 
  Daneric-Tren was busily applying lubricant to the door 
  hinges. When Daneric nodded his OK, Grissom looked 
  back to Stulak, who signaled when the guard had 
  turned away from the team and the door they hid be-
  hind. Kilrathie exploded out of the barely open door 
  and was on the guard in a split second, wrapping a 
  strangle cord around his neck. The guard struggled for 
  a few seconds, his screams silenced by the cord, until 
  he slumped to the ground. 
   
  Yahnke ran forward, past Kilrathie, to scan around 
  the corner. Grissom dove forward, leveling his phaser 
  down the cross corridor. Nothing. 
   
  “No alarms,” Stulak said, observing his tricorder. 
   
  “No reaction,” came the voice of the sensor techni-
  cian in Grissom’s ear. 
   
  “Standard keypad security lock on the elevator,” 
  Dellik observed. “I can be through this in a flash.” She 
  started to unsling her tricorder, but Grissom signaled 
  her to stop. 
   
  “Passive only, Private,” he warned. “I don’t want to 
  trigger anything if we don’t have to. It was enough risk 
  having Stulak use an active scan through the door.” 
  Grissom motioned to Stulak, who let his tricorder 
  swing back to his side and approached the felled 
  guard. Dellik and Daneric watched spellbound as 
  Stulak initiated a mind meld, but the others kept their 
  watch in different directions for anyone approaching. A 
  moment later, Stulak sat up. 
   
   
   
   
  “The hostage is indeed below,” he reported, “along 
  with several members of the guard’s family. They are 
  all the children of the owner of this establishment, a 
  man who has had dealings with the Orions. I have the 
  code for the door, but there is a hidden trap. The guard 
  must press his thumb against a certain spot on the 
  metal plate or an alarm will sound.” 
   
  “Let’s do it,” Dellik said, but Grissom’s glance re-
  minded her that she was getting ahead of the plan. In 
  their many rehearsals, they had opened the hatches 
  into the ventilating shaft and sent Daneric-Tren down 
  on a rope to observe the lower elevator lobby for any 
  guards. They didn’t want to open the elevator until 
  Daneric had reached the bottom and checked out the 
  scene. 
   
  With Grissom to help him, Daneric-Tren quickly 
  pulled the bolts securing the panel. Daneric noted that 
  
  Page 10  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Prologue 
  most of the bolts were missing, as they were in most 
  industrial facilities around the galaxy. Everybody got 
  tired of having to remove and replace that many bolts 
  on a non-pressurized hatch they accessed every few 
  days, and only military discipline kept all of the bolts 
  installed in every hatch on the Tasmania. Daneric-Tren 
  used quickset glue to attach a hook to the shaft’s in-
  side wall over the hatch, hitched his rope to the hook 
  and to the rappelling harness he already wore, and 
  dropped as silently as he could down the shaft. The 
  drawings on file with the government said the shaft 
  was 15 meters deep, but sensors couldn’t probe it due 
  to the trithallium radiation. Grissom and Dellik put the 
  plate back with two bolts to hold it. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  “Bottom,” came the murmur into Grissom’s ear-
  piece. “Scanning … humanoid lifesign, about 10 me-
  ters away from me, not moving. Doesn’t seem to have 
  an elevated heart rate. Probably sitting in a chair. 
  Nothing between the guard and the elevator door.” 
   
  They had studied six variations of this situation in 
  their rehearsals. By the time Daneric could get the 
  lower hatch open, everyone in the basement would be 
  lined up with weapons drawn. By the time Daneric 
  could phaser a hole in the hatch cover to stun the 
  guard, the guard would have moved out of the way 
  and sounded the alarm. Grissom thought quickly, as 
  they had set up two choices for this problem. One was 
  to simply go down the elevator and hope to stun the 
  guard before the alarm could sound; the other was to 
  ride down on the elevator roof and try to lure the guard 
  into it and stun him from above. But Grissom had 
  never liked that idea, as the guard was too likely to 
  radio in an alarm before entering the car. 
   
  Signaling his selected plan, Grissom motioned to 
  Stulak to start entering the code for the lock while he 
  moved the guard into position where his unconscious 
  thumb could be pressed to the metal plate. The code 
  was good and Stulak had the doors open in just a few 
  seconds; there was no alarm. The team silently filed 
  into the car and took up the positions they had prac-
  ticed. Grissom and Yahnke were at either side of the 
  door, their phasers ready to sweep the lower lobby in 
  both directions. Kilrathie was on the floor, his knees 
  bent because there was not room for him to lie full 
  length, his phaser at the ready and his elbows braced 
  on the floor. Stulak and Dellik were at the back corners 
  of the car, trying to keep out of the way. 
   
  2345 Hours, Basement Elevator Lobby,  
  Celotex Warehouse #8, East of Roon City, Roon 
   
  Besslith looked up from the novel-pad she had 
  been reading as she heard the elevator. What was 
  Chucst doing, coming down unannounced? Michalik 
  would be quite angry when he heard this, which was a 
  perfect reason for her to report in. 
   
  “Michalik,” she began as she pressed the transmit 
  button on the small radio, “Chucst is on his way down 
  without explanation.” 
   
  She waited for a reply but there was none. She 
  knew that Michalik must be furious and had expected 
  an explosive reply, but none came. In her next second, 
  she assumed that Michalik was on his way and that 
  she would be hearing a door open, but no sound came 
  from down the corridor. And in the next second, she 
  realized that strangers were in the opening elevator. 
  As she bent down to retrieve the pistol that was on the 
  floor at her feet, Kilrathie’s phaser burst struck and her 
  motion continued until she was sprawled on the floor. 
  Yahnke and Grissom, in a much practiced move, ex-
  ited the elevator and took station facing in each direc-
  tion. Dellik leapt forward to pick up her pistol, but 
  Stulak deftly took it from her hand and pocketed it. She 
  shrugged and moved to follow Grissom, while Stulak 
  moved to mind-meld with the fallen guard. This was, 
  again, a rehearsed part of the plan, and his mission 
  was to get a complete list of who was in the subterra-
  nean complex and, if possible, just how big it was. 
   
  2346 Hours, Basement Lounge,  
  Celotex Warehouse #8, East of Roon City, Roon 
   
  “Did you hear that?” Michalik asked, putting down 
  the radio. Besslith had spoken his name but then the 
  transmission stopped, which could have been simple 
  radio failure, or more likely she had not paid attention 
  to which button she was pressing or had thought better 
  of calling him. But then he heard a clatter from down 
  the hallway. The hair on the backs of his hands had 
  sprung erect; his senses were fully alert. He headed 
  for the door. 
   
  “Go with him, Annitha,” Melika ordered, turning to 
  check the security scanners. Nothing was seen on the 
  upper ones except Chucst pacing back and forth, but 
  the one on the lower elevator lobby had gone black. 
  “Someone is down here. I’ll see to the hostage.” She 
  slammed her palm on an alarm button, grabbed a 
  pistol, and headed for the door to the adjoining bed-
  room as Michalik and Annitha headed out the door. 
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Prologue 
  Page 11 
  2347 Hours, Basement Corridor,  
  Celotex Warehouse #8, East of Roon City, Roon 
   
  Michalik burst out of the lounge into the corridor, 
  and into the sights of Yahnke’s phaser. He went down 
  with the stun charge so fast that Annitha, close on his 
  heels, assumed he had tripped. She fired her pistol, 
  sending 
  its 
  ceramic 
  projectile 
  screaming 
  over 
  Yahnke’s head as his second shot dropped her as 
  well. Michalik, only partially stunned, tried to lift his 
  pistol into firing position and sent another bullet 
  screaming past the Marine lieutenant, but collapsed 
  when Yahnke’s third stun shot hit him. 
   
  This part of the mission had been rehearsed, but 
  now there were too many options, too many variables, 
  and even if they had rehearsed them, nobody could 
  sort through the options fast enough to grasp the right 
  one. From this point, the team went into a drilled rou-
  tine. Yahnke worked with Stulak, opening each door in 
  turn, one covering the corridor while the other scanned 
  the just-revealed room. Working the other way from 
  the elevator lobby, Grissom and Kilrathie also worked 
  as a team. Dellik did her assigned job, tying up the 
  guard at the elevator while waiting for something that 
  would need her talents. Without a phaser, she was a 
  liability in a firefight. She could hear Daneric-Tren, no 
  longer trying to be quiet, scrambling his way back up 
  the ventilation shaft. This was wrong. In rehearsals, he 
  had cut his way through the hatch cover and joined the 
  team on the search. 
   
  “Dan, where ya’ going?” she asked over her com-
  municator. He grunted something about a problem to 
  solve and ignored her second question. 
   
  Grissom and Kilrathie had opened one door to find 
  a storeroom, 10 meters to the back wall, stacked with 
  boxes. A quick scan with a tricorder showed nothing 
  sentient. Yahnke and Stulak pulled open a door to find 
  another storage room, this one quite large and filled 
  with stacks of large bags. The room had a pungent 
  aroma, and Stulak holstered his phaser and began 
  adjusting his tricorder. 
   
  “Anything alive?” Yahnke asked. 
   
  “Negative,” Stulak replied, “but these bags appear 
  to contain a substance …” 
   
  “Later,” Yahnke ordered. “Next door. Once the 
  area is secure, you can come back and scan that 
  stuff.” 
   
  “Of course, forgive me,” Stulak replied, shifting his 
  tricorder back to his side and drawing his phaser. 
   
  They moved to the next door and took up posi-
  tions, Yahnke covering the door and Stulak the corri-
  dor and the two slumped bodies near the far door. 
  Yahnke pulled the door open and felt a pistol bullet 
  smash into his body armor and a second one roar over 
  his shoulder. Stunned, he forced himself to fire his 
  phaser into the room, hoping it would startle his oppo-
  nent, but it was Stulak’s shot that took down Kaelyn. 
  Yahnke noted that she was naked, but this only made 
  it easier to see she was not concealing another 
  weapon. Forcing his eyes to focus through the pain of 
  the pistol shot (which, he now knew, had not pene-
  trated his armor), Yahnke noted a cowering naked fig-
  ure behind the bed. 
   
  “We’ve got the hostage,” Yahnke reported, “return-
  ing to the elevator.” Grissom acknowledged the trans-
  mission, and both teams met at the elevator a few 
  seconds later. The hostage was shaking with fear and 
  unable to speak, but Grissom was back to a part of the 
  plan they had rehearsed. 
   
  “Get a positive ID,” he snapped at Dellik, who had 
  readied her tricorder when she heard the call that the 
  hostage had been found. 
   
  “It ain’t him,” she snapped before even bringing 
  the tricorder to bear. When Grissom glared at her she 
  said “I studied his photo. Right height, age, and hair, 
  but not young Mister Plemmons.” Grissom started to 
  argue, but she pointed to the tricorder readings. “He’s 
  native to Roon, not to Mars. He’s not Plemmons.” 
  Grissom swore as Stulak did a superficial mind scan. 
   
  “Confirm,” Stulak said, “this man is not our hos-
  tage. His purpose here is not criminal, but recrea-
  tional.” Without even a shrug, Stulak gripped the 
  youth’s shoulder and sent him to the floor in a swoon. 
   
  “Back to work,” Grissom ordered, heading back 
  the way he had come with Kilrathie. Yahnke, clearly 
  laboring to breathe, waved his phaser for Stulak to 
  follow him. 
   
  “We’re going to skip the next rooms and go to the 
  door those two came out of,” Yahnke said. 
   
  “This is not according to the plan for this part of 
  the operation,” Stulak pointed out. 
   
  “We’re improvising. It’s taking too long and that 
  must be some kind of control room. That should give 
  us intel.” 
   
   
   
  
  Page 12  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Prologue 
   
  Stulak followed without arguing as Yahnke moved 
  to the door, scanning what he could see. With Stulak 
  covering, he slid into the room, noting the tables 
  loaded with food, and a control console with screens 
  showing the various cameras, assorted furniture, and 
  an open door to another room. A quick scan showed 
  nothing in this room, which meant that the door to the 
  next room was the key target. Yahnke began moving 
  to the side, watching the door and the room beyond. 
  As he had been drilled since boot camp, everywhere 
  Yahnke’s eyes looked, his phaser was already 
  pointed, and everywhere his phaser pointed, his eyes 
  were already focused. When his eyes locked on those 
  of Melika, they both fired at the same instant. 
   
  His phaser stun blast was partially blocked by the 
  cabinet she was crouched behind, but enough of it 
  struck her in the face to put her down. Yahnke was not 
  so lucky. The bullet hit between his skull and the pro-
  tective helmet, driving a red-hot ceramic projectile 
  along his scalp to explode out the back of the helmet. 
  The pain was incredible, although strangely the 
  thought came to him that the ceramic bullet had prob-
  ably cauterized the wound that it made. Which was 
  lucky, he noted about the time he hit the floor and 
  passed out, since scalp wounds on humans tended to 
  bleed a lot. 
   
  2353 Hours, Basement Room,  
  Celotex Warehouse #8, East of Roon City, Roon 
   
  Grissom scanned the storage room while Kilrathie 
  covered his back. “Something alive is in here,” he ad-
  vised the corporal, “something humanoid.” The room 
  was a large one, filled with storage lockers, file cabi-
  nets with racks of datapads, and the drawers that held 
  datachips. 
   
  There were several desks, some accompanied by 
  well-upholstered chairs. This was a working office, and 
  someone was working. 
   
  Moving slowly down the aisleway, scanning from 
  side to side with his eyes but not his phaser, Grissom 
  searched the room. Behind the second row of filing 
  cabinets he found a man cowering with his hands over 
  his bald head. 
   
  “Don’t shoot me!” the man cried, not looking at his 
  captor. “Please, don’t shoot me!” 
   
  “It’s on stun,” Grissom apologized as he fired. He 
  moved on to check the rest of the room, but the tri-
  corder confirmed what his eyes told him. No one else 
  was there. 
   
  “Hostage secure,” came the clipped words of 
  Stulak in his earpiece. “Identification confirmed; this is 
  young Mister Plemmons. Lieutenant Yahnke is down. 
  Shot in the head. His condition is serious.” 
   
  “Stand by,” Grissom replied. “Daneric, go help 
  Stulak,” he ordered. 
   
  “Dan isn’t here,” came the words of Dellik. “I heard 
  him going back up the service shaft. Maybe he 
  couldn’t get the panel open from the inside. I don’t 
  know.” 
   
  “Go help Stulak,” Grissom ordered. He left the 
  stunned man on the floor and went 
  back with Kilrathie to check the other rooms. At this 
  point, enough had happened that he would leave no 
  door unopened. The last rooms included an elaborate 
  but empty bedroom and storage rooms filled with 
  boxes. 
   
   
   
  2359 Hours, Basement Lounge,  
  Celotex Warehouse #8, East of Roon City, Roon 
   
  “The area is secure,” Grissom announced on his 
  communicator. “Go back and do a quick search and 
  grab anything interesting.” Grissom headed for the 
  office area. He checked on the bald man, who was 
  breathing normally, and began going through his desk. 
  The computer terminal was still on line, and Grissom 
  was able to tell that it was accounting records, but not 
  much more. His tricorder wasn’t set up to handle 
  translations, so he couldn’t tell what he was looking at. 
   
  “Can I assist you, Commander?” 
   
  Grissom jumped at the sound of the Vulcan, who 
  had arrived silently. 
   
  “My task in this phase is to interrogate the prison-
  ers,” he explained. “The others are members of the 
  owning family. They were involved in the kidnapping, 
  and their family is indeed involved in illegal trading with 
  the Orions. Most of them, however, are simply pas-
  sengers on the family business, taking a share of the 
  profits but doing little work. One female knew a great 
  deal about the Orions, and I have marked her for pos-
  sible evacuation as a material witness. There are also 
  considerable stocks of illegal materials in this complex, 
  including some narcotics and some electronics that 
  are beyond what this planet can make for itself. Do 
  you know who this man is?” 
   
  “No,” Grissom said, “maybe some kind of account-
  ant. See what you can find out.” 
   
  Stulak gently repositioned the small man so that 
  he could conduct a mind meld. The process took a 
  couple of minutes. 
   
  “This man is Ted N’Korl. He is, by training, an 
  attorney specializing in taxes, but he is employed by 
  this company to do all of the accounting for their illegal 
  off-world trade. He is very unhappy in his job, feeling 
  such trade to be immoral. He is virtually a prisoner in 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Prologue 
  Page 13 
  this complex; a device attached to his ankle will cause 
  him great pain if triggered by an alarm field which he 
  knows is within the elevator. This is to prevent him 
  from leaving. He would be grateful for rescue and 
  would be happy to testify against the family.” 
   
  “I’ll get the collar off of his ankle,” Grissom said. 
  “You see if you can wake him up. He’ll be easier to 
  move if he can do it for himself, and he can help us 
  find the right records to take with us.” 
   
  “Very well,” Stulak answered, “I shall use the 
  medical kit provided by Doctor Kildaire to revive him.” 
  Grissom had decided against including a doctor or 
  medic in his team, expecting to complete the mission 
  fast enough he would not need one. 
   
  “You might want to give him something to keep 
  him calm,” Grissom advised. “He was terrified when I 
  found him. We need him functioning.” 
   
  “Very well.” The Vulcan moved to treat his patient. 
   
  “We got trouble, Commander,” came the voice of 
  Dellik in his earpiece. “I can hear a lot of pounding and 
  some shooting going on upstairs. Somebody up there 
  is trying to cut their way in here. I blocked the elevator 
  door open, but the warning buzzer is going off and 
  some recording is demanding that the door be closed.” 
   
  “Is Yahnke still out?” 
   
  “Yes, Sir.” 
   
  “Where’s Daneric-Tren?” 
   
  “My tricorder found him halfway up the air shaft. 
  He’s conscious and working on something, but he 
  doesn’t answer his radio. I was working on getting the 
  panel removed from the hatch; it’s got all the bolts in it. 
  Kilrathie is moving some stuff that Stulak told him 
  needs to go with us.” 
   
  “Carry on,” Grissom ordered. “I will be right there.” 
   
  0005 Hours, Bridge, Light Cruiser 
  USS Tasmania, In Orbit above Roon 
   
  “Situation?” the captain demanded. 
   
  “I’ve transported three guards to other locations, 
  knocked a couple out with water bombs, and several 
  have responded to the false alarms I triggered,” the 
  sensor technician reported. “But there are at least six 
  at the upper elevator lobby, using some pretty serious 
  tools to try to get in — cutting torches, power saws, 
  and firearms.” 
   
  “Options?” 
   
  “I can kill the main power to the complex,” the 
  technician suggested. “That would at least shut down 
  their heavy tools. Should buy a few minutes before 
  they can get into the elevator shaft with the fire axes. 
  That should also let me transport a few more of them 
  somewhere else.” 
   
  “Have you re-established contact with the team?” 
   
  “Negative. When that alarm went off 20 minutes 
  ago, some kind of field fired up, blocking my view 
  down the elevator shaft, and some kind of heavy metal 
  plate slammed shut over the ventilation shaft.” 
   
  “Transporter Room One, this is the Captain.” 
   
  “Sergeant Bourne here, Sir.” 
   
  “Stand up the landing force. The team is trapped, 
  and I may have to have you get them out of there.” 
   
  “We are ready, Captain,” the sergeant reported, 
  “twenty-four loaded up and ready to drop in two lifts.” 
   
  “Stand by, Bourne,” the captain said, “and stun 
  only. This is going to be bad enough as it is.” 
   
  “Aye, aye, Sir,” the sergeant responded, “we won’t 
  leave any of our people behind.” 
   
  “Technician,” the captain ordered, “buy Grissom 
  as much time as you can, but let me know when the 
  guards have broken into the elevator shaft.” 
   
  “Power is off, and I broke the emergency fire hose 
  valves, spraying water all over the place. And I just 
  transported two more guards out of there.” 
   
  0009 Hours, Basement Elevator Lobby,  
  Celotex Warehouse #8, East of Roon City, Roon 
   
  Grissom arrived at the lobby just as Dellik got the 
  metal plate off of the ventilation shaft hatch. Yahnke 
  was starting to sit up, Plemmons was standing nearby 
  shaking, and Kilrathie had just arrived with a crate to 
  place next to the large bag already on the floor. The 
  naked local had been pulled out of the way. 
   
  “Dan!” Dellik called up the shaft. “What are you 
  doing?” 
   
  “Minute! Busy!” was all he replied. 
   
  “Can we go now?” Plemmons asked. 
   
  “Shortly, Sir,” Grissom answered. “Kilrathie, do 
  you know which of the kidnappers Stulak wanted as a 
  prisoner?” 
   
  “Yes, Sir,” the corporal gestured, “that one, the 
  first one we took out when we got down here.” 
   
  “Excellent,” the commander replied. “What are 
  these?” he gestured at the bag and crate. 
   
  “Contraband that Stulak said we needed as evi-
  dence,” Kilrathie replied. “That bag is full of some kind 
  of weeds, and this box is full of trans-stators.” Grissom 
  whistled. Trans-stators could be used in any number of 
  advanced devices, and were about 50 years ahead of 
  Roon’s current technology. Judging from the stacks of 
  boxes he had seen, Grissom knew there must be 
  thousands of these devices in this basement. 
   
  Grissom’s reflection was ended when Daneric-
  Tren climbed out of the air shaft. 
   
  “On the way down, I saw something odd,” he said, 
  “and went back to check. It’s a jamming field genera-
  tor, designed to block the elevator shaft and ventilation 
  shaft and prevent anyone from using a transporter.” 
   
  “Did you disarm it?” 
   
  “No,” Daneric-Tren said, “when I was starting to, a 
  metal plate slammed down on my head, knocking my 
  communicator off.” He held up the device, which was 
  obviously broken. “That was just about the time those 
  alarms went off topside. Apparently, it’s some backup 
  device to lock down the ventilation shaft. I guess the 
  elevator locks itself.” 
   
  “Explosives?” Kilrathie asked. 
   
  “Not going to work,” Daneric answered, “the field is 
  above the metal plate, and we don’t have enough ex-
  plosives to blast through the bulkheads without col-
  lapsing the whole shaft.” 
   
  “So we’re trapped?” Plemmons wailed. “Good lord, 
  what kind of idiot rescue team are you people? You 
  
  Page 14  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Prologue 
  mean you didn’t leave a whole company of Marines 
  guarding the way out of this place? What morons!” 
   
  “Shut up,” Grissom barked. “We’re not done yet.” 
   
  “How far up?” Kilrathie asked Daneric-Tren. 
   
  “About 10 meters.” 
   
  “Give me a boost up through the hatch of that ele-
  vator car,” Kilrathie said, pulling a grenade from his 
  vest, “I’ll open the door for us.” With Daneric-Tren’s 
  help, Kilrathie got his torso up through the hatch. 
  Standing on the engineer’s shoulders, he steadied 
  himself and pulled the pin on the grenade, dialing the 
  fuze as he did so. Placing his left hand on the hatch 
  itself, he lofted the grenade straight up and, in the 
  same motion, stepped off of the engineer’s shoulders, 
  allowing himself to fall. His weight pulled the hatch 
  shut just as the grenade went off. 
   
  “Tasmania, this is Grissom, can you hear me?” 
   
  “Loud and clear, Commander,” the technician an-
  swered. “What’s your situation?” 
   
  “We’re going to get everybody into the elevator 
  car. There will be the six of us and three others, plus 
  some cargo. Wide field on the transporter.” 
   
  “Ready when you are, Commander.” 
   
  “Stand by,” Grissom advised. “Where is Stulak?” 
   
  “Here, Sir,” the Vulcan said as he rounded the cor-
  ner, a waste bin full of computer disks in one hand and 
  the collar of N’Korl’s jacket in the other. The account-
  ant was alternately sobbing and screaming. 
   
  “Everybody into the car, now!” Grissom ordered. 
  This part had been covered in the rehearsals, but 
  there were too many options, and having three pas-
  sengers and a load of baggage wasn’t one of them. It 
  took some doing to make everything fit, and with both 
  Plemmons’s complaining and N’Korl’s wailing, it took 
  longer than it should have. An explosion erupted far 
  above them, and pieces of metal and concrete began 
  to pound the roof of the elevator car. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  “Energize!” Grissom ordered. 
   
  “Negative,” the ship’s technician replied. “I can’t 
  get a good lock on your signal. Too much radiation.” 
   
  Kilrathie had to shove Plemmons aside to reach 
  the still dazed Lieutenant Yahnke, but he thrust his 
  hands into the Lieutenant’s backpack and was obvi-
  ously trying to work something. “Beacon on!” Kilrathie 
  announced. 
   
  “Good lock,” the ship’s technician said from the 
  earpieces, “energizing.” The thud of a grenade landing 
  on the roof of the elevator car was the last sound the 
  team heard on Roon. 
   
  Two Days Later, Conference Room, Light Cruiser 
  USS Tasmania, In Orbit above Roon 
   
  “The local police are quite pleased with the evi-
  dence you collected,” the ambassador said. “By the 
  time they got into the underground complex, every-
  thing had been destroyed, but with samples of the 
  original material, and Federation technology, they 
  were able to prove conclusively what had been there.” 
   
  “Excellent,” the captain said. “The entire family is 
  under arrest, I take it?” 
   
  “Most of them,” the ambassador said. “The Roon 
  government is quite distressed to hear that their elec-
  tronics industry almost became obsolete overnight. 
  And they were almost as upset to hear that common 
  weeds on their planet are a powerful narcotic for Ri-
  gellians. We had been wondering where that new drug 
  came from. Now we know.” 
   
  “And we can stop it,” the captain responded. 
   
  “Are your personnel recovering?” the ambassador 
  asked, “I know that doing a mission without causing 
  casualties can mean taking heavier losses.” 
   
  “Lieutenant Yahnke will be fine,” the captain ex-
  plained. “Everything else was just strains and bruises.” 
   
  “Then we were lucky,” the ambassador said. “They 
  will be rewarded?” 
   
  “Commendations for everyone,” the captain said, 
  “a Bronze Star and a wound badge for the lieutenant, 
  a command medal for Grissom. The commendations 
  will be written up as a rescue, not combat, as you 
  requested.” 
   
  The ambassador nodded his thanks. 
   
  “And the trade deal?” the captain asked. 
   
  “Will proceed in all good time,” the ambassador 
  said. “There are issues to be resolved, and diplomacy 
  demands patience. My staff is working through the 
  problems. 
   
  “By the way, one of my staff has asked if he could 
  speak with Private Dellik.” 
   
  “I don’t need to ask which member of your staff 
  that was, do I?” the captain replied with a strained 
  smile. 
   
  “It’s better if you don’t,” the ambassador said, “but 
  I think I can get her off of your ship. It seems that my 
  Marine detachment can use another guard.” 
   
  “I would be grateful,” the captain said, “to your 
  staff member.” 
   
  “I think he will consider it an even trade.” 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Introduction 
  Page 15 
   
   
   
   
  WHAT IS GURPS? 
   
   
  GURPS stands for “Generic Universal RolePlaying 
  System,” and is the RPG that these rules are con-
  densed from. Why is it called that? Well… 
   
  “Generic.” GURPS starts with simple rules, and 
  builds up to as much optional detail as you like. This 
  abridged version presents the “core rules” that most 
  GMs start with. 
   
  “Universal.” The basic rule system is designed to 
  emphasize realism. Therefore, it can fit any situation -- 
  fantasy or historical, past, present, or future. 
   
  “Roleplaying.” This is not just a “run-and-gun” 
  game. The rules are written to make true roleplaying 
  possible – and to encourage it. GURPS is a game in 
  which you take on the persona of another character -- 
  and pretend, for a little while, to be that character. 
   
  “System.”  GURPS 4e is a unified system of rules. 
  GURPS is one of the recognized worldwide standards 
  for roleplaying games. 
   
  WHAT IS PRIME DIRECTIVE? 
   
   
  Prime Directive is a roleplaying game set in the 
  Star Fleet Universe. Available for several RPG sys-
  tems, it is based on the history and background seen 
  in the classic board game Star Fleet Battles from the 
  same publisher. SFB is a ship-to-ship combat board 
  game, based on elements of the original Star Trek tel-
  evision series. 
   
  The Star Fleet Universe 
   
   
   
  The Star Fleet Universe is the history and back-
  ground material generated over the last 34+ years for 
  SFB. All of the species, empires, and other back-
  ground material found in GURPS Prime Directive are 
  taken from the Star Fleet Universe. It is important for 
  science fiction fans to understand the differences be-
  tween the Star Fleet Universe and the original source 
  material. SFB (the original SFU product) was done 
  when “The Original Series” was a syndicated program 
  popular on college campuses, and no new material 
  had been done in years. SFB quickly created hun-
  dreds of pages of new material and grew in its own 
  directions. Later, when Star Trek began to generate 
  new material, they went in their own direction and the 
  Star Fleet Universe continued to grow along a differ-
  ent path. Thus, the backgrounds are not 100% com-
  patible, and true Star Trek fans will find numerous dif-
  ferences between the later source material and the 
  SFU. See p. 364. 
   
  The SFU, being a “game universe” where the 
  readers can make their own history, has been forced 
  to be considerably more consistent (within itself) than 
  the purely literary universe of true Star Trek. 
   
  Prime Directive, The First Edition 
   
   
  Roleplaying in the Star Fleet Universe is not new. 
  Two decades ago, when Star Fleet Battles was still in 
  its earliest editions, gamers were adapting various 
  roleplaying systems to construct their own RPGs set in 
  the Star Fleet Universe. None of these reached offi-
  cial status or were actually published, but many of 
  them were played at conventions and at least one, 
  based on a Chaosium game engine, was played by 
  several groups for nearly a decade. 
   
  When the fourth set of owners of Task Force 
  Games (the previous publisher for Star Fleet Uni-
  verse products) took over in 1991, they indicated a 
  strong desire to produce a roleplaying game that 
  would exploit this important market segment. While 
  ADB suggested that we should simply license GURPS, 
  Task Force Games felt that it would be better to create 
  their own unique game engine that could be used for 
  other non-Star Fleet products. They hired the team of 
  Mark Costello and Tim Olsen to create a new system 
  for Prime Directive. 
   
  Tim and Mark created an interesting game engine, 
  published as Prime Directive (now known as PD1) in 
  1993. While it had loyal players and deserved to find a 
  market, it did not gain enough of a following to remain 
  in development, and other factors in the industry and 
  within Task Force Games brought the release of new 
  products for this game to a halt far too soon. Even so, 
  PD1 (a core rulebook and four expansions of various 
  types) remains a milestone in the Star Fleet Universe. 
  [ADB, Inc. plans to publish update and conversion in-
  formation for PD1 products in a future product in order 
  to honor those who played (and wrote) these “lost 
  chapters” of Star Fleet history.] 
   
  While their game engine didn’t find the success it 
  truly deserved, Tim and Mark were prolific and creative 
  writers, adding a hundred pages of background to the 
  Star Fleet Universe, including many items of equip-
  ment, several hand weapons, and a plethora of 
  
  Page 16  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Introduction 
  Federation Associate Members. Many of the pages of 
  GPD 
  reprise 
  their 
  earlier 
  work, 
  including 
  the 
  backgrounds for many of the minor Federation 
  species.  
   
  Mark and Tim also created the concept of prime 
  teams (multi-mission teams capable of conducting 
  exploration, combat, diplomatic, scientific, or even es-
  pionage missions), truly their greatest contribution to 
  the Star Fleet Universe. ADB endorsed this concept 
  wholeheartedly, even adding prime teams to their 
  board games (Star Fleet Battles and Federation & 
  Empire) as special units with many unique modifiers 
  and bonuses. In 2001, ADB, Inc. even added a prime 
  team card to their Star Fleet Battle Force card game. 
  But prime teams may have been one source of the 
  problem with marketing PD1; not everyone wanted to 
  be a commando/diplomat/scientist. Plans to expand 
  PD1 into other areas never came to fruition, but the 
  need to do so remained a given for GPD. 
   
  Prime Directive, The New Edition 
   
   
  When Amarillo Design Bureau was incorporated in 
  1999 and became the new publisher of the Star Fleet 
  Universe, we had a plan. Phase 1 (get our existing 
  products back into print) went well, and we moved into 
  Phase 2 (launching entirely new product lines). A ma-
  jor part of this was to be a new RPG. From the first 
  day, we wanted this to be GURPS, and found a recep-
  tive ear in our old friend Steve Jackson. It was a mar-
  riage made in Texas (which must be heaven) as SJ 
  Games wanted to license GURPS and we wanted the 
  best RPG system around. 
   
  We published GURPS Prime Directive in July 
  2002 to critical acclaim, followed by GURPS Klingons 
  in November of 2003. 
   
  When GURPS moved into its fourth edition during 
  2004, we faced a major decision as to what direction 
  we would take. After much debate, it was decided to 
  do a new 4th Edition version of GURPS Prime Di-
  rective and GURPS Klingons in order to serve the 
  needs of the gamers, who had made it clear that they 
  wanted to move forward into the new 4th Edition. We 
  are proud to have been invited by Steve Jackson 
  Games to join the trip. 
   
  In 2017, our RPG department head finally got her 
  wish to issue a corrected and updated version – this 
  one you now are reading. 
   
  THE STAR FLEET UNIVERSE: 
  AN INTRODUCTION 
   
   
  Many players of GURPS Prime Directive will be 
  new to the Star Fleet Universe, and will come to the 
  game with different expectations of what it is like 
  based on their different experiences with Star Trek in 
  any of its various forms. The Star Fleet Universe is 
  somewhat different from what has been seen on film 
  and television, in part due to its being better and more 
  logically organized and considerably more consistent 
  internally. This chapter will help to orient new players 
  to the shape and history of the Star Fleet Universe. It 
  is written from the point of view of the United Federa-
  tion of Planets, but, of course, all manner of cam-
  paigns involving other empires and species are 
  possible. 
   
  Nearly all of the adventures set in GURPS Prime 
  Directive will take place in the Alpha Octant (consist-
  ing of the Alpha, Beta, and Gamma sectors) of the 
  Milky Way Galaxy. During later periods of the SFU, 
  there is an invasion from the Andromedan Galaxy by 
  way of the Lesser Magellanic Cloud. The final battles 
  that defeated this invasion took place in that island 
  galaxy. 
   
  The map is a slightly abstract tactical one from the 
  start of the General War (Y168) showing the relative 
  positions of the various empires. A more detailed map 
  of the Alpha Octant is in Chapter 8. The gray area of 
  the Alpha Octant is that shown on the maps in Chapter 
  8. For quick reference, the map on the facing page 
  shows the Federation (F), Klingon Empire (K), Romu-
  lan Empire (R), Kzinti Hegemony (Z), Lyran Empire 
  (L), Hydran Kingdom (H), Gorn Confederation (G), and 
  the Inter-Stellar Concordium (I). The small area on the 
  rim near the Federation is the Tholian Holdfast, the 
  small area at the Lyran-Klingon-Hydran border is the 
  independent Lyran Democratic Republic, while the 
  small area near the Lyran-Klingon-Kzinti border is the 
  WYN Star Cluster. 
   
  The center of the Milky Way Galaxy is basically a 
  huge black hole surrounded by a zone of intense and 
  deadly radiation (which is impassable). Surrounding 
  this zone is the “Storm Zone” in which starships and 
  outposts can survive only briefly. There are few plan-
  ets there, none of them habitable. Virtually all civiliza-
  tions and life exists in the area between the Storm 
  Zone and the edge of the galaxy, and this is where the 
  Federation, the Klingon Empire, the Romulan Empire, 
  and the other political entities of the SFU exist. 
   
  Paradoxically, the Milky Way Galaxy in the Star 
  Fleet Universe is both a small and a large place. It is 
  small in that some starships, traveling at fast speeds 
  through a network of bases able to refuel them fre-
  quently, can travel great distances in fairly short peri-
  ods of time. A warship going at fast dash speeds can 
  cross the entire Federation in about 20 days – a dis-
  tance of some 9500 parsecs! However, it is a large 
  place in that even known space is still substantially 
  unexplored. The boundaries of the major powers (seen 
  on the map here and those in Chapter 8) were set by 
  treaty and war about Y120 and locked into place by a 
  series of bases. The various empires pushed their 
  borders as far as they could and placed their bases far 
  beyond star systems actually explored, colonized, and 
  developed. Any given 500-parsec hex on the map in 
  Chapter 8 includes upwards of 50 inhabited colony 
  planets, and thousands of other systems, including at 
  least a hundred habitable planets (a few have small 
  colonies or outposts). Producing a detailed map of 
  each hex is impossible, and Game Masters need only 
  create maps required by their adventures. Nor should 
  a GM worry overly about consistent nomenclature: 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Introduction 
  Page 17 
   
  Federation stellar maps are the compiled records 
  of dozens of species, and, while generally ac- 
  curate, are a mish-mash of names, styles  
  and conventions. For example, stars may 
  have proper names (Rigel), or be  
  named for their position in con-  
  stellations (Alpha Centauri), or  
  may simply have a numeric 
  designation. Similarly,  
  planets may have a  
  proper name (Pacifica,  
  Strongport), be named  
  for their position in a so- 
  lar system (Pollux IX),  
  be named for their dis- 
  coverer (Sherman’s  
  Planet), or simply have 
  a catalog number  
  (PX 123). 
   
  A Brief History of the 
   Star Fleet Universe 
   
  This is given in  
  much greater detail in the  
  timeline in Chapter 8, but 
  a brief overview will set a  
  context for the remainder  
  of this introduction. As each  
  empire has its own calendar,  
  Federation records arbitrarily  
  begin in Y1 (the Year One), when  
  Humans of Earth first reached warp  
  speed and were noticed by the Vulcans.  
  The Klingons, Humans, and most other  
  species achieved warp space capability  
  during Y1-Y10. The United Federation of Planets  
  (UFP or simply “the Federation”) was formed in Y4. 
   
  In the Alpha Sector, the Gorns destroyed the 
  Romulan ability to build tactical warp starships in Y67, 
  exterminated the Paravians (by accident) in Y94, were 
  contacted by the Federation (at Cestus III) during 
  Y157, and became Federation allies against the 
  Romulans in Y174. 
   
  In the Beta Sector, the Federation expanded 
  steadily, contacting the Romulans in Y40, the Tholians 
  in Y84, and the Klingons in Y85. The Kzintis attacked 
  the Federation in Y88 and again in Y136. The key 
  moment was the Federation border declaration of 
  Y102, which claimed territory that had been controlled 
  by the Kzintis and Klingons. Several wars established 
  this as the formal border. 
   
  The Gamma Sector is home to the Four Powers, 
  those being the Klingons, Kzintis, Lyrans, and Hy-
  drans. The Klingons and Lyrans met first (in war), and 
  both encountered the Hydrans in Y40 and the Kzintis 
  in Y48. The feline Lyrans and Kzintis (despite being 
  deadly enemies of each other) simultaneously annihi-
  lated the canine Carnivons in Y110. The Klingons and 
  Lyrans eventually became allies against the Kzintis 
  and Hydrans. Several wars led to the major Four Pow-
  ers War in Y158-162. 
   
  The defining period of the Star Fleet Universe is 
  the General War, which began as yet another Kzinti-
  Lyran conflict in Y168 and eventually included all of 
  the major empires by Y174. Facing economic collapse, 
  the empires ended the war in Y185 when the Inter-
  Stellar Concordium established the “peacekeeper line” 
  between them. This peace lasted only two scant years 
  before the Andromedan Invasion brought the entire 
  Star Fleet Universe to the very edge of annihilation. 
   
   
   
   
  Federation New Heavy Cruiser 
   
   
  
  Page 18  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Introduction 
  INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE 
  STAR FLEET UNIVERSE 
   
   
  There are several orders of intelligent life in the 
  Star Fleet Universe. The United Federation of Planets 
  classifies intelligent species along the following rough 
  scale: 
   
  Godlike Species 
   
  These beings exist in remote areas with Tech Lev-
  els above 16, effectively off the scale. These beings 
  are usually omnipotent and immortal. Fortunately for 
  the SFU, most of these have little interest in the affairs 
  of lesser species. Two exceptions are the Masters and 
  the Organians. A Game Master can feel free to create 
  others. 
   
  The Masters, who “kidnap” entire starships, and 
  sometimes individuals or small groups, to play in their 
  “games,” are seen only as disembodied voices. The 
  Masters arrange not only starship duels and hand-to-
  hand battles, but puzzle-solving competitions. Every 
  group of adventurers deserves the chance to be kid-
  napped by the Masters, who (for purposes of their 
  games) can provide any equipment or technology. A 
  trip to the Masters realm can provide adventurers with 
  the opportunity to meet species from far-flung empires 
  they might never meet otherwise. The GM could easily 
  add any alien species or monster from any source, as 
  the Masters are known to collect “game pieces” from 
  all over the galaxy and even from the Magellanic 
  Clouds. The Masters are known to allow those of their 
  victims who show skill, bravery, cunning, or cleverness 
  to return to their lives. 
   
  The Organians live a pastoral life on a planet in 
  the Federation-Klingon Neutral Zone (hex 1913), or so 
  it seems. They are in fact non-corporeal beings who 
  take humanoid form to deal with other species. They 
  brokered, rather than enforced, the Federation-Klingon 
  Treaty. When the Organians disappeared in Y171, the 
  treaty collapsed and the Klingons invaded the 
  Federation. 
   
   
  Precursors 
   
  These beings existed in the time before the cur-
  rent era. Just how many there were and what time pe-
  riods they existed, and what they did, is not clearly 
  understood. 
   
  The best known of these are the “Old Kings”, who 
  ruled Federation and Klingon space until about two 
  centuries before the General War. These beings used 
  the Klingons (as well as the Dunkars, Hilidarians, and 
  other species) as starship crews. When the “Old 
  Kings” left, leaving abandoned starships in orbit over 
  Klinshai, the Klingons built chemical-energy rockets to 
  regain access to space. 
   
  The “Spirit Kings” took the Hydrans into space in 
  much the same way, but when they departed (at the 
  same time as the “Old Kings”), they left the Hydrans in 
  possession of primitive starships. 
   
  The Gorns refer to the “Lizard Kings” as the be-
  ings that transported them to their three homeworlds 
  (and to the doomed planet of Paravia) at least 13,000 
  years before the General War. 
   
  The Lyrans and Kzintis are known to be genet-
  ically related to each other (and to the Jwarundils and 
  the doglike Carnivons) and may have been seeded on 
  their planets by the beings known only as the “Leopard 
  Kings” at some time perhaps 100,000 years before the 
  General War. 
   
  Whether any of these beings still exist is a matter 
  of conjecture, and great interest to the powers of the 
  SFU. 
   
  Starfaring Species 
   
  These species or empires include the Federation 
  (with its Humans, Vulcans, etc.), the Klingon Empire 
  (including their subject races, who arguably did not 
  reach space flight on their own), the Romulans, Kzin-
  tis, Gorns, Orions, Hydrans, Lyrans, WYN, ISC, LDR, 
  Jindarians, and Vudar. 
   
  The birdlike Paravians and wolf-like Carnivons 
  became extinct early in the history of the Star Fleet 
  Universe, although reports of lost colonies of both 
  continue to appear. 
   
  A subcategory of starfaring species includes the 
  extragalactic beings who have appeared in the Alpha 
  Octant from various other locations. The Tholians ar-
  rived as refugees from their galaxy, with the Seltorians 
  (their former slaves) in hot pursuit (only a century be-
  hind them). The Andromedans are invaders from the 
  M31 Galaxy, and their true nature is unknown. (Their 
  robots are commonly seen but only one man, a Feder-
  ation Marine, has ever seen a living Andromedan and 
  survived, and he could never bring himself to speak of 
  what he saw.) The Xorkaelians are from the Milky 
  Way, and are masters of a huge empire on the oppo-
  site edge. They invaded the Alpha Octant much later 
  in history. Dozens of species occupy the Omega 
  Sector. 
   
  Non-Starfaring Species 
   
  Non-starfaring species are those which, for what-
  ever reason, have never left their homeworld. Almost 
  all are of Tech Level 9 or lower, with most being TL 6 
  or lower. The many empires have different practices 
  when it comes to their encounters with non-starfaring 
  species which range from exploitation (Klingons), to 
  enslavement (Kzintis), to patronage (the ISC). The 
  UFP is unusual in that it quarantines non-starfaring 
  species under the famous Prime Directive to allow 
  them to develop on their own. 
   
  Astrofauna 
   
  This is a catch-all heading for interstellar lifeforms, 
  not necessarily intelligent, that can travel through the 
  enormously hostile environment of space under their 
  own power. Some observed types of astrofauna in-
  clude large clouds known as energy beings, massive 
  protoplasmic 
  beings 
  that 
  resemble 
  single-celled 
  lifeforms, and more complex organisms that have 
  been nicknamed “eels,” “snakes,” or “dragons.” Or-
  ganisms which are powerful enough to qualify as 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Introduction 
  Page 19 
   
  astrofauna are usually powerful enough to pose a 
  threat even to the ships of starfaring civilizations. 
   
  A subcategory of astrofauna includes nonliving 
  starcraft which appear from time to time. There are 
  many of these (the GM is welcome to borrow them 
  from any source) including the death probe and vari-
  ous ships of the Juggernauts. 
   
  THE ERAS OF THE 
  STAR FLEET UNIVERSE 
   
   
   
  Although the Star Fleet Universe covers some 
  two hundred-odd years of history, those years are not 
  monolithic, and scholars have divided history into 
  seven distinct eras. The default assumption is that 
  players of GURPS Prime Directive will be members 
  of the UFP adventuring during the Main Era years. 
  Most of the maps and equipment descriptions are cre-
  ated with this phase of history in mind. However, the 
  SFU is a big universe, and campaigns in other eras, or 
  as other species, are certainly possible. 
   
  Precontact Era (ends Y4, Tech Level 8) 
   
  The Precontact era is the earliest phase of UFP 
  history. Most of the planets that would reach the stars 
  during the next era managed to resolve their problems 
  (usually after new energy sources made competition 
  for resources less intense), form world governments of 
  various types, and reach warp-capable star flight. The 
  Vulcans had been in space for centuries (but as ex-
  plorers uninterested in economic development), and 
  the Klingons and Hydrans had been in space as the 
  crews of alien starships. 
   
  Adventures in the Precontact Era are possible, but 
  would be limited by the available means of travel to the 
  single star system of the adventurers. The first crude 
  power cells made energy weapons practical for the 
  first time during this period. Space ships are slow, lim-
  ited in range, and rely on spin chambers for artificial 
  gravity. 
   
  Non-Tactical Warp Era (Y6-Y61, Tech Level 9) 
   
  The Non-Tactical Warp Era represents two trends, 
  inward and outward. In this era, the UFP grew from an 
  alliance into a government. The term “non-tactical 
  warp” refers to the primitive first starships which could 
  move at trans-light speeds but could only fight at sub-
  light speeds. 
   
  Two very significant events mark the Non-Tactical 
  Warp Era: the first contact with the Orions (Y21) which 
  brought about the first major interstellar trade agree-
  ments, and the contact with the Romulans (Y40) which 
  resulted in the Federation’s first interstellar war. Orion 
  support was needed for the survival of the Federation, 
  but then, the Orions had provoked the war by trying to 
  colonize planets in space claimed by the Romulans. 
   
  Adventures (for UFP members) in this era are best 
  centered around contacts with the Orions and the 
  Romulans. (Using other sourcebooks, adventures 
  among “the Four Powers” are equally plausible.) 
  Game Masters interested in a military campaign have 
  the exciting backdrop of the First Federation-Romulan 
  War, while those interested in exploration can have 
  players interact with the Byzantine machinations of the 
  Orions, who will doubtless in time have players saying, 
  “With allies like these....” 
   
  The first primitive starships can make about nine 
  parsecs per day, enough to reach hundreds of new 
  worlds, but can only fight at sublight speeds. Gravity 
  compensation allows high-G maneuvers. While military 
  and government starships will have crews from a sin-
  gle world, the first of the free traders may have crew-
  men from many planets. An adventurer during this pe-
  riod would hang his beam pistol in a holster from his 
  fabric body armor, have a rather simple PADD, and 
  carry a communicator good for 25 miles. 
   
  Tactical Warp Era (Y62-Y78, Tech Level 10) 
   
  The Tactical Warp Era was marked by few political 
  developments, but many technological ones. The chief 
  development was, of course, the invention of the tacti-
  cal warp engine, which allowed combat at warp 
  speeds, though only up to Warp 3.2. While the Feder-
  ation was the first to develop this technology, other 
  empires developed it on their own or copied it quickly, 
  and the Federation (even had it wanted to) could not 
  have conquered anyone else before they matched the 
  technology. This development drove the Federation 
  into full power as a government, since only ships of the 
  Federation fleet (not individual planets) initially had the 
  technology. Star Fleet assumed the official duty of 
  defending all member planets, but those planets 
  eventually built their own tactical warp ships for local 
  defense and to train recruits for Star Fleet. 
   
  Adventures in this era can center around the 
  developments of tactical warp drive and Star Fleet. A 
  good campaign could center around the crews of the 
  first Star Fleet ships, with true artificial gravity, tractor 
  beams, low-tech replicators, and the first finicky trans-
  porters. These ships will have to contend with disunity 
  among multi-species crews concerned over the ero-
  sion of planetary sovereignty. 
   
  An adventurer in this period would holster his 
  phaser pistol next to the earliest “scanner” (or “mono-
  corder”) and would have a limited translator next to his 
  communicator. 
   
  The Early Years Era (Y79-Y119, Tech Level 11) 
   
  The Early Years Era marked the beginnings of the 
  UFP’s interactions with the wider galaxy. This was the 
  era in which the Federation encountered powers which 
  could not be absorbed (as had the Orions) or defeated 
  and ignored (as had the Romulans). These included 
  the reclusive Tholians, and the militaristic Klingons 
  (who were involved in other wars and became tacit 
  allies of the Federation, providing advisors to those 
  Star Fleet ships fighting the Kzintis). 
   
  Unfortunately, 
  good 
  relations 
  between 
  the 
  Klingons and the Federation did not last due to com-
  petition over colony worlds between expanding out-
  
  Page 20  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Introduction 
  posts. UFP efforts to define a border in Y102 suc-
  ceeded a decade later at a cost in blood. The Romu-
  lans nearly invaded the Federation in Y110 but called 
  off the offensive at the last minute when Emperor 
  Ramillius died without an heir. The Federation did not 
  learn of this event until decades later. During this pe-
  riod, Orion starships began to disappear from their 
  enclave and take up piracy as a vocation. 
   
  The wars with the Kzintis and Klingons led to sev-
  eral important changes within the Federation. Star 
  Fleet formed its own Marine Corps, prime teams (a 
  trouble-shooting unit of commandoes, scientists, and 
  diplomats), and the National Guard (a formal com-
  mand structure for the nearly forgotten vestiges of 
  member planet military forces). 
   
  Adventures in this era could focus on the first 
  interactions with the Tholians, Kzintis, and Klingons. 
  Much could be made of a UFP-Klingon campaign, with 
  mutual cooperation marred by growing competition 
  and mistrust. Hunting (or roleplaying) Orion pirates 
  becomes a favorite activity for adventurers. During this 
  period, the high technology planet Cygnus changed 
  from being a Kzinti slave world to a Federation mem-
  ber (due to the border declaration). 
   
  The adventurer in this era will find his equipment 
  lighter and more efficient, and his monocorder has be-
  come a bicorder able to collect and interpret two dif-
  ferent types of data at the same time. Starships are 
  fully capable of tactical warp combat, with improved 
  tractor beams and reliable transporters. The first ma-
  ture replicator designs are able to transmute elements, 
  rather than simply reprocess feedstocks. Powerful 
  subspace transmitters allow admirals to interfere in the 
  daily lives of starship captains, and allow adventurers 
  to gather news of opportunities on distant planets. 
   
   
   
   
  Klingon D5 
   
  The Main Era (Y120-Y179, Tech Level 12) 
   
  The Main Era is the default setting for GURPS 
  Prime Directive, and most equipment descriptions in 
  this book are set to it. This is also the time that will be 
  most familiar to players familiar with the earliest televi-
  sion series (Y156-Y159). The Main Era is a time of 
  Federation expansion, exploration, and conflict, and 
  ends during the gigantic General War (Y168-Y185) 
  that affected nearly every political entity in known 
  space. In some sources, the period from Y120-Y150 is 
  known as ”The Middle Years.” 
   
  The Main Era was a time, paradoxically, of both 
  territorial solidification and expansion for the Federa-
  tion. Like its neighbors, it began building a network of 
  huge starbases and smaller border stations. As the 
  UFP had no hostile neighbors in the coreward direc-
  tion, it began a massive program of exploration in that 
  region in Y125. Furthermore, although most of the mil-
  lions of stars within the territorial borders of the UFP 
  had been surveyed, only a handful had received de-
  tailed exploration and study. Thus the UFP also began 
  more intense efforts to map out its own “internal” terri-
  tories. Inconclusive wars were fought with the Kzintis 
  (Y136-Y142), Romulans (Y154-Y155), and Klingons 
  (Y156). The war with the Klingons ended when the 
  godlike Organians stopped a major fleet battle near 
  their planet and brokered a treaty covering the entire 
  Neutral Zone. This was followed by a Klingon-
  Romulan alliance, which brought the Romulans at a 
  stroke from TL9 (where Gorn commandoes had left 
  them) to the TL12 enjoyed by the rest of the galaxy. 
  Faced with this situation, the Federation formed alli-
  ances with the Gorns and their previous rivals, the 
  Kzintis. These interlocking alliances ensured that the 
  next Lyran-Kzinti border skirmish would explode into 
  the General War, covering the entire Alpha Octant. 
  This war lasted beyond the Main Era, ending in stale-
  mate, exhaustion, and ruin in Y185. 
   
  Almost unnoticed during the General War were 
  two events of future import, the first scouts from the 
  Andromedan invasion, and the first efforts by the Inter-
  Stellar Concordium to build a fleet that could enforce 
  neutrality and later peace. 
   
   
  Federation Heavy Battlecruiser 
   
   
  Adventures in the Main Era can be of any type 
  imaginable to anyone familiar with any form of Trek. 
  There is room for exploration and first contacts, mer-
  chant adventure, espionage, and warfare. Prime 
  teams come into their own at this time, and are used in 
  a variety of functions. Adventurers have access to any 
  kind of technology described in this book (including 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Introduction 
  Page 21 
   
  tricorders able to read and interpret multiple spectra at 
  once) and their starships have reached the pinnacle of 
  the television and movie presentations. 
   
   
   
  Romulan X-Ship, the FireHawk-X 
   
  The X-Technology Era (Y180+, Tech Level 13) 
   
  Much as nuclear weapons were developed in 
  Earth’s Second World War but properly belong to its 
  Third, advanced “X-technology” appeared in the last 
  years of the General War, but properly belongs to the 
  subsequent Andromedan War. While there were rela-
  tively few X-ships during these years, they were al-
  ways present in the most decisive battles. The final 
  years of the General War were more bloody and de-
  structive than ever before; even full-sized starships 
  could be destroyed by one volley from the massive 
  fleets deployed in those years. The idealistic and 
  somewhat idiosyncratic ISC became peacekeepers 
  under an Organian-brokered treaty. 
   
  The ISC’s high-handedness and alien standards of 
  justice would doubtless have provoked a serious reac-
  tion against them, had not the Milky Way Galaxy suf-
  fered an invasion from the more technologically ad-
  vanced Andromedans, which began in Y188. All of the 
  empires scrambled for survival until a chance event 
  exposed the secret of Andromedan technology, the 
  Rapid Transport Network. Andromedan ships were 
  slower in strategic speed than Galactic ships, but by 
  using their RTN could move several times as fast, al-
  lowing them to redeploy their relatively small forces to 
  strike targets of opportunity. Once the RTN was dis-
  covered and the empires learned to detect it, they 
  were able to destroy the Andromedan bases and with 
  it, the RTN. 
   
  The Federation, once more united with the 
  Klingons (and other empires), became an extra-
  galactic power during Operation Unity, sending ships 
  to the Lesser Magellanic Cloud to destroy the terminus 
  of the Andromedan link to their home galaxy. With that 
  victory (which shut down the Andromedan invasion 
  route), the Federation and other empires became 
  aware of (and able to reach) much larger areas of the 
  galaxy, including the Omega Sector, Sigma Sector, 
  Sargasso Sector, Magellanic Clouds, and the fear-
  some Xorkaelian Empire. 
   
  Adventurers in this period can explore the wreck-
  age of worlds devastated by war, and no end of float-
  ing hulks that were once proud ships of the line. Trade 
  links resume, as does the need (and opportunity) to 
  explore new worlds and find new resources. All of the 
  equipment of prior eras has now reached its techno-
  logical peak (for example, the quadricorder). No end of 
  leftover General War gunboats (now converted into 
  small starships able to carry a crew of 10 comfortably 
  on long journeys) are available cheap to those who are 
  willing to find the resources demanded by the hungry 
  markets of the post-war galaxy. 
   
  SOME MYSTERIES OF THE 
  SFU 
   
   
  There are many mysteries of the Star Fleet Uni-
  verse that have been left undefined. There are no “of-
  ficial” answers to the following questions, but enter-
  prising Game Masters might want to take a stab at 
  handling them in their own campaigns. Indeed, solving 
  one of these mysteries might be the focus of an entire 
  campaign. 
   
  Why Is Everybody Always Fighting All the Time? 
   
  If there is any constant in the Star Fleet Universe, 
  it is that of war. At any given point in the 200+ years of 
  SFU history, there is usually a border skirmish or out-
  right war going on between at least two powers. This 
  may be because all of the starfaring species (including 
  humans) are descended from predators, but it is more 
  likely a contest over control of potential resources (the 
  cause of most wars on Earth). It should also be noted 
  that any given border is quiet at least three or four 
  times as often as there is a war in progress, and be-
  fore the General War there was a booming industry of 
  Federation tourists visiting Klingon worlds. 
   
  Why Are Psychic Abilities So Rare? 
   
  Of all the member species of the UFP, only the 
  Vulcans display psychic abilities as a species trait. In-
  dividual psychics are found among most species with 
  varying degrees of frequency. Certainly, the inhabit-
  ants of the Star Fleet Universe regard this as “the 
  way it is” and do not find it any great mystery at all. But 
  perhaps you do? Is there some force, some entity, or 
  some genetic quirk that is restricting the latent psychic 
  abilities of all species? Or did some long-forgotten be-
  ings give the Vulcans a unique gift? 
   
  Why Is Romulan and Gorn Space So Empty? 
   
  The Romulan Star Empire occupies an area of 
  space that stretches for thousands of parsecs to the 
  galactic rim, and the Gorns occupy a somewhat 
  smaller area toward the galactic center. While there 
  are many Class-M planets in that area, there are no 
  known intelligent species there, despite the fact that 
  the neighboring Federation and ISC are populous 
  powers with many sentient species who became star-
  faring species independently. Could the claims of 
  crackpot of conspiracy theorists that the Romulans 
  
  Page 22  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Introduction 
  (and Gorns) engage in systematic genocide have any 
  truth to them? (GURPS Romulans has surprising new 
  information on this mystery.) 
   
  Who Built the Planet Killers? 
   
  At several times in history, the empires have en-
  countered cone-shaped planet destroyers and huge 
  starships known as Juggernauts. Who constructed 
  these monstrosities, and why? Was it the same em-
  pire, or two different empires? If it were two empires, 
  did they fight each other, or did they never even meet? 
  Are the planet killers advance probes from an inva-
  sion, or hellish leftovers from some now-extinct spe-
  cies that fought a now-forgotten war? And why would 
  any empire create such a destructive weapon? What 
  threat did they fear that was worse than these 
  weapons? 
   
  Where Did the Disappearing Planets Go? 
   
  There are numerous cases of lost colonies. Some 
  examples include Aberdeen III (a Federation colony 
  that disappeared in Y105), Aurora (an entire Federa-
  tion star system that disappeared in Y130), Stuplich’s 
  Ark (a chain of colonies planned by an explorer named 
  Stuplich, the last of which were never located), the ISC 
  mining colony of PX13, and the Klingon penal colony 
  at Kraknora. Where did they go? Are any other colo-
  nies missing? 
   
  Did the Tholians, the only species known to have 
  moved a planet, have anything to do with it? 
   
  For that matter, the Carnivons are thought to be 
  extinct, but did any of their colonies survive in the far-
  flung reaches of space? While the Paravians were 
  known to have never planted colonies and to have be-
  come extinct when their homeworld was destroyed, did 
  any of their raiders avoid the Gorn blockade and found 
  new colonies in distant realms? 
   
  Some of these answers will be in a future book but 
  GMs need not wait for those answers and can develop 
  their own. 
   
  Where’s the Transhumanist Future? 
   
  The Star Fleet Universe appears somewhat 
  “retro” given current trends in science fiction. Where is 
  the largescale genetic manipulation? Where are the 
  nano-machines? How about the sapient computers 
  and robots? They simply do not exist to any extent 
  beyond artificial limbs and organs. The inhabitants of 
  the Star Fleet Universe do not find this to be a mys-
  tery, but just the way things turned out. Genetic ma-
  nipulation was found to cause more problems than 
  advantages, nano-machines never really worked out, 
  and “intelligent computers”, contrary to expectations, 
  simply didn’t work very well. But is there some force at 
  work? Or is there some distant planet where these 
  things did work? 
   
  Where Are the Precursors? 
   
  The Leopard Kings, Spirit Kings, Old Kings, and 
  Lizard Kings are just the best-known of the beings that 
  ran the Milky Way before the rise of the Federation. 
  They all left, to parts unknown, for reasons unknown. 
  Where are they now, and are they likely to return? Is 
  there any way to contact them? Would anybody really 
  want to? 
   
  Why the Convergent Technological Evolution? 
   
  Most of the powers of the Star Fleet Universe 
  attained similar levels of technological development at 
  roughly the same time. No empire made any signifi-
  cant advance without other empires copying it within a 
  few years. This seems very convenient to conspiracy 
  buffs, although industrial and intelligence analysts find 
  it unremarkable. They note that spies, combat reports, 
  and good old-fashioned research can ensure that one 
  empire copies any new technology before the origi-
  nally discovering empire can deploy enough of it to 
  gain a decisive advantage in war or trade. This creates 
  no end of opportunities for adventurers to steal alien 
  technology, or discover the secret conspiracies behind 
  the overall question. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Federation Plasma Dreadnought 
   
   
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Page 23 
   
   
   
   
  Creating a character is the first part of the game, 
  and one of the most important. The whole idea of 
  roleplaying is to take the part of another person – a 
  “character” that you create. GURPS lets you decide 
  exactly what kind of hero you will become. 
   
  The usual way to create a character is to design 
  him or her, just as though he were a character in a 
  story you were writing. Start by deciding what type of 
  person you want to be. You can take your inspiration 
  from a fictional hero or heroine – or create your new 
  “self” from the ground up. Once you have some idea 
  what sort of person you want to play, it’s time to bring 
  him to life! 
   
  A “character story” is the history of a game charac-
  ter, written by the person who plays that character. 
  This is a great aid to roleplaying. You may even want 
  to write the story first (or at least some of it), and then 
  work out your character’s actual stats. A story can re-
  ally help bring your character to life. You don’t have to 
  do it – but it’s recommended. If you write the story 
  down, you should show it to the Game Master, but not 
  necessarily to the other players. After all, your char-
  acter probably has some secrets, even from his 
  friends. 
   
  The following sections describe things you can 
  spend your character points on. Positive traits (e.g., 
  great strength, wealth, better than average appear-
  ance, skills) cost points in proportion to their value. 
  Negative traits (e.g., weakness, bad sight, poverty, 
  fear of heights) give you extra points that can be used 
  to buy more positive traits. 
   
  In a standard GURPS Prime Directive campaign, 
  each player receives 125 character points to be spent 
  on designing and building the character. GMs may set 
  the tone of the campaign differently by selecting a dif-
  ferent number of starting character points, but this 
  should be approached with caution.  
   
  Campaign Tone  
  Points 
   
  Cadet ...................... 75 
   
  Green   ................... 100 
   
  Standard  ................ 125 
   
  Veteran ................... 150 
   
  Elite ........................ 175 
   
  Heroic ..................... 200+ 
   
  Normally, all player characters in a given campaign 
  are given the same number of points to spend. There 
  could be exceptions to this in some cases (if the GM 
  agrees), to preserve logical consistency. A starship 
  captain would, probably, have more points than most 
  of his officers. 
   
  To get into the game quickly, you could use the 
  sample characters found on pp. 357-359 of this book. 
   
  ADVENTURE PARTY FORMATS 
   
  You have gotten together a group of players and 
  are ready to begin adventuring in the Star Fleet Uni-
  verse. You dream of rescuing attractive people, 
  fighting the Klingons, finding ancient civilizations, and 
  maybe grabbing some loot (or at least a good time) 
  along the way. Just how do you organize your team 
  (group, party, or whatever)? Just who are you? 
   
  Well, in case it hasn’t been mentioned, you can be 
  anyone or anything you want to be. Here are a few 
  suggestions; feel free to ignore or modify them. It 
  should be noted that in rare cases one or more char-
  acters might have more points than the baseline for 
  your campaign. While these are written for Federation 
  characters, they can be easily adapted to any species 
  or empire. Future books will include more suggestions 
  for party creation and campaign frames to fit a variety 
  of backgrounds and power levels. 
   
   
  
  Page 26  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
   
   
   
  The Bridge Crew: Officers on Call 
   
  You are the officers of a starship, including the 
  captain, the first officer, the department heads (engi-
  neering, science, medical, marines, navigation), and 
  perhaps a visiting civilian expert. Your missions in-
  clude space combat, scientific exploration, a little di-
  plomacy and bar hopping, and so forth. Fussy realists 
  will complain that the bridge crew of a starship just 
  doesn’t do a lot of planetside adventuring, but they are 
  only angry that you are hogging all the fun for your-
  selves. Your ship has a few hundred people on board, 
  so you can usually borrow an NPC expert for any mis-
  sion, and there are tons of equipment so you can load 
  up with whatever today’s adventure requires. In this 
  case, somebody will need to be the captain (perhaps 
  with an extra 25 points of skills related to space com-
  bat and command) and the first officer (perhaps an 
  extra 15 points), while everyone else will have to buy 
  at least some skills related to their real job (e.g., medi-
  cal, engineering, etc.). Having to pay for these ship-
  board skills may make your characters harder to play 
  in a planetside adventure, but then you have a starship 
  load of help not far away. You are all military person-
  nel, and you won’t have to pay for fuel and upkeep for 
  your ship (although your GM may limit how much of 
  either you can have). 
   
  A variation of this is that you are a group of junior 
  officers or senior petty officers on a starship whom the 
  captain often calls upon to go run errands or attend to 
  special missions. And while on a mission, things might 
  turn up that you need (or want) to look into. The group 
  in the story “Rescue on Roon” fits this category. The 
  players and GM might or might not agree that one 
  character will get a few extra points and be one rank 
  higher than the others. 
   
  Special Assignment: Ready for Anything 
   
  You are a group of Star Fleet officers and senior 
  petty officers on a continuing special assignment doing 
  “odd jobs” for the Federation. (One or more characters 
  might be Federation marshals – civilian law enforce-
  ment officers empowered to investigate crimes. One or 
  more could be a civilian specialist.) You have a small 
  ship; you might be the entire crew, or there might be a 
  small number of NPCs who handle things like cooking 
  and laundry and actually driving the spaceship around. 
  While you are your own boss, you do keep getting as-
  signments from Fleet HQ. Your group could focus on 
  missions of its liking (science, diplomacy, commando, 
  espionage, etc.) or seek a wider variety of possible 
  missions. 
   
  A variant of this concept is that you are all “retired” 
  or “reserve” military personnel who own the ship and 
  make a living out of odd jobs (transportation, profit-
  making adventures). You do receive occasional con-
  tracts from Star Fleet HQ or a Federation planet to do 
  special jobs for them, and they will pay to get the jobs 
  done right and on time. You need to avoid actually 
  committing a felony on a Federation planet or your 
  contracts won’t be renewed. (At least, don’t get 
  caught.)  
   
   
   
  Prime Team: The Best of the Best 
   
  You are the elite of Star Fleet, a prime team, a 
  small band of multi-tasking experts who are the best 
  that the Federation can send on various special mis-
  sions. A prime team [see p. 301] is a combination of a 
  commando team, gang of spies, diplomatic negotiating 
  group, scientific exploration party, hostage rescue 
  squad, and special missions force. Members of a 
  prime team are 175-point characters with a wide vari-
  ety of skills; they draw the toughest jobs. As you are 
  military personnel, you don’t pay for transportation 
  (and prime teams don’t have to ask for high speed 
  travel) and you are issued all of the equipment you 
  need. Some prime teams are assigned to key star-
  ships (which often leave them on one planet to solve 
  one problem while the ship goes to another planet to 
  solve another problem), others have their own (small) 
  ship to carry them from job to job, and others hitch a 
  ride with whatever starship is going in the general di-
  rection of their next assignment. Some prime teams 
  specialize in certain areas, but all are expected to be 
  ready for any kind of mission. 
   
  Fighter Pilots: Wild Dogfights, Wild Parties 
   
  In the Star Fleet Universe, the key starships of a 
  fleet are the carriers, loaded with specially built shut-
  tlecraft that function as fighters. Your group is as 
  rowdy a bunch of fighter jockeys as you have ever 
  seen, as likely to get into a bar fight as a dogfight, and 
  as likely to sneak off and try to find a little fun (or a few 
  souvenirs) as they are to fly off and attack a Klingon 
  dreadnought. You can easily use Star Fleet Battles to  
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Page 27 
   
  portray your fighter combat missions. (See Chapter 8.) 
  As pilot characters are still limited to the standard 
  number of points for your campaign, the points spent 
  for pilot skills won’t be available for planetside skills (or 
  just don’t count these points). Otherwise you function 
  as a group of officers on a starship. Just remember the 
  three things every pilot needs when entering a dive: 
  mirrored sunglasses, an expensive watch, and lots of 
  cash. 
   
  Freelancers: Have Phaser, Will Travel 
   
  You are civilians, perhaps with a military back-
  ground but probably not currently members of the mil-
  itary; others might have a scientific, criminal, business, 
  or other background. Your group might own a ship or 
  buy passage on other ships. You are looking for profit, 
  adventure, and high-risk work. You might be described 
  as mercenaries or freebooters. The government, the 
  military, or even the Galactic Intelligence Agency might 
  hire you now and then for something, but mostly you 
  are on your own. (The less attention you pay to the 
  law, the less likely you will get government contracts. 
  You can always turn down an offered contract, unless 
  the government “has something on you” and can force 
  you to agree.) 
   
  In this kind of group, you might want to buy disad-
  vantages like “warrant for your arrest” on some Feder-
  ation planet. This would be handled as the disad-
  vantage “Enemy (UFP law enforcement, 6 or less)” 
  worth -10 points. A minor “wanted for questioning” type 
  of Enemy might be worth -5 points. Your past can then 
  come back to haunt you during any adventure, per-
  haps requiring you to spend time in jail while some 
  distant government decides whether or not they want 
  to extradite you (probably not) or a shorter time in po-
  lice custody giving yet another version of the state-
  ment you have given on two or three other planets. 
  Your friends might even have to break, bribe, or bail 
  you out of the hoosegow, or perhaps the government 
  will offer you a dangerous contract that will clear your 
  record. 
   
  One or more characters could have been cash-
  iered (i.e., thrown out of the military for some offense). 
  This is handled as “Reputation -2 (Dishonorably dis-
  charged; only to the military, 10 or less) [-2].” A civilian 
  scientist might have a similar disadvantage, having 
  once had his tenure revoked, or having been fired from 
  a job, for faking research data, making other scientists 
  less likely to listen when you discover something new. 
   
  This type of group could focus on exploration, lar-
  ceny, missionary or humanitarian work, archaeology, 
  investigative journalism, smuggling, or anything else 
  that suits your fancy. And of course, that might be just 
  a cover story for your real mission (which even the GM 
  might not know). 
   
  Other Parties and Times 
   
  The above is obviously not a complete list. A cam-
  paign can be anything that keeps the players inter-
  ested. If you think of something not on this list, tell us 
  and, if we like the idea, we will print it in a future prod-
  uct. 
   
  The Star Fleet Universe includes a Timeline (p. 
  313). You are free to set your campaign at any point in 
  the Timeline (or to ignore the Timeline entirely and 
  write your own history to suit your campaign). This 
  book assumes the period just before the General War 
  for most cases. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
  Page 26  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  CHARACTER CREATION 
   
  BASIC ATTRIBUTES 
   
   
  Four numbers called “attributes” define your basic 
  abilities: Strength (ST), Dexterity (DX), Intelligence 
  (IQ), and Health (HT).  
   
  A score of 10 in any attribute is free, and repre-
  sents the human average. Higher scores cost points: 
  10 points to raise ST or HT by one level, 20 points to 
  raise DX or IQ by one level. Similarly, scores lower 
  than 10 have a negative cost: -10 points per level for 
  ST or HT, -20 points for DX or IQ. (Remember – nega-
  tive point values mean you get those points back to 
  spend on something else.) 
   
  Strength (ST) 
  ±10 points/level 
   
  Strength measures physical power and bulk. High 
  ST lets you dish out and absorb more damage in 
  hand-to-hand combat. Any adventurer will find ST 
  useful for lifting and throwing things, moving quickly 
  with a load, etc. ST directly determines Basic Lift, 
  basic damage, and Hit Points, and affects your char-
  acter’s Build. 
   
  Lifting capacity is proportional to the square of ST. 
   
  Dexterity (DX) 
  ±20 points/level 
   
  Dexterity measures a combination of agility, 
  coordination, and fine motor ability. It controls your 
  basic ability at most athletic, fighting, and vehicle-
  operation skills, and at craft skills that call for a deli-
  cate touch. DX also helps determine Basic Speed (a 
  measure of reaction time) and Basic Move (how fast 
  you run). 
   
  Intelligence (IQ) 
  ±20 points/level 
   
  Intelligence broadly measures brainpower, includ-
  ing creativity, intuition, memory, perception, reason, 
  sanity, and willpower. It rules your basic ability with all 
  “mental” skills – sciences, social interaction, etc. Any 
  scientist needs a high IQ first of all. The secondary 
  characteristics of Will and Perception are based on IQ. 
   
  Health (HT) 
  ±10 points/level 
   
  Health measures energy and vitality. It represents 
  stamina, resistance (to poison, disease, radiation, 
  etc.), and basic “grit.” HT determines Fatigue Points, 
  and helps determine Basic Speed and Basic Move. 
   
   
  SECONDARY CHARACTERISTICS 
   
   
  “Secondary characteristics” are quantities that de-
  pend directly on your attributes. You can raise or lower 
  these scores by adjusting your attributes. You can 
  modify some of them directly: start with the value cal-
  culated from your attributes and spend the required 
  points to adjust it away from that base level. This does 
  not affect the related attribute scores. 
   
  Damage (Dmg) 
   
  Your ST determines how much damage you do in 
  unarmed combat or with a melee weapon. Two types 
  of damage derive from ST: 
   
   
  Thrusting damage (abbreviated “thrust” or “thr”) is 
  your basic damage with a punch, kick, or bite, or an 
  attack with a thrusting weapon such as a spear or a 
  rapier. 
   
  Swinging damage (abbreviated “swing” or “sw”) is 
  your basic damage with a swung weapon, such as an 
  axe, club, or sword – anything that acts as a lever to 
  multiply your ST. 
   
   
  Consult the Damage Table for your basic damage. 
  This is given in dice+adds format. Note that specific 
  attack forms and weapons can modify this! 
   
  Damage is often abbreviated “Dmg.” On your 
  character sheet, list thrust followed by swing, sepa-
  rated by a slash; e.g., if you had ST 13, you would list 
  “Dmg 1d/2d-1.” 
   
  Damage Table 
  ST 
  Thrust 
  Swing 
  1 
  1d-6 
  1d-5 
  2 
  1d-6 
  1d-5 
  3 
  1d-5 
  1d-4 
  4 
  1d-5 
  1d-4 
  5 
  1d-4 
  1d-3 
  6 
  1d-4 
  1d-3 
  7 
  1d-3 
  1d-2 
  8 
  1d-3 
  1d-2 
  9 
  1d-2 
  1d-1 
  10 
  1d-2 
  1d 
  11 
  1d-1 
  1d+1 
  12 
  1d-1 
  1d+2 
  13 
  1d 
  2d-1 
  14 
  1d 
  2d  
  15 
  1d+1 
  2d+1 
  16 
  1d+1 
  2d+2 
  17 
  1d+2 
  3d-1 
  18 
  1d+2 
  3d  
  19 
  2d-1 
  3d+1 
  20 
  2d-1 
  3d+2 
   
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Page 27 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Basic Lift (BL) 
   
  Basic Lift is the maximum weight you can lift over 
  your head with one hand in one second. It is equal to 
  (ST×ST)/5 lbs. If BL is 10 lbs. or more, round to the 
  nearest whole number; e.g., 16.2 lbs. becomes 16 lbs.  
   
  Doubling the time lets you lift 2×BL overhead in 
  one hand. Quadrupling the time, and using two hands, 
  you can lift 8×BL overhead. 
   
  The amount of equipment you can carry – armor, 
  backpacks, weapons, etc. – is derived from BL. For 
  more on this, as well as a ST-to-BL table, see Encum-
  brance and Move. 
   
   
   
  Hit Points (HP) 
  ±2 points per ±1 HP 
   
  Hit Points represent your body’s ability to sustain 
  injury. By default, you have HP equal to your ST. For 
  instance, ST10 gives 10 HP. 
   
  You can increase HP at the cost of 2 points per 
  HP, or reduce HP for -2 points per HP. The GM should 
  not allow HP to vary by more than ±30% of ST; e.g. a 
  ST 10 character could have between 7 and 13 HP. 
  Certain species may not be subject to this limit. 
   
  You can temporarily lose HP to physical attacks, 
  energy attacks, disease, poison, hazards, and any-
  thing else that can injure or kill. You can also “burn” 
  HP to power certain abilities. If you lose enough HP, 
  you will eventually fall unconscious; if you lose too 
  many HP, you will die. Lost HP do not reduce ST, de-
  spite being based on ST. 
   
  Injury is often compared to a multiple of your HP; 
  e.g., “2×HP” or “HP/2.” Where this is the case, use 
  your basic HP score in the formula, not your current 
  HP total.  
   
  For information on the effects of injury and on re-
  covering lost HP, see p. 223. 
   
  Those with nonhuman physiologies may, with the 
  GM’s permission, buy additional HP with the following 
  limitation. 
   
  Special Limitations 
   
  Size: Large creatures may purchase HP more 
  cheaply. -10% × Size Modifier, to a maximum limita-
  tion of -80% (for Size Modifier +8 or higher). 
   
  Will 
  ±5 points per ±1 Will 
   
  Will measures your ability to withstand psychologi-
  cal stress (brainwashing, fear, hypnotism, interroga-
  tion, seduction, torture, etc.) and your resistance to 
  psionic attacks. By default, Will is equal to IQ. You can 
  increase it at the cost of 5 points per +1, or reduce it 
  for -5 points per -1. You cannot raise Will past 20, or 
  lower it by more than 4, without GM permission. 
   
  Note that Will does not represent physical re-
  sistance – buy HT for that! 
   
  Perception (Per) 
  ±5 points per ±1 Per 
   
  Perception represents your general alertness. The 
  GM makes a “Sense roll” against your Per to deter-
  mine whether you notice something (see Sense Rolls, 
  p. 195). By default, Per equals IQ, but you can in-
  crease it for 5 points per +1, or reduce it for -5 points 
  per -1. You cannot raise Per past 20, or lower it by 
  more than 4, without GM permission. 
   
  Fatigue Points (FP) 
  ±3 points per ±1 FP 
   
  Fatigue Points represent your body’s “energy sup-
  ply.” By default, you have FP equal to your HT. For in-
  stance, HT10 give 10 FP. 
   
  You can increase FP at the cost of 3 points per 
  FP, or reduce FP for -3 points per FP. The GM should 
  not allow FP to vary by more than ±30% of HT; e.g., a 
  HT 10 character could have between 7 and 13 FP. 
  Certain species may not be subject to this limit. Also, 
  Handedness 
   
  Decide whether you are right-handed 
  or left-handed. Whenever you try to do 
  anything significant with the other hand, 
  you are at -4 to skill. This does not apply to 
  things you normally do with your “off” 
  hand, like using a shield. 
   
  GURPS assumes you are right-handed 
  unless you decide otherwise or buy 
  Ambidexterity. If you choose to be left-
  handed, any combat result that would 
  damage your right hand affects your left 
  instead, and vice versa. Left-handedness is 
  a feature worth 0 points. 
  
  Page 28  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  while HT is usually limited to 20, there is no such limit 
  on FP. 
   
  You burn FP gradually during strenuous activity. 
  Disease, heat, hunger, missed sleep, and the like can 
  also sap FP. You can deliberately “spend” FP to fuel 
  extra effort and psionic powers. As well, some attacks 
  cause FP damage instead of or in addition to HP dam-
  age. If you lose enough FP, you will slow down or fall 
  unconscious – and if you lose too many, you risk death 
  from overexertion! Lost FP do not reduce HT, despite 
  being based on HT. 
   
  Fatigue is often compared to some multiple of your 
  FP; e.g., “2×FP” or “FP/2.” Where this is the case, use 
  your basic FP score in the formula, not your current 
  FP total. 
   
  Basic Speed 
  ±5 points per ±0.25 Speed 
   
  Your Basic Speed is a measure of your reflexes 
  and general physical quickness. It helps determine 
  your running speed (see Basic Move, below), your 
  chance of dodging an attack, and the order in which 
  you act in combat (a high Basic Speed will let you “out-
  react” your foes). 
   
  To calculate Basic Speed, add your HT and DX 
  together, and then divide the total by 4. Do not round it 
  off. A 5.25 is better than a 5! 
   
  You can increase Basic Speed for 5 points per 
  +0.25, or reduce it for -5 points per -0.25. The GM 
  should not allow characters to alter Basic Speed by 
  more than 2.00 either way. Certain species may not be 
  subject to this limit. 
   
   
  Dodge: Your Dodge defense (see Dodging, p. 
  212) equals Basic Speed +3, dropping all fractions. 
  For instance, if your Basic Speed is 5.25, your Dodge 
  is 8. Encumbrance reduces Dodge; see Encumbrance 
  and Move. You must roll under your Dodge on 3d to 
  duck or sidestep an attack. 
   
  Basic Move 
  ±5 points per ±1 yard/second 
   
  Your Basic Move is your ground speed in yards 
  per second. This is how fast you can run – or roll, 
  slither, etc. – without encumbrance (although you can 
  go a little faster if you “sprint” in a straight line; see p. 
  192).  
   
  Basic Move starts out equal to Basic Speed, less 
  any fractions; e.g., Basic Speed 5.75 gives Basic 
  Move 5. An average person has Basic Move 5; there-
  fore, he can run about 5 yards per second if unencum-
  bered. 
   
  You can increase Basic Move for 5 points per 
  yard/second. For normal humans, training or a sleek 
  build can justify up to 3 yars/second of increased Basic 
  Move, while disability or poor fitness can explain up to 
  3 yards/second of reduced Basic Move. Certain spe-
  cies may not be subject to this limit. Species who can 
  move very fast should see Enhanced Move (p. 89).  
   
  Your Move score in combat is your Basic Move 
  modified for your encumbrance level; see Encum-
  brance and Move (following). 
   
  Encumbrance and Move 
   
  “Encumbrance” is a measure of the total weight 
  you are carrying, relative to your ST. The effects of 
  encumbrance are divided into five “encumbrance lev-
  els.” All but the lowest level will reduce your actual 
  Move to a fraction of your Basic Move and give a pen-
  alty to Dodge, as follows: 
   
   
  No Encumbrance (0): Weight up to Basic Lift. 
  Move = Basic Move. Full Dodge. 
   
  Light Encumbrance (1): Weight up to 2×BL. Move 
  = Basic Move × 0.8. Dodge -1. 
   
  Medium Encumbrance (2): Weight up to 3×BL. 
  Move = Basic Move × 0.6. Dodge -2. 
   
  Heavy Encumbrance (3): Weight up to 6×BL. 
  Move = Basic Move × 0.4. Dodge -3. 
   
  Extra-Heavy Encumbrance (4): Weight up to 
  10×BL. Move = Basic Move × 0.2. Dodge -4. 
   
   
  Drop all fractions. Encumbrance can never reduce 
  Move or Dodge below 1.  
   
  Note that these levels are numbered from 0 to 4. 
  When a rule tells you to add or subtract your encum-
  brance level from a die roll, this is the number to use. 
  For instance, encumbrance gives a penalty to Climb-
  ing, Stealth, and Swimming skills. 
   
  Home Gravity 
   
  Gravity is measured in “Gs.” The gravity of your 
  homeworld is specified in the Species Profile for all 
  species. Note the gravity of your homeworld if it differs 
  from 1G; e.g., “1.2G” for a world with 1.2 times Earth’s 
  gravity. All weights are multiplied by local gravity, so to 
  function like someone with a given BL on Earth, multi-
  ply the desired BL by your home gravity and buy the 
  ST corresponding to the adjusted BL. For instance, to 
  operate in 1.2G as if you were a ST 10 person in 1G, 
  start with BL for ST 10, which is 20 lbs., and multiply 
  by 1.2 for gravity to get a BL of 24 lbs. This BL corre-
  sponds to ST 11, so you’d need ST 11 in 1.2G to func-
  tion as well as a ST 10 person in 1G. 
   
  Move in Other Environments 
   
  Water: Move is normally Basic Move/5, rounded 
  down. You can increase water Move directly for 5 
  points per yard/second, or reduce it for -5 points per 
  yard/second. Members of land-dwelling species must 
  have Swimming skill to increase water Move, and can-
  not buy more than +2 yards/second. If you’re  Am-
  phibious (p. 84), both water and ground Move equal 
  Basic Move, and changes to Basic Move adjust both 
  scores. If you’re Aquatic (p. 133), water move equals 
  Basic Move and ground Move is 0. 
   
  Air: Move is 0 without special advantages. If you 
  have Flight (p. 91), air Move equals Basic Speed × 2 
  (not Basic Move × 2). You can increase air Move 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Page 29 
   
  directly for 2 points per yard/second, or reduce it for -2 
  points per yard/second. 
   
  Basic Lift and Encumbrance Table 
   
  This table summarizes Basic Lift and Encum-
  brance levels for ST 1-20. 
   
  ST 
  BL 
  ------- Encumbrance Levels (lbs.) ------- 
   
  (lbs.) 
   
  None 
  (0) 
  Light 
  (1) 
  Medium 
  (2) 
  Heavy 
  (3) 
  Extra-
  Heavy 
  (4) 
  1 
  0.2 
  0.2 
  0.4 
  0.6 
  1.2 
  2 
  2 
  0.8 
  0.8 
  1.6 
  2.4 
  4.8 
  8 
  3 
  1.8 
  1.8 
  3.6 
  5.4 
  10.8 
  18 
  4 
  3.2 
  3.2 
  6.4 
  9.6 
  19.2 
  32 
  5 
  5 
  5 
  10 
  15 
  30 
  50 
  6 
  7.2 
  7.2 
  14.4 
  21.6 
  43.2 
  72 
  7 
  9.8 
  9.8 
  19.6 
  29.4 
  58.8 
  98 
  8 
  13 
  13 
  26 
  39 
  78 
  130 
  9 
  16 
  16 
  32 
  48 
  96 
  160 
  10 
  20 
  20 
  40 
  60 
  120 
  200 
  11 
  24 
  24 
  48 
  72 
  144 
  240 
  12 
  29 
  29 
  58 
  87 
  174 
  290 
  13 
  34 
  34 
  68 
  102 
  204 
  340 
  14 
  39 
  39 
  78 
  117 
  234 
  390 
  15 
  45 
  45 
  90 
  135 
  270 
  450 
  16 
  51 
  51 
  102 
  153 
  306 
  510 
  17 
  58 
  58 
  116 
  174 
  348 
  580 
  18 
  65 
  65 
  130 
  195 
  390 
  650 
  19 
  72 
  72 
  144 
  216 
  432 
  720 
  20 
  80 
  80 
  160 
  240 
  480 
  800 
   
  BUILD 
   
  You are free to select any height and weight the 
  GM deems reasonable for a member of your species. 
  These choices do occasionally matter in play – for in-
  stance, when you attempt to impersonate an enemy, 
  wear someone else’s armor, cross a rickety bridge, 
  reach a high ledge, or hide behind cover.  
   
  If you are lighter or heavier than usual for your ST, 
  you may qualify for a build-related disadvantage. The 
  following table gives the thresholds for these disad-
  vantages for normal humans. 
   
  The extremes of each weight range usually match 
  the extremes of the associated height range. Overlaps 
  are intentional. Consider two ST 10 men who stand 
  5’8” and weigh 175 lbs.: one might be big-boned and 
  lean, the other fine-boned and chubby. Depending on 
  muscle tone a 160-lb. man could have any ST from 9 
  to 13 and claim “Average” build. 
   
  Regardless of weight, you never have to take a 
  build-related disadvantage. If you want to be ST9, 5’1,” 
  and 250 lbs. with “Average” build, the GM should allow 
  it.  
   
  Build-related disadvantages are described below. 
  In some settings, the GM may require you to take re-
  action modifiers if you select these traits, but this is not 
  automatic. 
  Skinny 
  -5 points 
   
  You have approximately 2/3 the average weight 
  for your ST. This gives you -2 to ST when you resist 
  knockback. You get -2 to Disguise – or to Shadowing, 
  if you are trying to follow someone in a crowd. Your HT 
  may not be above 14. 
   
  Overweight 
  -1 point 
   
  You have approximately 130% the average weight 
  for your ST. You get -1 to Disguise – or to Shadowing, 
  if you are trying to follow someone in a crowd. How-
  ever, your extra fat gives you +1 to Swimming rolls, 
  and +1 to ST when you resist knockback. 
   
  Fat  
  -3 points 
   
  You have approximately 150% the average weight 
  for your ST. You get -2 to Disguise – or to Shadowing, 
  if you are trying to follow someone in a crowd. How-
  ever, your extra fat gives you +3 to Swimming rolls, 
  and +2 to ST when you resist knockback. Your HT 
  may not be above 15. This disqualifies you from at-
  tending Star Fleet Academy. 
   
  Very Fat  
  -5 points 
   
  You have approximately twice the average weight 
  for your ST. You get -3 to Disguise – or to Shadowing, 
  if you are trying to follow someone in a crowd. How-
  ever, the extra fat gives you +5 to Swimming rolls, and 
  +3 to ST when you resist knockback. Your HT may not 
  be above 13. This disqualifies you from attending Star 
  Fleet Academy. 
   
  
  Page 30  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Build Table 
  ST 
  Height 
  Weight Range by Build 
   
  Range 
  Skinny 
  Average 
  Overweight 
  Fat 
  Very Fat 
  6 or less 
  4'4"-5'2" 
  40-80 lbs. 
  60-120 lbs. 
  80-160 lbs. 
  90-180 lbs. 
  120-240 lbs. 
  7 
  4'7"-5'5" 
  50-90 lbs. 
  75-135 lbs. 
  100-175 lbs. 
  115-205 lbs. 
  150-270 lbs. 
  8 
  4'10"-5'8" 
  60-100 lbs. 
  90-150 lbs. 
  120-195 lbs. 
  135-225 lbs. 
  180-300 lbs. 
  9 
  5'1"-5'11" 
  70-110 lbs. 
  105-165 lbs. 
  140-215 lbs. 
  160-250 lbs. 
  210-330 lbs. 
  10 
  5'3"-6'1" 
  80-120 lbs. 
  115-175 lbs. 
  150-230 lbs. 
  175-265 lbs. 
  230-350 lbs. 
  11 
  5'5"-6'3" 
  85-130 lbs. 
  125-195 lbs. 
  165-255 lbs. 
  190-295 lbs. 
  250-390 lbs. 
  12 
  5'8"-6'6" 
  95-150 lbs. 
  140-220 lbs. 
  185-290 lbs. 
  210-330 lbs. 
  280-440 lbs. 
  13 
  5'11"-6'9" 
  105-165 lbs. 
  155-245 lbs. 
  205-320 lbs. 
  235-370 lbs. 
  310-490 lbs. 
  14 or more 
  6'2"-7' 
  115-180 lbs. 
  170-270 lbs. 
  225-355 lbs. 
  255-405 lbs. 
  340-540 lbs. 
   
   
  SIZE MODIFIER (SM) 
   
  Size Modifier rates a person or object’s most 
  significant dimension: length, width, or height. It is a 
  modifier to rolls to hit you in combat and to Vision rolls 
  made to spot you. Thus, it is a bonus for large crea-
  tures, a penalty for small ones. Although large crea-
  tures are easier targets, a positive SM qualifies them 
  to buy ST and HP more cheaply by taking the “Size” 
  limitation.  
   
  Most humans – and humanoids, robots, etc. that 
  can pass for human – have SM 0, and can ignore this 
  rule. Nonhumans use the SM on their species profile. 
  However, your SM may deviate from the average if 
  you are not full-grown, or if you are a genetic dwarf or 
  giant.  
   
  It is neither an advantage nor a disadvantage to 
  have a nonzero SM – the benefits and drawbacks tend 
  to cancel out. The exceptions are genetic dwarfism 
  and gigantism, as these condition affect bodily propor-
  tions (notably relative arm and leg length) and have 
  social ramifications (you stand out in a crowd).  
   
  Dwarfism (-1 SM) 
  -15 points 
   
  You are abnormally short for your species. 
  Regardless of ST, your height falls below the lowest 
  value on the Build Table – under 4’4,” for a human. 
  This gives you Size Modifier -1. Choose your weight 
  from the first line of the Build Table and reduce it by 
  15% 
   
  You have -1 to Basic Move (short legs). In combat, 
  your reach is reduced by 1 yard. This is partly because 
  you have short arms and partly because you must use 
  scaled-down weapons (regardless of your ST, your 
  arms lack the leverage to control full-sized weapons). 
   
  You get -2 to Disguise – or to Shadowing, if you 
  are trying to follow someone in a crowd. In backward 
  settings, the GM may require you to take a Social 
  Stigma if you suffer from Dwarfism. 
   
  A member of any species may be a dwarf. Scale 
  down height by a factor of 0.75 from the species aver-
  age, and modify the species SM by -1. Otherwise, the 
  rules remain the same. 
   
  Size Modifier Table 
  Longest 
  Size 
  Dimension 
  Modifier 
  0.05 yard (1.8") 
  -10 
  0.07 yard (2.5") 
  -9 
  0.1 yard (3.5") 
  -8 
  0.15 yard (5") 
  -7 
  0.2 yard (7") 
  -6 
  0.3 yard (10") 
  -5 
  0.5 yard (18") 
  -4 
  0.7 yard (2') 
  -3 
  1 yard (3') 
  -2 
  1.5 yards (4.5') 
  -1 
  2 yards (6') 
  0 
  3 yards (9') 
  +1 
  5 yards (15') 
  +2 
  7 yards (21') 
  +3 
  10 yards (30') 
  +4 
  15 yards (45') 
  +5 
  20 yards (60') 
  +6 
  30 yards (90') 
  +7 
  50 yards (150') 
  +8 
  70 yards (210') 
  +9 
  100 yards (300') 
  +10 
  150 yards (450') 
  +11 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Page 31 
   
  Gigantism (+1 SM) 
  0 points 
   
  You are abnormally tall for your species. Regard-
  less of ST, your height falls above the highest value on 
  the Build Table – under 7’, for a human. This gives you 
  Size Modifier +1 and +1 to Basic Move (long legs), and 
  qualifies you to buy ST and HT at a discount. Choose 
  your weight from the last line of the Build Table and 
  increase it by 10% 
   
  You get -2 to Disguise – or to Shadowing, if you 
  are trying to follow someone in a crowd. On the other 
  hand, height often provides a bonus to Intimidation 
  skill (see p. 166). In backward settings, the GM may 
  require you to take a Social Stigma if you suffer from 
  Gigantism. 
   
  A member of any species may be a giant. Scale 
  your height up by a factor of 1.25 from the species av-
  erage, and modify the species SM by +1. Otherwise, 
  the rules remain the same. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  AGE AND BEAUTY 
   
  Age and physical appearance play a major role in 
  how others perceive you. Choose carefully! 
   
  AGE 
   
  You are free to pick any age within the usual 
  lifespan for your species. Humans usually fall some-
  where between “young adult” and “old” – 18 to 70 
  years – but fiction is full of heroic youths and sharp 90-
  year-old veterans. 
   
  For nonhumans that don’t age at the same rate as 
  humans, charts are provided to give you age ranges. 
  See more on aging on p. 240. 
   
  The Elderly 
   
  If you age in play, you will have to make HT rolls 
  to avoid attribute loss. See Age and Aging on p. 240. 
   
  If you start at an advanced age, you have no spe-
  cial disadvantages. Not everyone ages well, but he-
  roes are exceptional, and you are free to make elderly 
  characters as fit and as capable as you wish. 
   
  Note that in many societies, the elderly enjoy great 
  respect. Represent this by taking Social Regard (Ven-
  erated) – see p. 102. 
   
   
  PHYSICAL APPEARANCE 
   
  Appearance is mostly as “special effect” – you 
  may choose any physical appearance you like. At 
  minimum, note the color of your skin, hair, and eyes 
  (or other features appropriate to your species: scales, 
  feathers, paint job, etc.). However, certain traits count 
  as advantages or disadvantages. 
   
  Appearance Levels 
   
  Appearance is rated in levels. Most people have 
  “Average” appearance, for 0 points. Good looks give a 
  reaction bonus; this is an advantage and costs points. 
  Unappealing looks give a reaction penalty; this is a 
  disadvantage and gives you back points. These reac-
  tion modifiers only affect those who can see you! 
  Those who cannot see you might have to make a new 
  reaction roll upon first meeting you in person (GM’s 
  option). 
   
  Reaction modifiers due to appearance only affect 
  members of your own species, a very similar species, 
  or a dissimilar species that finds your species attrac-
  tive (for whatever reason). In all cases, the GM’s word 
  is final; Humans are “very similar” to Alpha-
  Centaurans, but Klingons are unlikely to care about a 
  Human’s appearance. If you are Horrific, Monstrous, 
  Hideous, or Transcendent in appearance, you will be 
  disqualified from attending Star Fleet Academy.  
   
   
  Horrific: You are indescribably monstrous or 
  unspeakably foul, and cannot interact with normal 
  mortals. This gives -6 on reaction rolls. This level is 
  subject to GM approval. -24 points. 
   
  Monstrous: You are hideous and clearly unnatural. 
  Most people react to you as a monster rather than a 
  sapient being. This gives -5 on reaction rolls. Again, 
  this level is subject to GM approval. -20 points. 
   
  Hideous: You have any sort of disgusting looks 
  you can come up with: a severe skin disease, wall-eye 
  ... preferably several things at once. This gives -4 on 
  reaction rolls. -16 points. 
   
  Ugly: As above, but not so bad – maybe only 
  stringy hair and snaggle teeth. This gives -2 on 
  reaction rolls. -8 points. 
   
  Unattractive: You look vaguely unappealing, but 
  it’s nothing anyone can put a finger on. This gives -1 
  on reaction rolls. -4 points. 
   
  Average: Your appearance gives you no reaction 
  modifiers either way; you can blend easily into a 
  crowd. A viewer’s impression of your looks depends 
  on your behavior. If you smile and act friendly, you will 
  be remembered as pleasant-looking; if you frown and 
  mutter, you will be remembered as unattractive. 0 
  points. 
   
  Attractive: You don’t enter beauty contests, but are 
  definitely good-looking. This gives +1 on reaction rolls. 
  4 points. 
   
  Handsome (or Beautiful): You could enter beauty 
  contests. This gives +4 on reaction rolls made by 
  Shopping for the Big, Tall, Thin, and 
  Small 
   
  If you are Skinny, Fat, or Very Fat, or have 
  Dwarfism or Gigantism, clothing and armor 
  tailored for average folk will not fit you. There is a 
  premium of 10% added (20% for Gigantism or 
  Very Fat) to most clothing  
   
  
  Page 32  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  those attracted to members of your sex, +2 from 
  everyone else. 12 points. 
   
  Very Handsome (or Very Beautiful): You could win 
  beauty contests – regularly. This gives +6 on reaction 
  rolls made by those attracted to members of your sex, 
  +2 from others. Exception: Members of the same sex 
  with reason to dislike you (more than -4 in reaction 
  penalties, regardless of bonuses) resent your good 
  looks, and react at -2 instead. As well, talent scouts, 
  friendly drunks, slave traders, and other nuisances are 
  liable to become a problem for you. 16 points. 
   
  Transcendent: You are an “ideal specimen.” This 
  gives +8 (!) on reaction rolls made by those attracted 
  to members of your sex, +2 from others, and all the 
  troublesome side effects of Very Handsome. This level 
  is subject to GM approval. 20 points. 
   
   
   
  OTHER PHYSICAL FEATURES 
   
  There is more to appearance than good (or not-so-
  good) looks. You may take any combination of the fol-
  lowing traits in conjunction with any appearance level. 
   
  Fashion Sense 
  5 points 
   
  Your look is always one step ahead of the crowd. 
  You have the ability to create a fashion statement out 
  of the cheapest and most nondescript materials. This 
  gives +1 to reaction rolls in social situations when you 
  have a chance to plan your attire in advance. You can 
  also give someone else a +1 reaction bonus when you 
  put together the outfit. 
   
  Mistaken Identity 
  -5 points 
   
  You are often mistaken for someone else. Your 
  “double’s” allies approach you and tell you things you 
  don’t want to know, and his acquaintances will treat 
  you in strange and irritating ways. His enemies are af-
  ter you, too! You might eventually get things straight-
  ened out, but not without some effort. 
   
   
  Odious Personal Habits  
  -5, -10, or -15 points 
   
  You usually or always behave in a fashion repug-
  nant to others. An Odious Personal Habit (OPH) is 
  worth -5 points for every -1 to reaction rolls made by 
  people who notice your problem. Specify the behavior 
  when you create your character, and work out the 
  point value with the GM. 
   
   
  Examples: Body odor, constant scratching, or 
  tuneless humming would give -1 to reactions, and are 
  worth -5 points apiece. Constant bad puns or spitting 
  on the floor would give -2 to reactions, worth -10 points 
  apiece. We leave -15-point habits (-3 to reactions) to 
  the imagination of those depraved enough to want 
  them! (And those will disqualify you from Star Fleet 
  Academy.) 
   
   
  The reaction penalty for an OPH applies only to 
  members of your species. It is up to the GM to handle 
  the reactions of other species. A constant drool will 
  irritate other humans, but some Carnivons might not 
  even notice – and a Vergarian might think it was cute! 
  Of course, an entire species can behave in a manner 
  repugnant to most other species. These “Odious Spe-
  cies Habits” are priced identically to OPHs. 
   
  Pitiable 
  5 points 
   
  Something about you makes people pity you and 
  want to take care of you. You get +3 on all reaction 
  rolls from those who consider you to be in a position of 
  helplessness, weakness, or need (which never in-
  cludes those with the Callous disadvantage). Taken in 
  conjunction with above-average looks, Pitiable means 
  you are “cute” instead of “sexy”; in combination with 
  below-average looks, it means you are “appealingly 
  homely,” like a basset hound. 
   
  Unnatural Features 
  -1 point/level 
   
  You are superficially “normal” but have one or 
  more disturbing cosmetic features. To qualify for 
  points, these must be unnatural for your species. 
  Pointed ears and fur would be unnatural for a Human, 
  but not for a Lyran! You must specify the origin of your 
  Unnatural Features. 
   
  Each level, to a maximum of five levels, gives -1 to 
  your Disguise and Shadowing skills and +1 to others’ 
  attempts to identify or follow you (including their Ob-
  servation and Shadowing rolls), unless almost every-
  one else in the crowd happens to share your features. 
  (Enough Unnatural Features may disqualify you from 
  attending Star Fleet Academy.) 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Page 33 
   
  SOCIAL BACKGROUND 
   
  The next few sections discuss your society’s level 
  of technological development, cultures, and lan-
  guages. It is an advantage to be technologically ad-
  vanced, culturally literate, or linguistically talented. 
  Inadequacy in these areas can be a crippling 
  disadvantage. 
   
  TECHNOLOGY LEVEL (TL) 
   
  “Technology level” (or “tech level”) is a number 
  that rates technological development. The more ad-
  vanced the society, the higher its TL; see Tech Level 
  and Starting Wealth (p. 35). The GM will tell you the 
  TL of your homeworld. Be sure to note this, as it 
  affects your access to certain traits – notably skills – 
  and equipment.  
   
  Characters also have a TL, equal to that of the 
  technology with which they are most familiar. Unless 
  you are especially primitive or advanced, you should 
  record the TL of your game world as your personal TL 
  and move on. 
   
   
   
   
   
  Low TL 
  -5 points/TL below campaign TL 
   
  Your personal TL is below that of the campaign 
  world. You start with no knowledge (or default skill) 
  relating to equipment above your personal TL. You will 
  be able to learn DX-based technological skills (per-
  taining to vehicles, weapons, etc.) in play, if you can 
  find a teacher, but fundamental differences in thinking 
  prevent you from learning IQ-based technological 
  skills. To overcome this limitation, you must buy off 
  this trait, increasing your personal TL. This usually re-
  quires a lengthy period of re-education. Until you buy 
  off the trait, you cannot enter Star Fleet Academy. 
   
  High TL 
  5 points/TL above campaign TL 
   
  Your personal TL is above that of the campaign 
  world. You may enter play with skills relating to equip-
  ment up to your personal TL. This is most useful if you 
  also have access to high-TL equipment, but the 
  knowledge of a high-tech doctor or scientist can be 
  very useful in a low-tech setting, even without special-
  ized equipment! 
   
  CULTURE 
   
  You are automatically familiar with the social 
  peculiarities of one major culture of your choice. You 
  suffer no skill penalties when interacting with people 
  from that culture. The GM will provide a list of cultures 
  to choose from (or let you invent your own – many 
  GMs appreciate players’ contributions to the game 
  world!).  
   
  When dealing with an unfamiliar culture, you have 
  -3 to use any skill with a significant cultural compo-
  nent, including Carousing, Criminology, Detect Lies, 
  Diplomacy, Fast-Talk, Intimidation, Leadership, Mer-
  chant, Poetry, Politics, Psychology, Public Speaking, 
  Savoir-Faire, Sex Appeal, Sociology, Streetwise, and 
  Teaching. To get rid of this penalty, buy the following 
  advantage: 
   
  Cultural Familiarity 
  1 or 2 points/culture 
   
  You are familiar with cultures other than your own, 
  and do not suffer the -3 penalty for unfamiliarity. This 
  costs 1 point per culture of the same (or very similar) 
  species, or 2 points per alien culture. To prevent point-
  cost inflation, the GM should use broad definitions of 
  culture. 
   
  See Cultural Adaptability (p. 85) for additional 
  options. 
   
  LANGUAGE 
   
  GURPS Prime Directive assumes most charac-
  ters can read and write their “native” language and any 
  others specified in their Species Profile. This ability 
  costs no points, but should be noted on your character 
  sheet; e.g. “Arcturian (Native) [0]; Federation Standard 
  (Native) [0].” 
   
  The rest of this section is only important if you can 
  communicate in more than one language (an ad-
  vantage) or have difficulty with your native tongue (a 
  disadvantage). 
   
  Comprehension Levels 
   
  The point cost to learn an additional language de-
  pends on your “comprehension level”: a measure of 
  how well you function in that language overall. There 
  are four comprehension levels: 
   
  
  Page 34  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
   
  None: You are completely incapable of functioning 
  in the language. If you do not spend points on a non-
  native language, this comprehension level is assumed 
  – there is no need to note it for every language you 
  don’t know! 0 points/language. 
   
  Broken: You can recognize important words and 
  understand simple sentences if they are spoken 
  slowly. You have -3 when using skills that depend on 
  language, such as Fast-Talk, Public Speaking, Re-
  search, Teaching, and Writing. This doubles to -6 for 
  artistic skills that rely on the beauty of the language 
  (Poetry, Singing, etc.). In stressful situations – e.g., 
  encounters involving combat or reaction rolls – you 
  must roll against IQ to understand or make yourself 
  understood in the language. On a failure, you convey 
  no information, but you may try again. Critical failure 
  means you convey the wrong information! For hurried 
  speech, bad phone connections, etc., this roll is at -2 
  to -8! Native speakers who already dislike foreigners 
  (see Intolerance, p. 131) react to you at an extra -1. 2 
  points/language. 
   
  Accented: You can communicate clearly, even 
  under stress. However, your speech and writing are 
  idiosyncratic, and it is obvious that this is not your na-
  tive language. You have -1 when using skills that de-
  pend on language, doubled to -2 for artistic skills. You 
  receive no reaction penalty from native speakers, but 
  you will be unable to pass for a native (this can be a 
  major problem for would-be spies!). 4 points/language. 
   
  Native: You have full mastery of the language, 
  including idioms. You can think in the language. You 
  have no penalty to use skills that depend on language. 
  You start with the languages specified in your Species 
  Profile at this level for free. If you buy Native compre-
  hension in a foreign tongue, you can pass for a native 
  speaker. 6 points/language. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Sign Language 
   
  A true sign language – e.g., Ranel – is complex, 
  stylized, and can communicate almost any concept. 
  Treat it as any other language, with one important dif-
  ference: a sign language has one form (signed) in-
  stead of two (spoken and written). As a result, sign 
  languages cost half as much: 1 point for Broken, 2 
  points for Accented, and 3 points for Native 
  comprehension.  
   
  Characters with the Mute (p. 123) disadvantage 
  start with one sign language and written ability in one 
  language – both at Native level – instead of spoken 
  and written ability in one language.  
   
  Learning Languages 
   
  To learn a new language, use the rules for learn-
  ing skills: 200 hours of learning gives you one point to 
  spend. Note that language study is four times as hard 
  without a teacher!  
   
  If you live on another world and speak its lan-
  guage at all times, that is the automatic equivalent of 4 
  hours/day of training; there is no need to allocate spe-
  cific study time unless you want to get more than this 
  default. Thus, every 50 days, you get a character point 
  to spend in that language. 
   
  Note that as a side-effect of this rule, any charac-
  ter that has purchased an Academy Template is as-
  sumed to have learned the primary language of that 
  academy upon completion (if he didn’t already know 
  it). For example, a Tellarite who left his homeworld 
  speaking Tellar would, upon graduation from Star 
  Fleet Academy, be assumed to have learned Federa-
  tion Standard (a variant of English) at Native level. 
   
   
  Klingon B10 Battleship 
   
  How GURPS Works: IQ, Sentience, and 
  Sapience 
   
  Sentience is self-awareness. Any being with a 
  GURPS IQ of at least 1 is sentient for purposes of 
  this rule. 
   
  Sapience is defined as the ability to use tools 
  and language. In GURPS, this requires at least IQ 
  6.   
   
  Those with IQ 5 or less cannot learn 
  technological skills or possess Languages — not 
  even the initial Language that most characters get 
  for free. They can still communicate primitive 
  concepts (such as hunger or danger) through 
  gesture or vocalization, and may be trained to 
  respond to a few commands. See p. 303 for 
  specific SFU definitions. 
   
  The Language rules are for sapient characters. 
  You must have at least IQ 6 to receive a native 
  tongue for free and be able to learn new 
  languages. Sapience does not guarantee the 
  physical capacity for speech, though – you might 
  need to rely on sign language.  
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Page 35 
   
  WEALTH AND INFLUENCE 
   
  Now you need to determine your position in your 
  society: How much money do you have, what privi-
  leges do you enjoy, and how do others react to you? 
   
  WEALTH 
   
  Wealth is relative. A middle-class American lives 
  in more luxury than a medieval king, though he may 
  have fewer gold coins in his basement. It all depends 
  on the game world – see Tech Level and Starting 
  Wealth (p. 35). In most worlds, the range of standard 
  starting wealth and income is relatively great, and your 
  skills determine your job and income; see Economics 
  (p. 241) for more information. 
   
  Personal wealth is rated in “wealth levels.” A level 
  of “Average” costs no points, and lets you support an 
  average lifestyle for your game world. The rest of 
  these rules apply if you are unusually poor or wealthy, 
  have a source of incomes that does not require you to 
  work, or are in debt. 
   
  Wealth  
  Variable 
   
  Above-average Wealth is an advantage; it means 
  you start with two or more times the average starting 
  wealth of your game world. Below-average Wealth is a 
  disadvantage; it means you start with only a fraction of 
  average starting wealth. 
   
   
  Dead Broke: You have no job, no source of in-
  come, no money, and no property other than the 
  clothes you are wearing. Either you are unable to work 
  or there are no jobs to be found. -25 points. 
   
  Poor: Your starting wealth is only 1/5 of the aver-
  age for your society. Some jobs are not available to 
  you, and no job pays very well. -15 points. 
   
  Struggling: Your starting wealth is only 1/2 of the 
  average for your society. Any job is open to you (you 
  can be a Struggling doctor or trivideo actor), but you 
  don’t earn much. This is appropriate if you are a stu-
  dent. -10 points. 
   
  Average: The default wealth level, as explained 
  above. 0 points. 
   
  Comfortable: You work for a living, but your life-
  style is better than most. Your starting wealth is twice 
  the average. 10 points. 
   
  Wealthy: Your starting wealth is five times 
  average; you live very well indeed. 20 points. 
   
  Very Wealthy: Your starting wealth is 20 times  
  average. 30 points. 
   
  Filthy Rich: Your starting wealth is 100 times 
  average. You can buy almost anything you want 
  without considering the cost. 50 points. 
   
  Multimillionaire: “Filthy rich” doesn’t even begin to 
  describe your wealth! For every 25 points you spend 
  beyond the 50 points to be Filthy Rich, increase your 
  starting wealth by another factor of 10: Multimillionaire 
  1 costs 75 points and gives 1000 times average start-
  ing wealth, Multimillionaire 2 costs 100 points and 
  gives 10,000 times starting wealth and so on. 50 
  points + 25 points/level of Multimillionaire. 
   
  Starting Wealth 
   
  “Starting wealth” covers both money and property. 
  Start with the amount of money your wealth level enti-
  tles you to. Buy the possessions you want to start with. 
  Any unspent money is your bank account. 
   
  Tech Level and Starting Wealth 
   
  Tech level determines starting wealth, as techno-
  logically advanced societies tend to be richer. Below is 
  a comparison of TLs and suggested starting wealth. 
   
  TL0:  
  $250. 
  TL1:  
  $500. 
  TL2:  
  $750. 
  TL3:  
  $1,000. 
  TL4:  
  $2,000. 
  TL5:  
  $5,000. 
  TL6:  
  $10,000. 
  TL7:  
  $15,000. 
  TL8:  
  $20,000. 
  TL9:  
  $30,000. 
  TL10:  $50,000. 
  TL11: $75,000. 
  TL12:  $100,000. 
   
   
  Double the starting wealth for each TL over TL12. 
  For example, TL14 has a starting wealth of $400,000. 
  GURPS Prime Directive gives wealth and prices in 
  “$” for convenience. 
   
  Tech Level and Equipment 
   
  You enter play with “starting wealth” appropriate to 
  the campaign TL. If you are from a higher TL, you may 
  start with access to the equipment of your personal 
  TL. However, the price of an item of equipment is dou-
  bled for every TL by which its TL exceeds that of the 
  campaign! 
   
  Independent Income 
  1 point/level 
   
  You have a source of income that does not require 
  you to work. Your monthly income is 1% of your start-
  ing wealth (adjusted for wealth level) per level of this 
  trait, to a maximum of 20%. This trait assumes that 
  you cannot or will not invade your capital. 
   
  This trait is unrelated to wealth level. A Filthy Rich 
  heiress has Independent Income … but so do an Av-
  erage retired Star Fleet crew member or Poor welfare 
  recipient. 
   
  Independent Income most often means your occu-
  pation is something like dilettante, retiree, or welfare 
  recipient – not an actual “job.” However, you can have 
  Independent Income and a job; just add the income 
  from both sources.  
  
  Page 36  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  REPUTATION 
   
  It is possible to be so well-known that your reputa-
  tion becomes an advantage or a disadvantage. This 
  affects reaction rolls made by NPCs (see p. 198). A 
  reputation has four elements: Details, Reaction Modi-
  fier, People Affected, and Frequency of Recognition. 
   
  Details  
   
  The details of your reputation are entirely up to 
  you; you can be known for bravery, ferocity, eating 
  green snakes, or whatever you want. However, you 
  must give specifics. Reputation is, by definition, 
  something noteworthy; there is no such thing as a “ge-
  neric” reputation. 
   
  Reaction Modifier  
   
  Specify the reaction-roll modifier that you get from 
  people who recognize you. This determines the base 
  cost of your reputation. For every +1 bonus to reaction 
  rolls (up to +4), the cost is 5 points. For every -1 pen-
  alty (up to -4), the cost is -5 points. 
   
  People Affected  
   
  The size of the group of people who might have 
  heard of you modifies the base cost: 
   
   
  Almost everyone in your game world (but not 
  those from other universes – at least, not until they 
  meet you!): ×1. 
   
  Almost everyone in your game world except one 
  large class (everyone but the Klingons, everyone ex-
  cept Star Fleet): ×2/3 (round down). 
   
  Large class of people (everyone from a specific 
  planet, all mercenaries, all tradesmen, etc.): ×1/2 
  (round down). 
   
  Small class of people (all priests of Wazoo, all lit-
  erate Vergarians): ×1/3 (round down). 
   
   
  If the class of people affected is so small that, in 
  the GM’s opinion, you would not meet even one in the 
  average adventure, your reputation isn’t worth points.  
   
  Frequency of Recognition 
   
  Either your name or your face is enough to trigger 
  a “reputation roll” to see if the people you meet have 
  heard of you. Roll once for each person or small group 
  you meet. For a large group, the GM may roll more 
  than once if he likes. The frequency with which you are 
  recognized modifies the cost of your reputation: 
   
   
  All the time: ×1. 
   
  Sometimes (roll of 10 or less): ×1/2 (round down). 
   
  Occasionally (roll of 7 or less): ×1/3 (round down). 
   
   
  Of course, your reputation extends only within a 
  certain area. If you travel far enough away, the GM 
  may require you to “buy off” the disadvantage points 
  you received for a bad reputation. (There is no corre-
  sponding bonus for losing a good reputation.) 
  Multiple Reputations 
   
  You may have more than one reputation, and your 
  reputations can overlap; for example, military person-
  nel will have both Professional Reputation and Heroic 
  Reputation. The GM should check each one before 
  determining how an NPC reacts to you. Your total re-
  action modifier from reputations cannot be better than 
  +4 or worse than -4 in a given situation. 
   
  Multifaceted Reputations 
   
  A single reputation can give different reaction 
  modifiers with different groups, provided the groups do 
  not overlap. Set the reaction modifier for each group, 
  modify the cost for the size of the group, and then add 
  up the resulting costs. Modify this total for frequency of 
  recognition. The reputation is an advantage if the net 
  point cost is positive, a disadvantage if negative. The 
  final point cost may be 0, but you should still record it 
  on your character sheet! 
   
  IMPORTANCE 
   
  Your formally recognized place in society is dis-
  tinct from your personal fame and fortune. To influence 
  others through established channels (as opposed to 
  relying on popularity or bribery), you must purchase 
  one or more types of social rank, each of which has 
  unique benefits and drawbacks. 
   
   
  Seltorian Admiral on the Bridge 
   
  Status 
  5 points/level 
   
  Status is a measure of social standing. If you do 
  not specifically buy Status, you have Status 0. Status 
  costs 5 points per level. For instance, Status 5 costs 
  25 points, while Status -2 is -10 points. Status also 
  costs money to maintain (see p. 242). 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Page 37 
   
   
  Status is not the same as personal popularity (see 
  Reputation, p. 36) or the popularity of your species or 
  ethnic group (see Social Regard, p. 102, and Social 
  Stigma, p. 139). Status can sometimes influence oth-
  ers’ reactions, but its main effect is to spell out where 
  you stand in the social pecking order. In short, Status 
  represents power. 
   
  High Status  
   
  Status greater than 0 means you are a member of 
  the ruling class in your culture. Your family may be 
  hereditary nobles (many empires outside the Federa-
  tion have these), successful businessmen or politi-
  cians, or some other type of big shots. You may even 
  have achieved Status by your own efforts. As a result, 
  others in your culture only defer to you, giving you a 
  bonus on all reaction rolls.  
   
  High Status carries various privileges that vary by 
  the world; your GM will give you this information. Note 
  that any high-Status person is a likely target for kid-
  nappers and social climbers, and that some criminal 
  types hate “the ruling class.” 
   
  Low Status 
   
  Status less than 0 means you are a serf or a 
  slave, or simply very poor. Members of Subjugated or 
  Subject races often have Low Status. This is not the 
  same thing as Social Stigma. 
   
  The interaction of Status, Social Stigma, and 
  Reputation can give interesting results. For example, a 
  Subject Race person might be a hero in a military bat-
  tle, earning such a reputation that others react well to 
  him. 
   
  Recognizing Status 
   
  Status only affects reaction rolls if it is obvious to 
  those around you. In some settings your bearing, 
  dress, and speech communicate your Status. Indeed, 
  if you have very high Status, your face may be easily 
  recognized – or perhaps the entourage that surrounds 
  you gets the message across. 
   
  You may have to provide proof (ID cards, DNA 
  scans, etc.) before you will be recognized.  
   
  Rank 
  5 or 10 points/level 
   
  Specific sectors of society – e.g., the civil service, 
  the military, and certain powerful religions – often have 
  internal ranking systems, distinct from Status. If an 
  organization like this has significant social influence, or 
  access to useful resources, then its members must 
  pay points for their rank within the organization. 
   
  Rank comes in levels. Each Rank has authority 
  over those of lower Rank – regardless of personal 
  ability. In most cases, there are six to eight levels of 
  Rank. The GM should determine the highest Rank 
  available to starting characters, usually Rank 3-5. 
   
   
   
   
   
  Unlike Status, Rank costs no money to maintain. 
  On the other hand, almost all forms of Rank come with 
  a Duty (see p. 127). Rank often has stringent pre-
  requisites, too – typically one of the traits given under 
  Privilege or a minimum skill level. These things have 
  their own point costs, not included in the cost of the 
  Rank. 
   
  Rank may coexist with Status. If so, then high 
  Rank grants additional Status at no extra cost: +1 to 
  Status at Rank 2-4, +2 to Status at Rank 5-7, and +3 
  to Status at Rank 8 or higher. This represents society’s 
  respect for senior members of important social institu-
  tions. If you hold multiple types of Rank, then you may 
  claim a Status bonus for each of them. 
   
  Alternatively, one form of Rank might replace Sta-
  tus; for instance, Religious Rank in a theocracy. In so-
  cieties like this, Status does not exist. Each level of 
  Rank gives all its usual benefits plus the effect of an 
  equivalent level of Status (p. 36). 
   
  Rank is worth 5 points per level if it coexists with 
  Status, or 10 points per level if it replaces Status. 
  Common varieties of Rank include: 
   
   
  Administrative Rank: Position within a governmen-
  tal bureaucracy. When dealing with other administra-
  tors, differences in Rank work just like differences in 
  Status. At TL5 and higher, a large bureaucracy might 
  have several varieties of Rank: one per government 
  department, and possibly extra categories for the sen-
  ate, judiciary, etc. (Defense or law-enforcement offi-
  cials use Military or Police Rank instead.) Note this on 
  your character sheet; e.g., Administrative Rank 
  (Judiciary). 
  
  Page 38  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
   
  Courtesy Rank: Those who have formerly held 
  Rank may retain that Rank as “Courtesy Rank” for only 
  1 point per level. Those who currently hold a title that 
  carries little real authority may also take Courtesy 
  Rank. Courtesy Rank is for social situations only; it 
  gives you a fancier title. 
   
  Merchant Rank: Position within a national or trans-
  national organization of merchants. This could be an-
  ything from the mercantile culture of the Aztecs (where 
  Merchant Rank verged on being Status) to the “mer-
  chant marine” of a modern or futuristic society (where 
  Merchant Rank often parallels Military Rank during 
  wartime). 
   
  Military Rank: Position within a military organiza-
  tion. Each organization is structured differently. In 
  general, personnel that are not specifically leaders will 
  be Rank 0-2, while low-level officers and senior en-
  listed men will be Rank 3-4. Rank 5 and higher is nor-
  mally limited to major commands and duties where the 
  officer is responsible for extremely valuable or rare 
  resources. Limited-duty officers, specialists, and per-
  sonnel with little actual responsibility or command au-
  thority have a lower Rank in GURPS terms, despite 
  possibly possessing titles identical to those of a higher 
  Rank; represent this with one or more levels of Cour-
  tesy Rank. 
   
  Police Rank: Position in a police force. Each 
  agency has its own variety of Rank. You must buy Le-
  gal Enforcement Powers (p. 95) before you can buy 
  Police Rank; this is the difference between a patrol 
  officer (Police Rank 0, for 0 points) and an ordinary 
  citizen (no Police Rank, also 0 points). Note that in a 
  police state, there is no difference between Police 
  Rank and Military Rank. 
   
  Rank for Spies: Officers of intelligence services 
  often possess a special category of Military Rank, dis-
  tinct from that of line soldiers. Employees of civilian 
  intelligence agencies usually possess some variety of 
  Administrative Rank instead. Finally, some counterin-
  telligence officers are actually police, and hold Police 
  Rank. 
   
   
   
   
  Klingon D5 
   
   
  Religious Rank: Position in a religious hierarchy. 
  Each religion has its own variety of Rank. You must 
  buy Clerical Investment (p. 85) before you can buy 
  Religious Rank; this is the difference between a novice 
  (Religious Rank 0, for 0 points) and a layperson (no 
  Religious Rank, also 0 points). Other common re-
  quirements include a minimum of Theology skill. Dif-
  ferences in rank work just like differences in Status 
  when dealing with co-religionists and those who re-
  spect your faith. 
   
  Temporary Rank: Those of higher Rank may 
  temporarily increase your Rank for a predetermined 
  amount of time – until the end of a project, battle, etc. 
  This process is called brevetting in the case of Military 
  Rank. To keep temporary Rank, you must meet all the 
  usual requirements and pay the appropriate point cost. 
   
  Privilege 
   
  You may buy special privileges within your society 
  – e.g., a hard-to-obtain license, an “in” with an influen-
  tial social group, or an exemption from certain laws – 
  that allow you more latitude in your actions. Such ad-
  vantages are not directly linked to Rank or Status. For 
  example, a spy with low Rank might have a “license to 
  kill,” while his commander, a bureaucrat with much 
  higher Rank, is bound by all the rules on polite society. 
   
  Privileges include the advantages of Clerical In-
  vestment (p. 85), Legal Enforcement Powers (p. 95), 
  Legal Immunity (p. 95), Security Clearance (p. 102), 
  and Social Regard (p. 102). 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Federation Heavy Battlecruiser 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Page 39 
   
  MILITARY RANKS, GRADE, & SENIORITY
   
   
   
  NOTE: This section only applies to characters who 
  are in Star Fleet or some other military organization 
  (i.e., characters that have bought one of the Academy 
  templates). If you are generating a nonmilitary char-
  acter, feel free to skip this section! 
   
  Just as Status (p. 36) reflects your position in 
  society, Military Rank reflects your position in a military 
  or paramilitary organization. Each level of Military 
  Rank encompasses one or more grades, which are 
  commonly referred to as ranks. They are called grades 
  here to help avoid confusion with the Rank advantage. 
  Each grade has authority over lesser grades, regard-
  less of personal ability. 
   
  All military characters are assumed to have bought 
  an Academy or other Template which gives them the 
  specified starting grade, Military Rank, Professional 
  Reputation, and Seniority Points. 
   
  Players may improve their starting grade by buy-
  ing the Military Rank advantage appropriate for the 
  desired grade; see Rank in Chapter 3. Players should 
  check with the GM to determine what grades and cor-
  responding levels of Military Rank are suitable for the 
  campaign. If the group is playing a rough-and-tumble 
  squad of Marine grunts, the GM may limit them to a 
  max grade of E6 and Military Rank 1; whereas if they 
  are playing the command staff of a sector admiral, 
  then they should buy a much higher grade and Military 
  Rank. Players should also buy additional levels of 
  Professional Reputation as required by the Promotion 
  Table for their service at this time, at the cost of 2.5 
  points per level. They may buy more or less than this 
  with the GM’s approval, if doing so fits the character’s 
  background. In addition, they start with a number of 
  Seniority Points as required for their desired grade. 
  (Note: The basic GURPS rules provide only eight mil-
  itary ranks; the Star Fleet Universe uses more than 
  20 grades. The costs are adjusted in GPD so that it all 
  comes out the same, but you get to hold a promotion 
  party much more often!) 
   
  Example: A player decides to create a character 
  that is a Marine 1st Lieutenant (O2). He must buy 
  three levels of Military Rank, and while he has the op-
  portunity during character generation also buys three 
  levels of Professional Reputation with the GM’s ap-
  proval, representing several incidents of exemplary 
  service in the character’s young career (perhaps two 
  Commendation Medals and a Bronze Star or MSM; 
  see Chapter 6). The GM and player discuss what 
  these were, and their impact on the character. This 
  costs him 22 character points (15 + 7.5, rounded 
  down), not including the cost of the Academy template. 
  The character starts with 10 Seniority Points, and 
  some big expectations from his superiors. 
   
  Note that unlike the other Federation services, the 
  GIA has no enlisted personnel; GIA agents are always 
  officers. 
   
   
  Promotion/Grade Table 
   
  This table is used for Federation military services 
  and others with a similar grade structure. Other em-
  pires may have their own Promotion Tables repre-
  senting the unique nature of their services, which will 
  be presented in future sourcebooks. 
   
  Grade 
  Rank 
  Seniority 
  Reputation 
  Status 
  E1 
  0 
  0 
  0 
  0 
  E2 
  0 
  5 
  0 
  0 
  E3 
  0 
  10 
  0 
  0 
  E4 
  0 
  20 
  0 
  0 
  E5 
  1 
  30 
  +1 
  0 
  E6 
  1 
  40 
  +1 
  0 
  E7 
  2 
  50 
  +1 
  1 
  E8 
  2 
  75 
  +1 
  1 
  E9 
  2 
  100 
  +2 
  1 
  E10 
  2 
  150 
  +3 
  1 
  WO* 
  3 
  175 
  +2 
  1 
  O1 
  3 
  0 
  0 
  1 
  O2 
  3 
  10 
  0 
  1 
  O3 
  4 
  30 
  +1 
  1 
  O4 
  4 
  50 
  +1 
  1 
  O5 
  5 
  70 
  +2 
  2 
  O6 
  6 
  90 
  +2 
  2 
  O7 
  7 
  110 
  +3 
  2 
  O8 
  8 
  130 
  +3 
  3 
  O9 
  8 
  150 
  +4 
  3 
  O10 
  8 
  200 
  +4 
  4 
  O11 
  ** 
  ** 
  +4 
  4 
   
  Explanation of Terms and Notes: 
   
  Rank: The number of levels of the Military Rank 
  advantage needed to advance to this grade. 
   
  Seniority: The number of Seniority Points needed 
  to advance to this grade. 
   
  Reputation: The level of the Professional Reputa-
  tion advantage needed to advance to this grade. 
   
  Status: The number of free levels of Status this 
  grade receives. 
   
  * WO = Warrant Officer. In Star Fleet, Warrant Of-
  ficers are civilians who are given temporary status as 
  officers for the duration of a specific mission. In other 
  services, a Warrant Officer was previously Enlisted 
  and due to seniority and high levels of competence 
  was granted a commission. Warrant Officers generally 
  specialize in one skill or area of competence, for ex-
  ample warp engine maintenance, communications, or 
  shuttlecraft pilot. 
  
  Page 40  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
   
  ** There are only three O11s in the Federation: the 
  Grand Admiral of Star Fleet, the Marshal of the Star 
  Fleet Marines, and the Field General of the National 
  Guard. These are normally NPCs, making this rank 
  unobtainable by player characters in most campaigns. 
   
  The E10 and O10 ranks are extremely senior and 
  not generally available as player characters. Fleet 
  Captain and Regimental Colonel are honorary titles 
  used in special cases. 
   
  Grade Titles 
   
  Enlisted 
  Star Fleet Titles 
  Marines Titles 
  E1 
  Crewman Recruit 
  Private 
  E2 
  Crewman Apprentice 
  Private First Class 
  E3 
  Crewman 
  Lance Corporal 
  E4 
  Petty Officer 3rd Class 
  Corporal 
  E5 
  Petty Officer 2nd Class 
  Team Sergeant 
  E6 
  Petty Officer 1st Class 
  Staff Sergeant 
  E7 
  Chief Petty Officer 
  Gunnery Sergeant 
  E8 
  Senior Chief Petty Officer 
  Master Sergeant 
  E9 
  Master Chief Petty Officer 
  Sergeant Major 
  E10 
  Command Master Chief 
  Command Sergeant Major 
   
   
   
  Officer 
  Star Fleet Titles 
  Marines Titles 
  O0 
  Midshipman 
  Cadet 
  O1 
  Ensign 
  2nd Lieutenant 
  O2 
  Junior Lieutenant 
  1st Lieutenant 
  O3 
  Senior Lieutenant 
  Captain 
  O4 
  Lieutenant Commander 
  Major 
  O5 
  Commander 
  Lieutenant Colonel 
  O6 
  Captain 
  Regimental Colonel 
  O7 
  Commodore 
  Brigadier General 
  O8 
  Rear Admiral 
  Major General 
  O9 
  Vice Admiral 
  Lieutenant General 
  O10 
  Fleet Admiral 
  Colonel General 
  O11 
  Grand Admiral 
  Marshal 
   
   
   
  Officer (only) 
  GIA Titles 
  Marshal Titles 
  GS1 
  Probational Agent 
  Marshal, 3rd Grade 
  GS2 
  Agent 
  Marshal, 2nd Grade 
  GS3 
  Special Agent 
  Marshal, 1st Grade 
  GS4 
  Senior Agent 
  Senior Marshal 
  GS5 
  Agent in Charge 
  Marshal in Charge 
  GS6 
  Section Chief 
  Section Marshal 
  GS7 
  Branch Chief 
  Sector Marshal 
  GS8 
  Division Chief 
  Division Marshal 
  GS9 
  Deputy Director 
  Deputy Chief Marshal 
  GS10 
  Director 
  Chief Marshal 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Page 41 
   
  EMPIRES AND SPECIES OF THE STAR FLEET UNIVERSE 
   
  The Star Fleet Universe covers a considerable 
  geographic area (10,000×30,000 parsecs) with a vast 
  number of planets. Thousands of these planets are 
  inhabited, a few hundred by native intelligent species. 
  The area of the Alpha Octant is divided into numerous 
  political powers, called “empires” (although some are 
  not in the legal form of an Empire or large enough to 
  be worthy of that designation in any case). 
   
  Pick a Species, Any Species 
   
  Anyone creating a character will first select the 
  species (or race). There are many choices, all of which 
  have their own drawbacks and advantages. The 
  choices are: 
   
   
  Alpha-Centaurans: They are descended from 
  humans transported there long ago by the Old Kings. 
  Women of this culture are strong and dominant. 
   
  Andorians: 
  Blue-skinned 
  humanoids 
  from 
  Andoria, citizens of the Federation, warlike and tough. 
   
  Andromedans: Invaders whose robots do the 
  work of the invasion. 
   
  Arcturians: Elflike humanoids from Arcturus, citi-
  zens of the Federation, most are pacifistic. 
   
  Brecon: Four-armed humanoids, always assigned 
  to Star Fleet in pairs. 
   
  Carnivons: This doglike species was extermi-
  nated by the Lyrans and Kzintis – or were they? 
   
  Cromargs: Short in stature, Klingon subject race. 
   
  Cygnans: Humanoids born on Cygnus, citizens of 
  the Federation, albinos, highly technological. 
   
  Deians: Beautiful humanoids related to Humans. 
   
  Dunkars: Orange-skinned humanoids, the most 
  trusted of the Klingon subject races. 
   
  Gorns: Dinosaurians scattered to several planets 
  by the ancient Lizard Kings. 
   
  Hilidarians: Lizard-men, Klingon subject race.  
   
  Humans: From Earth-descended stock, either 
  born on Earth or one of many colony planets. Most will 
  be citizens of the Federation, including those criminal 
  humans who serve with the Orion Pirates. 
   
  Hydrans: Short three-armed and three-legged 
  creatures who breathe methane, are native to gas gi-
  ants, and live in the Hydran Kingdom. It should be 
  noted that many descendants of Klingon subject races 
  (and even Ranel and Phelen from Lyran space) live on 
  oxy-nitrogen planets in the Hydran Kingdom as free 
  citizens of the Exile Races. 
   
  Jindarians: An ancient species known for 
  harvesting materials from asteroids. 
   
  Klingons: Humanoids, a major species with entire 
  planets of multi-billion population, the military caste are 
  the only Klingons most humans encounter. 
   
  Korlivilar: Feline members of the ISC, they are 
  masters of speed and reaction time. 
   
  Kzintis: Known as Tigermen to their Klingon 
  enemies. 
   
  Lyrans: Leopard-men, enemies of the Kzintis. 
   
  Mynieni: 
  Non-humanoid, 
  citIzens 
  of 
  the 
  Federation. 
   
  Orions: Green-skinned humanoids, citizens of the 
  Federation, original source of the Orion Pirates. 
   
  Paravians: A bipedal birdlike species, they be-
  came extinct when a sun snake destroyed their sun. 
  Or did they? 
   
  Phelen: Porpoisoids who are subjects of the 
  Lyrans. 
   
  Prellarians: Dwarfish, these are masters of high-
  grav and null-grav technologies. 
   
  Pronhoulites: Lizard-like ISC members, they are 
  masters of military matters. 
   
  Q’Naabians: Dwarfish in size, these are the 
  historians of the ISC. 
   
  Ranel: Racoonoids who are subjects of the 
  Lyrans. 
   
  Rigellians: Born on planets around Rigel (or on 
  colonies) the Rigelians are humanoid and members of 
  the Federation. Few serve with the Orion Pirates. 
   
  Romulans: Descended from Vulcans, they hon-
  estly believe they are destined to rule the galaxy. 
   
  Rovillians: Porpoisoid, psionically active mem-
  bers of the ISC. 
   
  Seltorians: Insectoid species on a holy war 
  against the Tholians. 
   
  Skoleans: Lizard-men, Federation citizens, most 
  serve as mercenaries to the Gorns. 
   
  Slirdarians: Bear-apes, shock troops of the 
  Klingon Empire, most of them are not particularly 
  bright. 
   
  Tellarites: Pig-faced humanoids from Tellus, citi-
  zens of the Federation, always ready to argue about 
  anything. 
   
  Tholians: Crystalline creatures who live in high 
  temperatures and come from another galaxy. 
   
  Veltressai: Best known for their linked quadru-
  plets, they are the clear leaders of the ISC, at least in 
  their own estimation.  
   
  Vudar: A reptilian species with an ambiguous rela-
  tionship to the Klingon Empire. 
   
  Vulcans: Also known (rarely) as Vulcanian. These 
  are humanoids with copper-based blood, a devotion to 
  logic, and no real sense of humor. They are stronger 
  and smarter than humans. 
   
  Yitlians: Associated by treaty with the Klingons, 
  they are fierce warriors. 
   
  Zoolies: Klingon subject race, highly perceptive 
  and sought after for commando teams. 
   
   
  GURPS Federation includes Antareans, Fralli, 
  Mantorese, and more information about that empire. 
   
  GURPS Klingons includes the timid Bargantines 
  (the greatest farmers in the Empire), the lobster-like 
  Vergarians (who once revolted), and more about that 
  Empire. 
  
  Page 42  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
   
  GURPS 
  Romulans 
  includes 
  the 
  telepathic 
  Satha’hi, Gerlunians (lost cousins of the Gorns), and 
  the walking trees of death known as Dionaeans. 
   
  General Notes 
   
  Any given species has billions of members, not all 
  of whom think, look, or act alike. There are exceptional 
  cases in all species, and even those that could be 
  considered “within the normal range” can vary consid-
  erably. A player character could (with GM permission) 
  be from a species not usually found in his campaign 
  circumstances. For example, history records a handful 
  of Earth-born human renegades fighting for the 
  Klingons. 
   
  ABOUT THE SPECIES PROFILES 
   
  Every player character (indeed, every character) in 
  GURPS Prime Directive comes from a species (i.e., 
  is a member of a specific species from a specific 
  planet, or in some cases, from a group of nearby plan-
  ets where they were seeded by the precursor beings). 
   
  Members of a species have certain general traits 
  that apply to almost all members of that species. 
  Hence, to play a Klingon, you start out with a list of 
  attribute modifiers and other information. In most 
  cases, you can “buy off” (spend points to remove) a 
  given trait that is psychological in nature. For example, 
  most of the Bargantines freeze up in combat, but a few 
  with natural abilities and a few thousand more who 
  have undergone rigorous training (which few of them 
  pass) can function normally in combat. 
   
  A given player character might be given an “unu-
  sual background” with the permission of the GM. This 
  might be a matter of genetics (e.g., human dwarves 
  exist as a subset of the human genome), previous 
  damage or injury (e.g., loss of limbs), psychological 
  damage (e.g., fear of combat), unusual upbringing 
  (e.g., a Klingon who was lost on Vulcan as an infant 
  and raised by a Vulcan family), special training (e.g., a 
  Star Fleet Marine who went to special forces school 
  before being discharged for failing a psychological 
  evaluation), or as many other unique stories as there 
  are people in the galaxy! 
   
  Features and Taboo Traits 
   
  A “feature” is a note on how the species differs 
  from Humans when that difference does not grant an 
  advantage or disadvantage. Features cost 0 points. 
   
  A “taboo trait” is an attribute level, advantage, dis-
  advantage, or skill that is off-limits to members of the 
  species. This, too, is worth 0 points. 
   
  Character Record Sheet 
   
  Players can find a downloadable version of the 
  player record sheet for GURPS 4th Edition at: 
  http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/resources/CharacterSh
  eet.pdf 
   
   
  United Federation of Planets 
   
  The 
  United 
  Federation 
  of 
  Planets is a multispecies political 
  entity with its headquarters on the 
  planet Earth. Several species hold 
  seats on its ruling council; many 
  other species are affiliate mem-
  bers. Federation colonies or sta-
  tions have been established on 
  over a thousand other planets. 
  Most 
  Federation 
  ships 
  are 
  manned by crews composed of 
  80-90% of one species, with the 
  remainder being a mixture of all 
  others. 
   
  The Federation is dominated by the Humans, in-
  cluding those of Earth parentage who were born on 
  other planets. Humans provide more than 70% of Star 
  Fleet personnel and dominate every phase of its oper-
  ations. Humans are regarded as the most militaristic, 
  but not the most warlike, of the member species of the 
  Federation. 
   
  The Federation is probably the most idealistic of 
  all the empires. Federation ships never attack without 
  warning, and while the Federation has fought wars 
  with all of its neighbors, it has never started one. The 
  Federation has negotiated borders with all of its neigh-
  bors and has not sought to expand them militarily. 
   
  Economically, however, the Federation is the most 
  aggressive empire in its sector of the galaxy. Federa-
  tion merchant ships are found almost everywhere 
  during peacetime, and the “Neutral Zones” between 
  the Federation and its neighbors abound with Federa-
  tion colonies set up within the strict letter of the rele-
  vant treaties. The Federation considers “peace” to in-
  clude free access to the markets and ports of all other 
  empires. Since the Federation has the strongest econ-
  omy, it has the most money to buy things with and the 
  most production capacity to build things and tends to 
  dominate the galactic economy. Other empires may 
  scoff, but in the end the numbers don’t lie. The Feder-
  ation is the most economically efficient system in local 
  space, and the Humans are the ones who run it. Not 
  even Tellarites can argue with success! 
   
  The Federation military consists of Star Fleet (a 
  military force answering to the Federation president 
  and council; much of this force is used in peacetime 
  for exploration and colony building) and the National 
  Guards 
  (planetary 
  self-defense 
  forces 
  including 
  ground-based weapons, fighters, and even some ships 
  controlled by each planet’s government). The Federa-
  tion Marshals Service is a branch of the civilian gov-
  ernment which investigates crimes that go from one 
  planet to another; it also handles counter-espionage. 
  The Federation Police (which has numerous small 
  starships) handles tariffs, customs, and most anti-pi-
  racy work. (When the pirates in a given area get out of 
  hand, the police call Star Fleet for backup.) The Fed-
  eration Police could be considered the equivalent of 
  the US Coast Guard. The Galactic Intelligence Agency 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Page 43 
   
  is a civilian agency focused on spying, covert 
  operations, and intelligence gathering outside of the 
  Federation. 
   
  All Federation citizens have Federation Standard 
  as an extra Native language due to the insistence of 
  educators that actually speaking a language is much 
  preferable to relying on an artificial translation which, 
  no matter how sophisticated, can miss important nu-
  ances of emphasis and phrasing. A very few citizens 
  who lead their lives on an outlying single-species col-
  ony might not know Federation Standard. For more 
  information, see GURPS Federation. 
   
  The member species of the UFP that appear in 
  GURPS Prime Directive are: Humans, Vulcans, 
  Andorians, Rigellians, Alpha-Centaurans, Cygnans, 
  Tellarites, 
  Brecon, 
  Prellarians, 
  Mynieni, 
  Deians, 
  Arcturians, Orions (p. 58), and Skoleans (p. 56). There 
  are many, many more; their numbers are growing all 
  the time. 
   
  Federation Heavy Battlecruiser 
   
   
  Humans 
  0 points 
   
  Humans are the most numerous species in 
  Federation space and among the most adaptable. 
  While most of the other species don’t particularly go in 
  for “Terra”-forming and don’t like to colonize worlds 
  that are drastically different from their homeworlds, 
  Humans are willing to settle and work just about any-
  where in the galaxy. This, and their strong tradition of 
  innovation and cooperation, has brought Humans to 
  the forefront of the cur-
  rent interstellar situa-
  tion.  
   
  It is considered for-
  tunate 
  by 
  some 
  of 
  Terra’s neighbors that 
  Humans are not ori-
  ented 
  more 
  towards 
  military 
  expansion. 
  It 
  would be a daunting 
  task for even three or 
  four of the local cultures to halt a determined Human 
  expansion drive if their formidable industrial capacity 
  were tooled up and directed to that end.  
   
  Homeworld: Class M, Gravity 1.00G, Atmospheric 
  pressure 1.00, Mean temperature 72°F, Zorski Group 
  I-a. 
   
   
  Vulcans 
  70 Points 
   
  The Vulcans (and their Romulan cousins) are de-
  scended from a much more primitive and warlike cul-
  ture. Unlike the Romulans, the Vulcans chose to focus 
  on 
  reason, 
  self-discipline, 
  and 
  suppression 
  of 
  emotions.  
   
  The Vulcans are basi-
  cally a pacifistic people who 
  do not believe in the asser-
  tive use of overwhelming 
  force to resolve disputes. 
  Their cultural devotion to 
  pure logic at the cost of 
  greatly 
  repressing 
  their 
  emotional identity is well 
  known. A remarkable side effect of this logic-based 
  rationality is the enormously high incidence of psionic 
  ability found in Vulcans. It is interesting to note that, by 
  way of comparison, Romulans are no more likely to 
  show positive psionic potential than the average rate 
  for the other species, which is about one in every 2.5 
  million healthy adults. While all Vulcans possess 
  psionic potential, only about one in every 20,000 has 
  the potential to become a true Psionic Master. A Vul-
  can character created without Vulcan Psi Powers is 
  still a latent psionic, and may buy Vulcan Psi Powers 
  during campaigns with no restriction. (see Vulcan Psi 
  Powers, p. 108.) 
   
  Homeworld: Class K, Gravity 1.18G, Atmospheric 
  pressure 0.83, Mean temperature 92°F, Zorski Group 
  III-a. 
   
  Attribute Modifiers: ST+1 [10]; IQ+2 [40]. 
  Advantages: Acute Hearing 1 [2]; Extended Lifespan 
  1 [2]; Indomitable [15]; Lightning Calculator [2]; 
  Nictitating Membrane 1 [1]; Photographic Memory 
  [10]; Less Sleep 2 [4]; Regeneration (Regular, only 
  while in Autotrance, -30%) [18]; Unfazeable [15]; 
  Vulcan Psi Powers 1 [5]. 
  Perk: Autotrance [1]. 
  Disadvantages: Code of Honor (Logical behavior) 
  [-10]; Honesty (12) [-10]; Intolerance (Emotional or 
  illogical behavior) [-5]; No Sense of Humor [-10]; 
  Pacifism (Self Defense Only) [-15]; Truthfulness 
  (12) [-5]. 
  Taboo Traits: all forms of psionics except those 
  included in Vulcan Psi Powers. 
   
   
   
  
  Page 44  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Rigellians 
  11 points 
   
  Rigellians are large humanoids, often reaching 
  seven feet or more in height, and are renowned for 
  their strength and stamina. Due to the unusually high 
  UV output of their sun, Rigellians are darkly pig-
  mented. Their skin features a kind of dermal tattooing 
  which shows up as a network of blue lines covering 
  the entire body in a random pattern, and their body 
  hair is often a stark white in coloring. 
   
  Rigellians 
  are 
  strongly bound by the 
  notions of “Family and 
  Honor.” Family ties are 
  unusually strong in Ri-
  gellian 
  culture, 
  with 
  three or more genera-
  tions often living and 
  working together. Rigel-
  lians mate for life, and 
  husbands and wives never separate, nor do they re-
  mate if their spouse dies. A Rigellian’s word is his 
  bond, and the whole family shares in the dishonor of 
  any family member’s breaking of a promise or oath. 
  Crime and dishonesty are virtually unheard of in Rigel-
  lian culture, and families provide for the material and 
  emotional needs of their members. 
   
  The Rigellian Primacy Fathers and members of 
  the society in general were aghast to discover the na-
  tures of some of the other interstellar societies, such 
  as the Klingons and the Romulans. They were horri-
  fied to find that advanced interstellar empires were 
  founded on the principles of conquest and enslave-
  ment, principles abhorrent to Rigellian culture. This 
  caused so much of a cultural fervor that within the first 
  decades of Rigellian membership in the Federation a 
  full 30% of the planetary population applied to join Star 
  Fleet. Even today, while Humans may represent the 
  largest numerical component in the Federation and 
  Star Fleet, the Rigellians have, by far, the largest pro-
  portion of their population in service with the Federa-
  tion. Until the stars are at peace, they say, and all the 
  children of the heavens are together, the Rigellians 
  cannot rest or forsake their greater duties. 
   
  Homeworld: Class M, Gravity 1.05G, Atmospheric 
  pressure 1.04, Mean temperature 80°F, Zorski Group 
  I-a. 
   
  Attribute Modifiers: ST+2 [20]. 
  Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: FP+2 [6]. 
  Advantages: Combat Reflexes [15]; Rapid Healing 
  [5]. 
  Perk: Ultraviolet Tolerance [1]. 
  Disadvantages: Fanaticism (Spread of civilization) 
  [-15]; Honesty (12) [-10]; Sense of Duty (to Family) 
  [-5]; Truthfulness (12) [-5]. 
  Quirk: Humble [-1]. 
   
   
   
  Cygnans 
  19 points 
   
  Cygnans as a species resemble Human albinos 
  with one major difference: where a Human albino’s 
  eyes are pinkish, the Cygnan’s eyes are jet black, with 
  no discernible whites or pupils. It cannot be confirmed 
  or disproved that Cygnans descended from Earth-
  human stock, but there are no fossil ancestors on their 
  own planet, meaning they were transplanted there 
  within the last 50,000 years. 
   
  The Cygnan sun, Shresha, is a K3 orange dwarf; 
  its output of ultraviolet emissions is much lower than 
  that of the suns of other 
  Federation worlds. As a 
  result, the Cygnans have 
  lost the usual pigmenta-
  tion that would serve to 
  protect them from the 
  sun’s 
  harmful 
  effects. 
  When 
  visiting 
  other 
  worlds, Cygnans protect 
  themselves at all times by 
  the use of a special long-lasting chemical sunscreen. 
   
  The Cygnans hold a firm belief that they are the 
  descendants of an extremely advanced, starfaring 
  species. Their religions are centered on the numerous 
  half-remembered myths and legends about the lost 
  Sky Fathers and their gifts and teachings. The gifts are 
  remembered as ones of science and technology; the 
  teachings are remembered as ones enjoining them to 
  explore and share those gifts. Just as the Sky Fathers 
  came from the stars to light the Cygnans’ way to a 
  more advanced society, so too do the Cygnans feel 
  the urge to enlighten less advanced peoples. Because 
  of this (and the Kzinti occupation), Cygnus is the Fed-
  eration member most vocally opposed to the Prime 
  Directive. Despite official policies, Cygnan adherents 
  to The Ways of the Fathers have established illicit 
  “Seranaya Missions” on more than one pre-starflight 
  world.  
   
  There are numerous systems and components 
  now in standard use throughout the Federation which 
  are the direct result of Cygnan research and technol-
  ogy. The Cygnans are extremely adept at all forms of 
  technological endeavors, considering them to be forms 
  of art. The Cygnan homeworld was in Kzinti-dominated 
  space from about Y70 until the Federation took over 
  that area with the Border Declaration of Y102. Cygnan 
  characters during that period must buy the Disad-
  vantage: Subjugated (Kzinti) (see p. 139) which re-
  duces the species profile cost by 20. 
   
  Homeworld: Class M, Gravity 1.10G, Atmospheric 
  pressure 1.03, Mean temperature 68°F, Zorski Group 
  I-b. 
   
  Advantages: Talent 1 (Mathematical Ability) [10]; 
  Talent 4 (Physical Science) [20]; Versatile [5]. 
  Disadvantages: Gregarious [-10]; Weakness 
  (Sunlight; 1d/30 minutes; Mitigator –60%) [-6]. 
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Page 45 
   
  Alpha-Centaurans 
  50/24 points 
   
  Alpha-Centaurans are almost identical to Humans, 
  and there is little doubt that the two species share re-
  cent common ancestry. General motor response in Al-
  pha-Centaurans is markedly higher than in Humans, 
  however; an increased rate of activity in the brainstem 
  and central nervous system seems to be the cause. 
   
  The females of the 
  species dominate Alpha-
  Centauran culture at all 
  levels, and the form of 
  government is definitely 
  a 
  matriarchy. 
  Alpha-
  Centauran men are not 
  mentally or physically 
  inferior to the women, 
  but their society has 
  evolved along different 
  lines than that of Earth. 
  Hence males have been 
  taught to give in to those in control (explaining the -2 to 
  Will modifier). 
   
  Male Alpha-Centaurans are almost never found in 
  the governmental, legal, or military structures of Alpha-
  Centauran culture, and only rarely in the scientific, 
  technical or mercantile professions. Males are found 
  primarily in the agrarian and unskilled labor forces or 
  are not employed at all. The home planet of the Alpha 
  Centaurans is largely agrarian and pastoral. The pop-
  ulation is fairly low, and the planet is not a major eco-
  nomic element of the Federation. 
   
  Homeworld: Class M, Gravity 0.98G, Atmospheric 
  pressure 1.05, Mean temperature 76°F, Zorski Group 
  I-a. 
   
  Females 
  50 points 
  Attribute Modifiers: DX+2 [40]. 
  Advantages: Charisma 1 [5]; Fit [5]. 
   
  Males 
  24 points 
  Attribute Modifiers: ST+1 [10]; DX+1 [20]. 
  Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: Will-2 [-10]. 
  Advantages: Fit [5]. 
  Quirk: Humble [-1]. 
  Prellarians 
  35 points 
   
  Prellarians are Associate Members of the Federa-
  tion, renowned for their mastery of high-grav and null-
  grav technology. A squat humanoid species, they are 
  at home in tunnels. Their powerful frames and tech-
  nological inclinations are a direct result of their prefer-
  ence for high gravity habitats (some measuring as high 
  as 2.5 G). Rarely growing to a height of greater than 
  four feet, the Prellarians are highly prized not only for 
  their technological knowledge, but also for their ability 
  to crawl through tight conduits and cramped access 
  ports. The Prellarians developed the training environ-
  ment on Federation Prime Central where new prime 
  team members receive their Zero-G Maneuvering 
  training.  
   
  Prellarians have a 
  deeply ingrained fear of 
  heights that is difficult for 
  them to overcome, even 
  in low gravity environ-
  ments. Technicians who 
  insist 
  upon 
  excessive 
  safety 
  tethering 
  when 
  operating over an open 
  area or at some height 
  are often referred to as acting like “scared Prellarians.” 
  The Prellarians have imparted an almost religious sig-
  nificance to many of the minerals and gems that others 
  merely think of as valuable. Their discovery of sigma-
  positronium, for example, with its unique attrac-
  tion/repulsion qualities, led to the development of both 
  null-grav and high-grav generators. The Prellarians 
  have a deep reverence for this mineral, while the rest 
  of the Federation who come into contact with it simply 
  look at it as useful. 
   
  Homeworld: Class E, Gravity 1.98G, Atmospheric 
  pressure 1.30, Mean temperature 82°F, Zorski Group 
  I-b. 
   
  Attribute Modifiers: ST+1 [10]. 
  Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: SM-1. 
  Advantages: Improved G-Tolerance (±1.0 G) [15]; 
  Intuition [15]; Pressure Support 1 [5]. 
  Disadvantages: Phobia (Heights) (12) [-10] 
   
   
  
  Page 46  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Deians 
  37 points 
   
  The Deians (pronounced DAY-enz) are an Associ-
  ate Member species closely related to Humans. The 
  Deians had established colonies on three planets 
  within their home star system and were actively seek-
  ing contact with other species when a Federation Ga-
  lactic Survey Cruiser, the USS Magellan (NCC-1363), 
  entered orbit around their homeworld in Y150. They 
  call their homeworld “Kal’Tyar Seterra Nerillar,” which 
  can be loosely translated as “First and True Home.” It 
  is the third planet of the star known as Paktar. 
   
  The first reported contact with the Deians dwelled 
  heavily on their amazing, godlike beauty and the name 
  “Deians” naturally fol-
  lowed. They resemble 
  humans in many ways, 
  although their species 
  does not share the vari-
  ances in pigmentation 
  found in Earth Humans. 
  All 
  Deians 
  have 
  the 
  same pale-blue skin col-
  oring and little or no fa-
  cial hair. Their over-
  whelming beauty, both 
  male and female, is also their most daunting disad-
  vantage as they find it difficult to convince others, par-
  ticularly humans, to take them seriously. They have no 
  problem with those species that do not appreciate hu-
  manoid beauty.  
   
  The Deians refer to themselves as True Nerillar. In 
  public they use the species designations Human, 
  Cygnan, etc., but in private refer to them in the order in 
  which they were first encountered; Humans are Sec-
  ond Nerillar, Cygnans are Third Nerillar, and so on. 
  Deians believe that all other humanoid species are 
  related to them in some way. 
   
  Homeworld: Class M, Gravity 1.08G, Atmospheric 
  pressure 1.13, Mean temperature 80°F, Zorski Group 
  I-a. 
   
  Attribute Modifiers: IQ+1 [20]. 
  Advantages: Charisma 1 [5]; Handsome/Beautiful 
  [12]. 
   
   
  Mynieni 
  67 points 
   
  The Mynieni (pronounced my-NINE-ee) are a non-
  humanoid Federation Associate Member species. 
  They resemble upside-down pears supported by many 
  strong ropy tendrils sprouting from the bottom of their 
  bodies (in game terms, 24 effective limbs). The 
  Mynieni’s body, which is most often a purplish-gray 
  color, is about three feet from top to bottom and about 
  eight feet in circumference at its widest point. The 
  “legs” add an additional foot in height. Two very pale, 
  dinner-plate sized eyes complete the picture. They are 
  included here (along with the rules necessary to play 
  them) as an example of some of the strange species 
  to be found in GURPS Federation. 
   
  Conditions on their homeworld, Mynie, have 
  caused the Mynieni to develop a completely nocturnal 
  lifestyle. The Mynieni only venture above ground dur-
  ing the moonless night and as such have evolved eyes 
  almost 10 inches in diameter, with a retractable sheath 
  to control the size of their cornea. As a result, their 
  sensitivity to light is almost 20 times that of a Human. 
  Starlight is more than enough for a Mynieni to operate 
  under normal rules. 
   
  The Mynienis’ hundreds of ciliary limbs allow them 
  to perform extremely subtle and precise manipulations. 
  These multiple limbs also give the Mynieni a superior 
  ability to traverse difficult terrain and to maintain their 
  balance. 
   
  The Mynieni showed 
  little 
  interest 
  in 
  the 
  Federation 
  until 
  just 
  before the General War, 
  when fear of an invasion 
  compelled them to take 
  a more active role. 
   
  When inquiries have 
  been made about the 
  Mynienis’ abrupt change 
  in stance and behavior, 
  they will only reply that “The Burnishers are now 
  known to be returning. We must all be ready to meet 
  them, and on their terms.” The Mynieni refuse to 
  elaborate on this, and many in the Federation Council 
  have dismissed this as being a metaphor. There is no 
  doubt, however, that the Mynieni themselves are 
  taking the ominous pronouncement to heart, and there 
  is evidence that the entire structure of Mynieni society 
  is undergoing drastic changes. Where this change will 
  ultimately take the Mynieni, or what the exact meaning 
  of their warning about The Burnishers might mean, is 
  currently a mystery. 
   
  Homeworld: Class M, Gravity 0.85G, Atmospheric 
  pressure 1.20, Mean temperature 60°F, Zorski Group 
  VI-c. 
   
  Attribute Modifiers: ST-3 [-30]; DX+1 [20]; IQ+1 [20]. 
  Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: SM-1. 
  Advantages: Extra Arms 10 (Short, No physical 
  attack) [20]; Extra Legs 10 (Cannot kick) [8]; 
  Flexibility [5]; High Manual Dexterity 4 [20]; Night 
  Vision 9 [9]; Peripheral Vision [15]. 
  Disadvantages: Invertebrate [-20]. 
  Species Feature: Normal light level for Mynieni is very 
  low; Per-8 for humans. Mynieni eyes take a 
  second to adjust to sudden light changes. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Page 47 
   
  Brecon 
  45 points 
   
  The Brecon are four-armed, golden-skinned hu-
  manoids of average build with an average height of 7 
  to 8 feet. While they are humanoid, they are not re-
  lated to Humans.  
   
  They are unique within the Federation in that there 
  will always be a pair of Brecon assigned to a ship or 
  none at all. In the distant past, the Grenpahk and the 
  Sorel (the two warring ethnic factions of the Brecon) 
  finally ended the centuries-long conflict that had rav-
  aged their homeworld by signing the Jyrahk Accord. 
  This 
  agreement 
  stated 
  that to ensure that their 
  ethnic differences never 
  again would cause them 
  to go to war, they would 
  henceforth 
  have 
  equal 
  standing and representa-
  tion in all endeavors. 
   
  This has led to a vol-
  untary partnership agree-
  ment to produce an equal 
  representation within Star 
  Fleet. Since Star Fleet 
  has such rigid require-
  ments for entry (turning 
  away many more appli-
  cants than are accepted), the Brecon could not de-
  mand that an equal number of Grenpahk be admitted 
  for every Sorel that was accepted. Instead the Brecon 
  apply to Star Fleet in pairs; if either one of the pair fails 
  to gain admittance, the other declines to join as well. In 
  this way the pair are encouraged to form a close inter-
  relation, studying and usually serving together, further 
  cementing the cross-cultural bond that the Brecon 
  have worked so hard to establish. If one of a pair is 
  killed or disabled, he would probably be replaced by 
  another Brecon volunteer, perhaps one whose partner 
  was disqualified. (This partnership means each Brecon 
  in Star Fleet has a sense of duty to his partner.) 
   
  Homeworld: Class M, Gravity 0.98G, Atmospheric 
  pressure 1.10, Mean temperature 79°F, Zorski Group 
  I-b. 
   
  Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: SM+1. 
  Advantages: Extra Arms 2 [20]; Extra Attack 1 [25]. 
   
   
  Federation Fast Cruiser 
   
  Arcturians 
  40 points 
   
  With their wide eyes and slight features, the 
  Arcturians can best be described as being similar in 
  appearance to the Elves found in Human folklore. 
  Arcturians are a small, yet hardy, species. They rarely 
  exceed 5’5” feet in height, and they average 120 
  pounds. 
   
  Centuries of relying on their wits rather than their 
  size has helped them to develop a proficiency with 
  both weapons and martial arts, and Star Fleet has 
  added Sincaht, an Arcturian martial arts philosophy, to 
  the curriculum at Prime Central. 
   
  All Arcturians in Star Fleet are trained in basic Sin-
  caht and are able to aptly defend themselves. 
   
  Very, very, few Arcturians have any psionic ability; 
  those that do so would be treated as genetic freaks by 
  their own people.  
   
  Arcturians 
  of the Ferkite 
  Order 
  are 
  trained 
  from 
  birth as warri-
  ors and do not 
  share 
  the 
  Pacifism dis-
  advantage of 
  their brethren. 
  Many of these 
  serve in the 
  Star Fleet Ma-
  rines and in 
  the 
  Special 
  Forces; some 
  of them serve 
  on 
  prime 
  teams. Sadly, 
  a few of the 
  Ferkite Order 
  have joined the Orion pirates. 
   
  Homeworld: Class M, Gravity 1.10G, Atmospheric 
  pressure 0.90, Mean temperature 65°F, Zorski Group 
  II. 
   
  Attribute Modifiers: ST-1 [-10]; DX+2 [40]. 
  Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: Basic Speed 
  +1 [20]. 
  Advantages: Night Vision 5 [5]. 
  Disadvantages: Pacifism (Self-Defense Only) [-15]. 
   
   
  Federation Strike Cruiser 
  
  Page 48  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Andorians 
  50 points 
   
  Andorians are tall, slender humanoids, with blue 
  skin, white hair, and obvious “antennae” protruding 
  from the top of their heads. As a species, Andorians 
  are renowned for their heightened perceptive acuity, 
  which stems from the great number of predatory 
  creatures 
  that 
  populate 
  their 
  homeworld. 
  Their 
  “antennae” are actually ex-
  tensions of their sinus cavi-
  ties, allowing the Andorians 
  a great sensitivity to minute 
  variations in pressure and 
  temperature. They provide 
  improved hearing and an 
  enormously 
  enhanced 
  sense of smell. The actual 
  receptors 
  are 
  situated 
  within the depressions at 
  the tips of the “antenna” 
  and are protected by the 
  hard cartilaginous tissue that keeps the “antennae” 
  rigid. Andorians’ visual ability is also well above hu-
  manoid standards. 
   
  There is a common misconception about Andori-
  ans – that they are humorless and easily irritated; this 
  is not quite correct. The harsh history of early Andorian 
  civilization has left a strong social taboo against the 
  appearance of frivolity or wasted effort. Their curt re-
  fusals often make them seem prudish or unsociable, 
  while in fact they simply don’t have a strong cultural 
  interest in such activities. They are often considered a 
  “warrior race,” but this is not entirely accurate. Many of 
  them are recruited in the Star Fleet Marines, where 
  their perception is a major advantage. 
   
  Andorian culture is predicated on the “coopera-
  tive.” A cooperative these days is a group of 60 to 100 
  family groups who have banded together to pool their 
  resources and abilities to provide for the whole of their 
  number. Cooperatives tend to grow around single lines 
  of endeavor or a nucleus or core trait and attract indi-
  viduals or families that are involved with this sort of 
  endeavor or something closely related to it. 
  There are technical cooperatives, mercantile coopera-
  tives, entertainment cooperatives, military coopera-
  tives, and every other sort of cooperative that could be 
  thought of. In fact, most Andorians consider Star Fleet 
  to be a form of cooperative; certainly the ones who do 
  join Star Fleet think so! 
   
  Homeworld: Class M, Gravity 1.07G, Atmospheric 
  pressure 1.15, Mean temperature 34°F, Zorski Group 
  III-b. 
   
  Attribute Modifiers: DX+1 [20]. 
  Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: Per+5 [25]. 
  Advantages: Discriminatory Smell [15]; Subsonic 
  Hearing [5]; Ultrahearing [5]; Vibration Sense [10]. 
  Disadvantages: Hidebound [-5]; Loner (12) [-5]; Low 
  Pain Threshold [-10]; No Sense of Humor [-10]. 
  Tellarites 
  27 points 
   
  Tellarites are stocky humanoids with an average 
  height of approximately five feet. They are covered 
  with a small but tough layer of wool-like matting over 
  most of their body, and their hands feature four stubby 
  fingers; their heads and faces are often compared to 
  that of a Terran pig.  
   
  The Tellarites are a 
  hardy species, owing to 
  the great abundance of 
  calcium and other heavy 
  minerals in their bodies 
  (resulting in the “Telis” root 
  of their Federation name). 
  Tellarite bone and carti-
  lage structures are much 
  more massive than their 
  Human counterparts, resulting in a much greater 
  physical strength and innate resistance to bodily dam-
  age. This also results in their body mass being 1.5 
  times that of a normal Human of that height. 
   
  The 
  Tellarite 
  species 
  regards 
  the 
  planet 
  Hahrnohk-7 as their homeworld. Although overeager 
  Federation representatives conferred the name Tellar-
  ites on them before universal translators were able to 
  translate their language, the Tellarites refer to them-
  selves simply as “Those of Hahrnohk.” There is evi-
  dence, however, which suggests that the Tellarites as 
  a species did not originate on this planet. Archaeologi-
  cal digs on the three main continents on Hahrnohk-7 
  have yielded no evidence of the Tellarite species da-
  ting back further than 15,000 years. This is a mystery 
  which fascinates the Federation but which the Tellar-
  ites themselves don’t seem too concerned about. 
   
  While the Tellarites have petitioned vigorously for 
  Full Membership status in the past, their militant poli-
  cies, in addition to their continued and undenied con-
  tacts with the Orion Pirate cartels, have not served 
  them well with the Federation High Council. This is 
  particularly true for the Andorians, who hold a signifi-
  cant and unwavering dislike for the Tellarites. Still, the 
  Tellarites’ natural adeptness with mechanical devices 
  has put them in high demand in engineering labs and 
  shipyards throughout the Federation, and beyond. 
   
  Homeworld: Class M, Gravity 1.24G, Atmospheric 
  pressure 0.95, Mean temperature 67°F, Zorski Group 
  II. 
   
  Attribute Modifiers: ST+1 [10]; HT+2 [20]. 
  Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: HP+3 [6]. 
  Advantages: Fearlessness 2 [4]; Damage Resistance 
  1 (Tough Skin, -40%) [3]; Resistant (Disease) +8 
  [5]. 
  Perk: Fur [1]. 
  Disadvantages: Bully (12) [-10]; Odious Species 
  Habit (Argumentative) [-5]; Selfish (12) [-5]. 
  Quirks: Edgy [-1]; Nosy [-1]. 
  Species Features: Extra dense body structure: add 
  100 pounds to weight, cannot float. 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Page 49 
   
  The Klingon Empire 
   
  The 
  Klingon 
  Empire 
  arose on the ruins of a pre-
  vious empire of which the 
  Klingons had been a “sub-
  ject race.” The “Old Kings” 
  had used Klingons primarily 
  in their starship crews, and 
  when the Old Kings disap-
  peared the Klingons quickly 
  picked up the pieces. The 
  Klingon Empire now in-
  cludes at least 12 planets with native species, all of 
  them subservient “subject races” to the Klingons 
  themselves. 
   
  The Klingons have three major enemies: the 
  Kzintis and the Hydrans, with whom many wars have 
  been fought, and the Federation, which has not often 
  been an active enemy but which threatens the Empire 
  with economic domination. Three minor powers, the 
  Tholians (who occupy stolen Klingon territory), the 
  Lyran Democratic Republic (a renegade Lyran prov-
  ince), and the WYNs, are on the Klingon borders. The 
  Klingons have alliances with the neighboring Lyrans (a 
  species they have fought in the past) and the Romu-
  lans. The Klingons were allied with the Federation 
  during the Early Years Era and during the Androme-
  dan War. 
   
  The Klingon government includes the emperor, 
  three appointed princes, the chancellor (a prime min-
  ister who handles civilian and industrial affairs), the 
  Council, and a military headquarters. The Council con-
  sists of the most powerful leaders in all fields and has 
  approval over most appointments (including the 
  princes) and many decisions. 
   
  The Klingon military forces include: 
   
  • The Deep Space Fleet (DSF), which is the naval 
  (starship) branch of the regular military. 
   
  • The Klingon Army, with a hundred divisions of 
  ground troops, handles planetary defense and major 
  invasions. 
   
  • The Klingon Marines provide detachments on 
  starships. They serve as boarding parties and raiding 
  forces. 
   
  • The Internal Security Forces (ISF) are the police. 
   
  • The Empire Security Service (ESS), the secret 
  police, is tasked with preventing treason, corruption, 
  and insurrection. 
   
  • The Klingon Galactic Bureau, the foreign intelli-
  gence service, handles covert operations in enemy 
  territory. 
   
  • The Galactic Research Unit, the military intelli-
  gence branch, primarily analyzes sensor data and in-
  tercepted communications. It had little, if any, involve-
  ment in outright espionage until the General War, 
  when the need for intelligence saw the GRU expand 
  its activities into this area. 
   
  The Klingon Empire is a poor one economically, 
  and it can only match the Federation in military power 
  at the cost of a lower standard of living for its people. 
  Any attempt to match the Federation standard of living 
  would require disbanding the military forces, leaving 
  the Empire vulnerable to a host of enemies. 
   
  The term “ethnic Klingons” is used when it is 
  necessary to differentiate between Klingons and 
  “Klingon Empire Forces.” Almost 60% of all Klingon 
  Empire starship crewmen are non-Klingon, thus the 
  development of Military Klingon, a 300-word “com-
  mand language” taught to all subject race military per-
  sonnel. The Klingons never really trust the subject 
  races, which is why all Klingon ships have “security 
  stations” and a detachment from the Empire Security 
  Service (an organization that puts the Gestapo to 
  shame). Only a few subject race personnel receive 
  officer commissions. It is something of a mystery why 
  Klingon warriors would rather fill out their crews with 
  politically unreliable non-Klingons than simply draft 
  ethnic Klingon civilians for that role. In early times, the 
  Vergarians (another subject race) revolted and were 
  bombed into the Stone Age as an example to other 
  subject races to behave (or else). 
   
  Subject race persons have the disadvantages of 
  Social Stigma (Minority group) [-10] and Status -1 [-5]. 
  This applies only when in the Klingon Empire, dealing 
  with Klingons. Once off-world (the WYN Cluster, Orion 
  Pirates, etc.), these disadvantages no longer apply. 
  (Some ethnic Klingons new to the situation may react 
  to the subject race persons as though the disad-
  vantages still apply, but quickly learn that subject race 
  persons and Klingons are legally equals.) 
   
  For more information, see GURPS Klingons. 
   
   
  Ethnic Klingon Warriors 
  44 points 
   
  Klingons 
  are 
  generally 
  regarded 
  as a brutal warrior 
  species, 
  but 
  this 
  characterization 
  is 
  not entirely fair or 
  accurate. 
  Klingons 
  are humanoids very 
  similar to terrestrial 
  Humans, with only a 
  tiny portion of their 
  planetary populations 
  selected as warriors. 
  There 
  are 
  actually 
  two primary Klingon 
  social classes: warri-
  ors and civilians. Virtually all Klingons encountered, 
  including starship, base, ground crews, Marines, 
  ground forces, etc., will be of the warrior class. 
  Klingons in the warrior class tend to want to improve 
  their reputation so as to gain promotions more rapidly. 
   
  Klingon youths must take special training and pass 
  a series of tests to become warriors, and while there 
  
  Page 50  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  are no formal barriers to children of civilians becoming 
  warriors, few who grow up in a civilian environment 
  show any interest. It is traditional for children of warri-
  ors to follow in a parent’s footsteps, although such 
  heritage will not make their passage through the ranks 
  any easier. 
   
  Most Klingons are born and raised on their home 
  planet, which is known as Klinshai. A few billion live on 
  major Klingon colony worlds. Four colony worlds are 
  run by the military, and one by the police, and are 
  places where retired warriors can run farms or busi-
  nesses and raise fine children who are strongly en-
  couraged to join the military. Klingons from the three 
  sources (Klinshai, warrior colonies, and other colonies) 
  sometimes regard each other as different social clas-
  ses. 
   
  Some ethnic Klingon civilians serve on starships, 
  mostly in technical or support positions (doctors, sci-
  entists, supply officers, engineers).  
   
  Klingon warriors are not sadistic or brutal. They do 
  not hesitate to use force if it is the most appropriate 
  course of action, but do not necessarily think of force 
  as the first or only alternative. Klingons will not attack 
  civilian targets simply for the thrill of killing defenseless 
  people, but neither will they hesitate to attack a military 
  target just because it is surrounded by civilians. The 
  Klingons have been known to destroy Federation ci-
  vilian colonies in the Neutral Zone (when they can get 
  away with it) to prevent those planets from being 
  claimed as possessions of the Federation. (To Hu-
  mans, a Klingon appears callous, but Klingons con-
  sider it being practical.) 
   
  Note that Klingons in GURPS Prime Directive 
  and the Star Fleet Universe are based on the original 
  source material and appear very much like Humans. 
   
  Homeworld: Klinshai: Class M, Gravity 1.02G, At-
  mospheric pressure 1.03, Mean temperature 83°F, 
  Zorski Group II. 
   
  Attribute Modifiers: ST +1 [10]; DX +1 [20]; HT +1 
  [10]. 
  Advantages: Fit [5]; High Pain Threshold [10]; Higher 
  Purpose (Improve heroic reputation) [5]. 
  Perk: Alcohol Tolerance [1]. 
  Disadvantages: Callous [-5], Short Lifespan 1 [-10]. 
  Quirks: Proud [-1]; Staid [-1]. 
   
   
   
  Klingon D5W 
   
  Dunkars 
  19 points 
   
  Dunkars are orange-skinned humanoids whose 
  homeworld has long since been part of the Empire. 
  Dunkars are quiet, gen-
  teel people who excel in 
  administration and enjoy 
  above all else the telling 
  of a good tale or yarn. 
   
  Of all the subject 
  races controlled by the 
  Klingons, the Dunkars 
  are the most passive 
  and accepting of their 
  situation, and hold a 
  status second only to 
  the ethnic Klingons themselves. Numerous Dunkars 
  have risen to positions of responsibility and even au-
  thority in the Empire due to their levelheaded and calm 
  manner. Some even serve as officers. 
   
  Homeworld: Class M, Gravity 0.98G, Atmospheric 
  pressure 1.01, Mean temperature 75°F, Zorski Group 
  II. 
   
  Attribute Modifiers: ST-1 [-10]; IQ+2 [40]. 
  Advantages: Fearlessness 2 [4]. 
  Disadvantages: Social Stigma (Minority group) [-10]; 
  Status -1 [-5]. 
   
   
  Slirdarians 
  -6 points 
   
  Slirdarians are a hulking bear-ape species and are 
  the equal of the Gorns and 
  Kzintis for physical size and 
  power 
  in 
  a 
  humanoid 
  lifeform. The Klingons once 
  tried to conquer the Slir-
  darian home planet, but 
  were defeated after two 
  decades of guerrilla war-
  fare. The fighting between 
  the two species engen-
  dered a feeling of mutual respect, and in the end, the 
  Klingons withdrew except for a handful of trading sta-
  tions, which became the focus for recruitment. 
   
  Most Slirdarians are of below-average intelligence 
  by Human standards, but there are many notable ex-
  ceptions. There are more sergeants and lieutenants in 
  the Klingon ground forces that are Slirdarian than any 
  of the other subject races. Only the ethnic Klingons 
  outnumber them. More than a few have attended the 
  Academy and reached positions of company or even 
  battalion command. The only non-Klingon to ever 
  reach “flag” rank was a Slirdarian: Brigadier General 
  Razmond Kobol Tsumasoln, known to history as 
  “Kobol of the Rock.” He held the rank of Major but took 
  over an entire division of ground troops when the sen-
  ior Klingon officers were killed. His personal leadership 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Page 51 
   
  inspired the division to resist a two-year Kzinti siege of 
  the planet they were defending. 
   
  Only the bravest (or craziest) enemy ground 
  troops will accept hand-to-hand combat with Slirdari-
  ans. Fast, strong, and able to operate all but the most 
  high-tech equipment, Slirdarians are the first-line 
  shock troops of the Empire. Slirdarians do not usually 
  serve with Hilidarians because of the long-standing 
  rivalry between them dating from the First Klingo-Kzinti 
  War as detailed in GURPS Klingons.  
   
  Homeworld: Class M, Gravity 1.20G, Atmospheric 
  pressure 1.21, Mean temperature 88°F, Zorski Group 
  IV-c. 
   
  Attribute Modifiers: ST+2 [18] (-10% for SM+1); 
  DX+1 [20]; IQ-2 [-40]. 
  Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: SM+1; HP+2 
  [4]  
  Advantages: Damage Resistance 1 (Tough  
  Skin, -40%) [3]; Sharp Claws [5]; Sharp Teeth [1]; 
  Temperature Tolerance 2 [2]; Very Fit [15]. 
  Perk: Fur [1]. 
  Disadvantages: Berserk [-10]; Bloodlust [-10]; Social 
  Stigma (Minority group) [-10]; Status -1 [-5]. 
   
   
  Hilidarians 
  36 points 
   
  Hilidarians are a reptilian species similar in out-
  ward appearance to the Gorns or Pronhoulites, alt-
  hough closer in physical size to the latter and not di-
  rectly related to either. Hilidarians are amphibious, with 
  webbed feet and 
  hands, 
  but 
  can 
  function 
  more 
  than 
  adequately 
  on 
  land. 
  While 
  they walk erect 
  when 
  required, 
  they 
  are 
  more 
  comfortable (and 
  much 
  faster) 
  when on all fours. 
  They are capable of great bursts of speed in this 
  mode, although on arrival at the destination they will 
  have to stop and draw their weapons. 
   
  Hilidarians are a subject race employed mostly in 
  ground forces, although some serve as technicians in 
  starship crews. A few obtain battlefield commissions, 
  and a handful have attended academies or service 
  schools. It is uncommon for Hilidarians and Slirdarians 
  to be in the same company and very unusual for them 
  to be in the same platoon because of a long-standing 
  rivalry or animosity between them. Those selected for 
  service with special teams (including Dagger Teams) 
  are carefully picked to avoid personality conflicts with 
  members of other species. Physically equal to 
  Klingons or other humanoids, they are not nearly as 
  powerful as the Slirdarians, but they are more intelli-
  gent and clever. 
   
  Homeworld: Class M, Gravity 1.04G, Atmospheric 
  pressure 1.05, Mean temperature 89°F, Zorski Group 
  V-b. 
   
  Attribute Modifiers: ST+1 [10]. 
  Advantages: Amphibious [10]; Damage Resistance 2 
  (Tough Skin, -40%) [6]; Enhanced Move 1 
  (Ground, Temporary Disadvantage, No Fine 
  Manipulators, -30%) [14]; Fearlessness 5 [10]; 
  Sharp Teeth [1]; Single-Minded [5]; Striker (Tail) 
  [5]. 
  Disadvantages: Cold-Blooded [-5]; Semi-Upright [-5]; 
  Social Stigma (Minority group) [-10]; Status -1 [-5]. 
   
   
  Cromargs 
  34 points 
   
  Cromargs, humanoid dwarfs whose blotchy skin is 
  a result of too much radiation exposure on their home 
  planet, are the tragic 
  remnants of a once-
  proud 
  species. 
  While 
  Humans were dragging 
  themselves up out of the 
  Dark 
  Ages, 
  the 
  Cromargs were experi-
  menting with atomic en-
  ergy and electronics. 
   
  Having built a tech-
  nological 
  society, 
  the 
  Cromargs never devel-
  oped the drive to go into 
  space. They began to bicker among themselves over 
  political matters. In the end, a terrible atomic war rav-
  aged their world, driving the shattered remnants un-
  derground. They eked out a marginal existence with a 
  small, but stable population, for hundreds of years until 
  the Klingons arrived. As they had retained high tech-
  nology, the Cromargs serve the Empire as technicians. 
  Many Klingon gunners controlling a starship phaser 
  have a Cromarg technician to keep the phaser work-
  ing. Klingon infantry battalions have Cromargs who 
  man the rocket launchers and other heavy weapons. 
   
  Homeworld: Class M, Gravity 0.99G, Atmospheric 
  pressure 0.99, Mean temperature 69°F, Zorski Group 
  II. 
   
  Attribute Modifiers: IQ+2 [40]; HT-2 [-20]. 
  Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: SM-1; HP-2 
  [-4] 
  Advantages: Resistant (Psionics) +3 [10]; Talent 1 
  (Mathematical Ability) [10]; Versatile [5]; Xeno-
  Adaptability [20]. 
  Disadvantages: Social Stigma (Minority group) [-10]; 
  Status -1 [-5]; Susceptible (Disease) -3 [-12]. 
   
   
  
  Page 52  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Zoolies 
  14 points 
   
  Zoolies are an odd humanoid species recruited by 
  the Klingons for their unusual nighttime capabilities. 
  Zoolies have two sets 
  of eyes, one for day-
  light 
  and 
  another, 
  larger pair for use in 
  total darkness. (These 
  eyes can see into the 
  infrared spectrum and 
  can gather more ambi-
  ent light.) 
   
  The 
  Zoolies 
  are 
  highly perceptive. Many 
  Klingon 
  commando 
  teams include Zoolies, 
  and some are com-
  posed 
  exclusively 
  of 
  Zoolies, but Zoolies rarely appear elsewhere in the 
  Klingon military. A handful of them serve as mechanics 
  or technicians on starships, where they can use their 
  night vision in the darker bowels of the ship. Many 
  Klingon Dagger Teams include a Zoolie, a prestigious 
  assignment. 
   
  Homeworld: Class M, Gravity 0.95G, Atmospheric 
  pressure 0.96, Mean temperature 69°F, Zorski Group 
  I-b. 
   
  Advantages: Acute Vision 5 [10]; Infravision [10]; 
  Night Vision 9 [9]. 
  Disadvantages: Social Stigma (Minority group) [-10]; 
  Status -1 [-5]. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Klingon F5W 
   
   
  Yitlians 
  23 points 
   
  Yitlians are humanoids; their only outwardly distin-
  guishing trait is slightly yellow skin and double nostrils. 
   
  Yitlia, their home-
  world, is slightly larger 
  than Earth. Rich both 
  agriculturally 
  and 
  in 
  minerals, the planet has 
  vast deposits of strate-
  gic minerals. The Yitlian 
  home planet is not in-
  side 
  Klingon 
  territory, 
  but far away in the outer 
  reaches of the Lyran 
  Star Empire where a 
  treaty allows the Klingons to exploit new worlds. It is 
  perhaps fortunate that it was the Klingons, rather than 
  the Lyrans, who made first contact, as the Yitlians 
  have an antipathy to all things feline. The Yitlians are 
  associated by treaty with the Klingon Empire; they are 
  not considered a subject race, but for all intent and 
  purpose might as well be and the social stigmas and 
  lower status apply to them as it would to members of a 
  subject race. (The Lyrans do not often allow other 
  species in their territory to leave their planets; the 
  Yitlian situation is unique.) 
   
  Recorded Yitlian history goes back about 6,000 
  years. About 4,000 years ago, the Yitlians began to 
  war with another sentient species that arose on their 
  homeworld. The Akalanaita (“vile ones”) were a spe-
  cies of intelligent felines descended from predatory 
  cats that roamed the vast plains. There is no evidence 
  that Akalanaita were related to the Lyrans or Kzintis, 
  although some Klingon researchers believe they may 
  have been a result of a “seeding” program by the 
  “Leopard Kings”. The war between the species lasted 
  nearly 1,900 years, ending about 2,000 years ago 
  when the Yitlians exterminated the Akalanaita. 
   
  Homeworld: Class M, Gravity 1.09G, Atmospheric 
  pressure 1.09, Mean temperature 79°F, Zorski Group 
  I-b. 
   
  Attribute Modifiers: DX+1 [20]. 
  Advantages: Acute Taste and Smell 4 [8]; 
  Discriminatory Smell [15]; High Manual Dexterity 2 
  [10]. 
  Disadvantages: Impulsiveness [-10]; Intolerance 
  (Felinoids) [-5]; Social Stigma (Minority group) 
  [-10]; Status -1 [-5].  
   
   
   
   
  Zoolie Dagger 
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Page 53 
   
  Romulan Star Empire 
   
  The Romulan Star Empire is the most aggressive 
  of the empires. Romulan territory includes even fewer 
  inhabitable planets than the Gorn Confederation space 
  and contains the home systems for the “suppressed 
  races”. (These were discovered late in the Romulans’ 
  expansion 
  and 
  the 
  Romulans kept their dis-
  covery very quiet.) The 
  Romulans seem to hon-
  estly believe that they are 
  destined to rule the Gal-
  axy and are constantly 
  working toward this end. 
   
  The Romulan gov-
  ernment 
  includes 
  the 
  Emperor, the Praetor, the 
  Senate, the Military Command (which includes the 
  various fleets’ training command, base commands, 
  and military production), and the Civil Administration 
  (which includes planetary governors, police forces, 
  ground legions, etc.). The “Great Houses” (extended 
  families that function in some ways as political fac-
  tions) have great influence over the government. The 
  Romulan government is located on Romulus; Remus 
  is considered to be a second homeworld. 
   
  For more information, see the sourcebook GURPS 
  Romulans. 
   
   
  Romulans 
  33 points 
   
  The warlike Romulans (and their Vulcan cousins) 
  are descended from a much more primitive culture. 
  While it was formerly believed that the Romulans and 
  Vulcans had diverged into different species, more re-
  cent research has determined that genetically they are 
  virtually identical and can interbreed. Over the centu-
  ries, however, they had differentiated in such ways 
  that many still do consider them to be two separate 
  species. Unlike a Vulcan, the typical Romulan chooses 
  to focus on advancement of the Romulan Star Empire 
  (and if he is a member of a “Great House”, the 
  advancement of that Great House’s goals as well),  
  putting 
  aside 
  petty 
  jealousies and per-
  sonal ambition. Nei-
  ther 
  emotions 
  nor 
  logic 
  are 
  shunned, 
  each having an ap-
  propriate 
  use. 
  The 
  Romulans, free from 
  the 
  strict 
  emotional 
  control of Vulcan so-
  ciety, are more pas-
  sionate, but lack the 
  high percentage of people with psionic abilities (and 
  this lack also may be in part due to biological factors). 
  The regenerative powers Vulcans have are entirely 
  due to the so-called “Vulcan mindset” resulting from 
  intensive training to develop these abilities virtually 
  from infancy (while the brain is still “pliable”), while the 
  Romulans do not put any particular emphasis on these 
  Vulcan mental disciplines. 
   
  The Romulan Code of Honor is detailed in Chapter 
  8 and it is drilled in Romulans practically from birth. 
  Two Romulans could have honest disagreements as 
  to how best to serve the Code, some simply don’t sub-
  scribe to it (and the disadvantage must be bought off). 
   
  Homeworlds: Romulus: Class M, Gravity 1.10G, 
  Atmospheric pressure 1.11, Mean temperature 79°F, 
  Zorski Group III-a; Remus: Class K, Gravity 1.16G, 
  Atmospheric pressure 1.12, Mean temperature 125°F, 
  Zorski Group III-a. 
   
  Attribute Modifiers: ST+1 [10]; DX+1 [20]; IQ+1 [20]; 
  HT+1 [10]. 
  Advantages: Acute Hearing 1 [2]; Extended Lifespan 
  1 [2]. 
  Disadvantages: Code of Honor (Romulan) [-10]; Duty 
  (Romulan Empire, 12 or less) [-10]; Intolerance 
  (non-Romulans) [-10]. 
  Quirks: Careful [-1] 
   
   
   
   
  Romulan SeaHawk 
   
  
  Page 54  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Kzinti Hegemony 
   
  The Kzinti government is a monarchy; the ruling 
  hereditary sovereign is known as the Patriarch. There 
  are four principal divisions of Kzinti territory, ruled by 
  the 
  Duke 
  (Klingon 
  border), the Marquis 
  (Federation 
  border), 
  the Count (Lyran bor-
  der), and the Baron 
  (newly explored terri-
  tory). There is some-
  times a Crown Prince 
  who is the heir appar-
  ent to the Patriarch. 
  Countless civil wars, 
  coups, and assassinations play a role in selecting the 
  successor to any hereditary post. 
   
  There have been numerous wars with the 
  Klingons, Lyrans, and (in earlier times) with the Feder-
  ation. Just before the General War began in Y166, the 
  Kzintis allied with the Federation against the Klingons, 
  and benefited from Federation technological assis-
  tance to upgrade their military. 
   
  The Kzinti Hegemony Fleet is aggressive and 
  highly professional, but has spent much of its time in 
  various civil wars over the succession to the throne. 
  The most notable Kzinti Civil War (Y116) resulted in 
  the flight of the Usurper to the WYN Cluster. Kzintis 
  would like to see the WYN Cluster destroyed because 
  it shelters that pretender to the Patriarchy throne, but 
  have been unable to do so due to the support the 
  WYN receive from other powers. 
   
  The Kzinti Hegemony was originally composed 
  only of Kzinti-inhabited worlds. Since expanding to its 
  current size, the Hegemony has gained control of sev-
  eral planets with native sentient species, but does not 
  allow individuals of those species to leave their 
  planets. 
   
   
  Kzintis 
  45/37 points 
   
  The Kzintis are large humanoids of clear feline 
  ancestry. In spite of a superficial resemblance be-
  tween Kzintis and Lyrans (indeed, Federation scien-
  tists have determined the two feline species share a 
  common ancestor), hatred would not be too strong a 
  word to describe Kzinti feelings toward Lyrans. Kzintis 
  are carnivorous, and stories of them eating their cap-
  tives are certainly true. This distasteful habit prevented 
  the Federation from accepting them as allies for many 
  decades. 
   
  Kzinti culture is such that the males are rarely 
  taught to curb their temper. They tend to act on im-
  pulse, which can be a nasty combination with a bad 
  temper. 
   
  Kzinti females issue a pheromone that makes 
  them attractive to male Kzintis. They don’t seem to be 
  as bad tempered or as impulsive as their male coun-
  terparts. Kzinti culture is such that most Kzinti females 
  stay home and raise children rather than going away 
  to space. However this 
  changed 
  after 
  Y185. 
  During the General War, 
  many Kzinti females took 
  over running their hus-
  band’s business; when 
  the 
  war 
  ended, 
  they 
  weren’t all content to stay 
  in 
  their 
  home 
  doing 
  housework and raising 
  children. 
   
  Note: Despite super-
  ficial similarities, these 
  Kzintis are not the Kzin 
  found in another science 
  fiction universe. The Kzintis of the SFU have cat ears 
  and no tails. Kzintis in the SFU will almost never allow 
  their true names to be known by outsiders, and each 
  adopts a “battlename” by which he is known to 
  foreigners. 
   
  Homeworld: Class M, Gravity 1.25G, Atmospheric 
  pressure 1.19, Mean temperature 79°F, Zorski Group 
  IV-a. 
   
  Males 
  45 points 
  Attribute Modifiers: ST+2 [18] (-10% for SM+1). 
  Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: SM+1; Basic 
  Speed +2 [40]. 
  Advantages: Damage Resistance 1 (Tough 
  Skin, -40%) [3]; Night Vision 9 [9]; Parabolic 
  Hearing 2 [8]; Sharp Claws [5]; Sharp Teeth [1]. 
  Perk: Fur [1]. 
  Disadvantages: Bad Temper [-10]; Impulsiveness 
  [-10]; Intolerance (Lyrans, Carnivons) [-5]; Odious 
  Species Habits (Eat other sentient beings) -3 [-15]. 
   
  Females 
  37 points 
  Attribute Modifiers: ST+1 [9] (-10% for SM+1). 
  Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: SM+1. 
  Advantages: Attractive (Area Effect, 4 yards, +100%; 
  Accessibility: own species only, -10%; Emanation, 
  -20%; Sense-Based: smell, -20%)[6] and Affliction 
  (Area Effect, 4 yards,+100%; Disadvantage: 
  Lecherousness, +10%; Accessibility: own species 
  only, -10%; Emanation, -20%; Sense-Based: 
  smell, -20%) [16], total [22]; Damage Resistance 1 
  (Tough Skin, -40%) [3]; Night Vision 9 [9]; 
  Parabolic Hearing 2 [8]; Sharp Claws [5]; Sharp 
  Teeth [1]. 
  Perk: Fur [1]. 
  Disadvantages: Intolerance (Lyrans, Carnivons) [-5]; 
  Odious Species Habits (Eat other sentient beings) 
  -3 [-15]. 
  Quirks: Chauvinistic [-1]. 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Page 55 
   
  The Confederation of the Gorn 
   
  The Gorn Confederation (the two versions of the 
  name are interchangeable) consists of three intelligent 
  races joined into a single 
  political unit. All developed 
  on separate planets but are 
  so nearly identical that they 
  obviously come from com-
  mon stock; their species 
  profiles are identical and 
  they can interbreed. 
   
  Their area of space in-
  cludes relatively few habita-
  ble planets and, apparently, no native intelligent spe-
  cies beyond themselves. This was not always true, 
  however. Prior to the Gorns encountering the Romu-
  lans, the Gorns encountered a sentient species — the 
  birdlike Paravians, also descended from the original 
  Gorn gene pool. The Paravians had found fossils of 
  “demons” during the Paravian Middle Ages. As these 
  “demons” were fossilized Gorns, the Paravians con-
  cluded the Gorns were demons and attacked them 
  with unparalleled savagery. The war continued at a 
  low level for decades, with the Gorns ultimately de-
  stroying all the Paravian colonies and all Paravian 
  spacecraft, destroying all Paravian facilities capable of 
  producing any more spacecraft, and blockading the 
  species on its homeworld. Then a sun snake plunged 
  into the Paravian sun causing it to go nova, destroying 
  the Paravian homeworld and all the Paravians trapped 
  there by the Gorn blockade. The Gorns felt they had 
  caused the destruction of this species, creating the 
  shock of “Paravian Guilt” within the Gorn culture. The 
  Gorns ended the Third Gorn-Romulan War by driving 
  the Romulans back to the original borders, but refused 
  to press the war into Romulan space due to “Paravian 
  Guilt.” 
   
  If the Gorns are famous for anything, it is for the 
  stinginess of their legislature, which avoids providing 
  the military with sufficient funding. The Gorns would be 
  a much greater power in the universe if their percent-
  age of gross national product devoted to the military 
  matched that of the Federation (let alone the Romu-
  lans or Klingons).  
   
  The Gorn Confederation has been at war with the 
  Romulan Empire since they met. After an initial period 
  of tension, the Confederation has been firm friends 
  with the UFP. The Gorns have an excellent working 
  relationship with the Skoleans.  
   
   
  Gorns 
  13 points 
   
  The Gorns are large tailless saurians with a high 
  degree of intelligence and personal bravery. They are 
  physically as large as (or larger than) Kzintis, being 
  taller than (and with perhaps twice the bulk of) 
  Humans.  
   
  Planets have been found with signs of extinct pop-
  ulations of transplanted Gorns. An unknown precursor, 
  generally labeled “Lizard Kings,” is thought to have 
  transplanted the Gorns to these worlds from some 
  unknown birthplace. The Gorns are very interested 
  (but not obsessive) about this. Many adventurers and 
  scientists search planets for signs of the Lizard Kings 
  or other extinct Gorn relatives in Gorn as well as in 
  Federation and Romulan territory. 
   
  The three races of Gorns are known as the Gray 
  Scales (who had reached the highest technological 
  level and built the starships that reunited the races), 
  the Brown Scales (who had reached TL8 before being 
  contacted), and the Green Scales (who were a TL6 
  agrarian race). It took nearly a century before the 
  original social stereotyping was eliminated by intensive 
  programs to bring the Green Scales and Brown Scales 
  up to the level of the Gray Scales. Originally, the three 
  Gorn races each had developed its own language; 
  they quickly adopted “Standard Gorn” (now known 
  simply as “Gorn”) as 
  the language of trade 
  and education and 
  now all Gorns use 
  that language. Dur-
  ing the first decades, 
  Brown Scale busi-
  nessmen took pas-
  sage on Gray Scale 
  ships to the Green 
  Scale 
  homeworld, 
  where they set up in-
  dustries using cheap 
  Green Scale labor. 
  Prior to Y120, you 
  could still find re-
  sentment and prejudice in some areas and individuals. 
   
  Homeworlds: Ghdar I: Class M, Gravity 1.09G, 
  Atmospheric pressure 1.11, Mean temperature 85°F, 
  Zorski Group V-b; Ghdar II: Class M, Gravity 1.07G, 
  Atmospheric pressure 1.08, Mean temperature 82°F, 
  Zorski Group V-b; Ghdar III: Class M, Gravity 1.06G, 
  Atmospheric pressure 1.10, Mean temperature 87°F, 
  Zorski Group V-b. 
   
  Attribute Modifiers: ST+3 [27] (-10% for SM+1); 
  DX-1 [-20]. 
  Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: SM+1; HP+2 
  [4]; Basic Move-2 [-10]. 
  Advantages: 
  Damage 
  Resistance 
  2 
  (Tough 
  Skin, -40%) [6]; High Pain Threshold [10]; Sharp 
  Teeth [1]. 
  Disadvantages: Cold-Blooded [-5]. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
  Page 56  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Skoleans 
  -2 points 
   
  The warm-blooded Skoleans are an associate 
  member of the Federation. Their homeworld Skoleos 
  is 
  in 
  Federation 
  space, very close 
  to the border with 
  the Gorns. They 
  resemble a Terran 
  chameleon both in 
  appearance and in 
  special 
  abilities. 
  While they rarely 
  exceed five feet in 
  height and are not 
  particularly strong, 
  their lean and wiry 
  build allows them 
  to react quickly with a high level of eye-hand 
  coordination. 
   
  When the various galactic powers began develop-
  ment of fighters, the Gorns realized that they had a big 
  problem – themselves. A fighter built large enough to 
  fit a Gorn pilot would lack maneuverability and speed, 
  factors essential to success. Skolean mercenaries had 
  been serving with Gorns for years, and there was a 
  strong bond between the two unrelated reptilian spe-
  cies. In fact, many young Skoleans learn to communi-
  cate in the Gorn language. It would have made good 
  sense for the Gorns to design and build their fighters 
  around a Skolean pilot, but the Gorns went one better 
  and simply built Federation fighters under license. 
  (They also bought the entire assembly line for the 
  Federation F-12 fighter, building thousands as G-12s, 
  after the Federation picked the rival F-18.) 
   
  While there might have been legal problems in-
  volved with Federation citizens serving in the Gorn 
  military, this was carefully ignored by both sides in a 
  fashion reminiscent of American pilots serving in Brit-
  ain’s Royal Air Force during the early years of WWII 
  on Earth, or with Gurkhas serving in the British and 
  Indian armies. 
   
  Skoleans are sometimes found serving in Star 
  Fleet or other Federation jobs, and are rarely found 
  serving in the Marines and other highly physical occu-
  pations. They can be considered available as another 
  Federation member species, although most Skoleans 
  who serve off-planet do so with the Gorns, not the 
  Federation. Skolean mercenaries serve the Gorns in 
  many capacities, not just as fighter pilots. Some serve 
  as naval crewmen and a few hold commissions or 
  even command ships. 
   
  Homeworld: Class M, Gravity 0.81G, Atmospheric 
  pressure 0.96, Mean temperature 72°F, Zorski Group 
  V-c. 
   
   
   
   
   
  Attribute Modifiers: ST-1 [-10]; DX+1 [20]; HT-1 
  [-10]. 
  Advantages: Chameleon 2 [10]; Enhanced Tracking 
  [5]; Peripheral Vision [15]; Resistant (Acceleration) 
  +8 [3]. 
  Disadvantages: Unfit [-5]; Vulnerability (cr ×2) [-30]. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  One of the Gorn G-12 fighters that Skoleans piloted so 
  successfully. 
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Page 57 
   
  Tholian Holdfast 
   
  Escaping the Seltorian Revolt, the Tholians fled 
  the M81 Galaxy, settling on the edge of the Milky Way 
  Galaxy at the end of the 
  Orion Arm in what was 
  then 
  Klingon 
  territory. 
  While the original group of 
  Tholians was small and 
  the Tholians’ only star-
  ships 
  were 
  tiny 
  police 
  cutters, Tholian technol-
  ogy was so superior that 
  the Tholians were able to 
  conquer the area, destroying (or enslaving?) several 
  Klingon colonies in the process. The Klingons maintain 
  a perpetual state of war against the “foreign invaders.” 
  Klingon ships are rotated through the famed Tholian 
  Border Squadron, engaging in combat training due to 
  the near-constant border skirmishes as the Tholians 
  fiercely defend their territory. The Federation, which 
  was briefly allied to the Tholians in the General War, 
  never asked what had happened to the Klingon 
  colonists. 
   
  During the General War, the original Tholians 
  were joined by a fleet of their original warships (known 
  at first as “Neo-Tholians” to Star Fleet Intelligence). 
  Not long after that, an expedition of Seltorians arrived 
  and (with Klingon help) set up a base and began at-
  tacking the Tholians in a combination of a religious 
  crusade and a big-game hunt. 
   
  Despite a nature that is alien even by galactic 
  standards, the Tholians are masters of playing off one 
  side against the other, not from cowardice but neces-
  sity (their forces are too small to stand losses). The 
  first principle taught in their academy is “Let’s you and 
  him fight.” Even so, extensive Tholian patrols prevent 
  Orion piracy in their space. 
   
  The Tholians are known to keep prisoners from 
  the Klingon Empire and the Federation and to use the 
  prisoners as forced laborers on worlds that are too 
  cold for Tholians to live on. 
   
   
  Tholians 
  101 points 
   
  The Tholians are asexual crystalline entities who 
  live in very hot environments. They temporarily as-
  sume a gender when mating and for the three years 
  spent raising their off-
  spring. They are not 
  native to the Milky Way 
  Galaxy, but once domi-
  nated their native gal-
  axy, which we call M81. 
  The 
  Tholians 
  were 
  overthrown in a Sel-
  torian-led 
  galaxy-wide 
  revolt. 
  However, 
  a 
  small group of Tholians 
  escaped the Seltorian Revolt and brought their 
  “planet”, which was a provincial capital and a small 
  Dyson Sphere (i.e., a huge hollow structure with a 
  small artificial star inside), with them. It took nearly 200 
  years for these Tholians to travel to our galaxy. Most 
  Tholians still live in their Dyson Sphere and now con-
  sider it their homeworld in the Alpha Octant. The Dy-
  son Sphere’s interior environmental conditions are 
  detailed under the description of the homeworld below. 
  If Tholians have to interact in person with other spe-
  cies, they use special environmental suits. 
   
  Homeworld: Class T, Gravity 0.88G, Atmospheric 
  pressure 0.85, Mean temperature 400°F, Zorski Group 
  X. 
   
  Attribute Modifiers: IQ+1 [20]; HT-1 [-10]. 
  Secondary Attribute Modifiers: High TL +2 (Tholian 
  physiology and medicine only, -50%) [5]. 
  Advantages: Body of Stone [140]; the DR 5 is Flexible 
  (-20%) and Semi-ablative (-20%) [-10]; Detect 
  (Electric and Magnetic fields) [20]; Flight 
  (paramagnetic, -25%; low ceiling, 5 feet, -25%; 
  visible, -20%) [12]; Ultrahearing [5]. 
  Disadvantages: Increased Life Support (Extreme 
  Heat) [-10]; Intolerance (Non-Tholians) [-10]; No 
  Legs (aerial) [0]; Weakness (Oxygen/Anaerobic, 
  1d per minute, very common) [-60]. 
  Quirk: Outside of their native environment, Tholians 
  radiate heat (and light as a soft glow) which makes 
  them easier to see: +1 indoors, +4 in darkness, 
  and+10 with Infravision [-1]. 
   
   
   
  Tholians and Seltorians Fighting 
   
   
  
  Page 58  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Orions and Orion Pirates 
   
  When the Federation was formed in Y4, the 
  Orions (not then mem-
  bers of the Federation) 
  actually had a larger and 
  better organized econ-
  omy. 
  The 
  Federation 
  grew rapidly and engulfed 
  the Orion territory, which 
  remained 
  independent. 
  During the first Federa-
  tion-Romulan War (start-
  ing in Y40), the Orions 
  were allied with the Federation and provided money, 
  production, and technology to support the war. In Y45 
  the Orions joined the Federation, but negotiated a 
  unique membership status that gave them a higher 
  degree of autonomy and local sovereignty (mostly 
  keeping Star Fleet out of Orion space) compared to 
  other Federation members. When the Klingons in-
  vaded the Federation in Y171, the Orions exercised 
  the clause of their membership allowing them to tem-
  porarily leave the Federation and become a neutral 
  empire; they remained so until rejoining the Federation 
  late in the General War. 
   
  Whenever the Orion government is a member of 
  the United Federation of Planets, some Orions serve 
  on Star Fleet ships. Of the members of the Federation, 
  the Orions are perhaps the most economically aggres-
  sive, both within and outside Federation territory. 
   
  Officially (according to the Orion government, any-
  way), the famed and fiercely independent Orion Pi-
  rates are simply common thieves and criminals, many 
  of whom are not even Orions, and who have no link to 
  the Orion government or people. 
   
  The stories of the origins of the Orion Pirates are 
  as varied as the pirates themselves. Some of them 
  supposedly evolved from the mega-corporations 
  based on the Orion homeworld. Some of the original 
  Orion Pirates are rumored to have been a clandestine 
  arm of the Orion government, using ships provided to 
  them and manned by regular officers and crewmen of 
  their own fleet. What is certain is that since their for-
  mation, the Orion Pirates have extended their opera-
  tions to cover most known areas of the Alpha Octant. If 
  the Orion government or the mega-corporations ever 
  did control the pirates, they controlled only a few of 
  them by the time of the General War (Y168). 
   
  As the Orion Pirates slipped into lawlessness, they 
  organized into cartels, each controlling all pirate oper-
  ations in a given area; see p. 257 for a map of the 
  cartels’ territory. Each cartel has many ships under its 
  direct control, although about two-thirds of all Orion 
  Pirate ships are independent ships. Independent oper-
  ators lease an operations area from a crimelord and 
  purchase their needed supplies, weapons, and 
  maintenance from cartel facilities. Some Orion Pirate 
  ships have a large number of crewmembers who are 
  non-Orion (Humans, Romulans, Klingons, and even 
  Vulcans); a few have no ethnic Orion crewmembers at 
  all. 
   
  The Orion Pirates are equal-opportunity exploiters 
  of all the galactic powers, except for the independent 
  WYN Cluster, whose autonomy they protect in order to 
  use it as a base of operations. Pirates (of any species) 
  are considered to be outlaws. As with many pirates, 
  they tend to have the disadvantage of greed and an 
  intolerance of the legal system. 
   
   
  Orions 
  42 points 
   
  The ethnic Orions are a dexterous, green-skinned 
  species resembling, but not directly related to, Hu-
  mans. Much of what “everyone knows” about the Ori-
  ons is a result of a few popular melodramas featuring 
  Orion Pirates with an Orion “slave girl” somewhere in 
  the cast. As a result, many believe that Orion women 
  are all sexy slave girls and all Orion men are rakish 
  pirates. However, most Orion women are housewives 
  and mothers or choose to have a career; most Orion 
  men follow respectable careers and come home to 
  their children each night. 
   
  Orions who are more charismatic than the norm 
  (and who also have less moral difficulty rearranging 
  the wealth so that it comes to them) frequently seem to 
  step naturally into the role of Orion Pirate. “Orion slave 
  girl” (or “escort” as the males prefer to be known) is a 
  highly paid profession with specific training needed for 
  the person who wishes to follow that profession. In no 
  way is it slavery. In some ways it resembles the gei-
  shas of Earth; some practitioners even add spying to 
  their resume.  
   
  Homeworld: Class M, Gravity 0.95G, Atmospheric 
  pressure 1.03, Mean temperature 75°F, Zorski Group 
  III-b. 
   
  Attribute Modifiers: DX+1 [20]. 
  Advantages: Fearlessness [2]; Xeno-Adaptability [20]. 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Page 59 
   
  Hydran Kingdom 
   
  Starting in Y40 with the First Lyran-Hydran War 
  and in Y66 with Klingon-Hydran border skirmishes, the 
  Hydran 
  Kingdom 
  has 
  been in conflict with those 
  two empires. While Hy-
  drans and Klingons (or 
  Lyrans) cannot live on the 
  same worlds, neither has 
  been willing to share sys-
  tems with the other. 
   
  The Hydran Kingdom 
  was conquered by the 
  Klingons and Lyrans in Y87 and held as a client state. 
  However, the Klingons and Lyrans never reached 
  three remote colony planets (Altroth, Minxitith, and 
  Krooth) where powerful merchant guilds had estab-
  lished themselves. The Hydran government fled to 
  these colonies, known at the time as the Lost Colo-
  nies. By Y135, the well-established economies on 
  these three worlds were able to build a fleet large and 
  powerful enough to kick the Klingons and Lyrans out of 
  Hydran space. After the Reestablishment, the systems 
  were called the Old Colonies; “Lost Colonies” and “Old 
  Colonies” have since become interchangeable. 
   
  The Hydran government is a monarchy, but the 
  bureaucracy holds the real power as dozens of royal 
  princes conspire for the throne. 
   
  The Hydran fleet uses vast numbers of fighter-
  shuttles, and most of their ships are hybrid warship-
  carriers. 
   
   
  Hydrans 
  10 points 
   
  One of the few non-bipedal species in known 
  space, Hydrans are short beings (just over four feet 
  tall), greenish-gray in color, with a barrel-shaped body, 
  three stubby legs, three equally spaced tentacles, and 
  no necks. 
   
  Their methane atmos-
  phere would be uncom-
  fortable (or fatal) to most 
  other 
  species. 
  They 
  breathe methane (which 
  provides most of their 
  food) and could survive on 
  virtually 
  any 
  methane 
  planet. Their homeworld is 
  somewhat smaller than 
  Uranus and of lower den-
  sity. They are highly intel-
  ligent. Their small stature 
  puts them at a minor dis-
  advantage 
  in 
  ground 
  combat, but their starships are among the most re-
  spected in space and are designed for close-range 
  combat. 
   
  Hydrans come in three sexes that are generally 
  referred to as “male,” “female,” and “matriarchal.” As 
  the matriarchals have the intelligence of a sheepdog, 
  they are not often seen as player characters. The spe-
  cies profile below is for both males and females. Note 
  that the listed disadvantages come into play only when 
  Hydrans are away from their native environment or not 
  on ships designed for them alone. 
   
  Homeworld: Class S, Gravity 1.13G, Atmospheric 
  pressure 3.16, Mean temperature -220°F. Zorski 
  Group IX-a. 
   
  Attribute Modifiers: ST-1 [-10]; IQ+1 [20]. 
  Advantages: Ambidexterity [5]; Extra Arms 1 (Extra 
  Flexible +50%, Long +100%) [25]; two modified 
  arms (Extra Flexible +50%, Long +100%) [30]; 
  Extra Legs 1 [5]; Injury Tolerance (No Neck) [5]. 
  Disadvantages: Increased Life Support (Nitrogen-
  methane atmosphere at cryogenic temperatures) 
  [-10]; Weakness (Oxygen/Anaerobic, 1d per 
  minute, very common) [-60]. 
   
   
   
   
   
  The 
  Hydran 
  Hunter 
  is a 
  frigate-
  class 
  ship. 
   
   
   
  Hydran Apache Medium Command Cruiser 
  
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Andromedan Invaders 
   
   
  The Andromedans arrived from the M31 Galaxy 
  about Y166 and were little more than a nuisance until 
  the end of the General War 
  when 
  they 
  launched 
  a 
  major invasion that very 
  nearly conquered the Milky 
  Way Galaxy. Intelligence 
  estimates 
  that 
  several 
  dozen ships were launched 
  from Andromeda two cen-
  turies prior to Y166. Analy-
  sis indicates that the An-
  dromedans secured a base 
  in the Lesser Magellanic Cloud and began probes into 
  the Milky Way Galaxy itself sometime in late Y165. 
   
  Their weapons are largely of unknown types and 
  technologies. 
   
  Nothing is known about the Andromedans as be-
  ings: the only Star Fleet Marine who ever saw one and 
  lived could not speak of it nor could medical science 
  help him do so. Andromedan boarding parties are 
  composed entirely of robotic combat systems, leading 
  some to theorize that the Andromedans are them-
  selves robots or computer software. Other theories run 
  the gamut from plants to animals to minerals to evil 
  spirits. 
   
  There are no Andromedan player characters in 
  GURPS Prime Directive. Andromedan robots may be 
  approximated for use by the GM. As there are dozens 
  of types, GMs may use their imagination to design 
  them. One might imagine that any robot doesn’t need 
  air, has communications (radio) to other robots, is im-
  mune to disease, and cannot “learn.” (All skills are 
  programmed in.) Three common Andromedan robots 
  include: 
   
  General Boarding Robot: This floats on anti-grav 
  systems (six yards per turn), has two manipulator 
  arms, has armor equal to Marine Battle Armor, and 
  has four phaser pistols built in (each with a 90° arc of 
  fire). The robot has the equivalent of ST 14 and DX 14 
  for any fighting skills. It is shaped like a round canister 
  with a short cone on each end. There is a sensor stalk 
  sticking out of the top cone and can be withdrawn if 
  necessary. There is one manipulator arm attached to a 
  small rotating ring at the end of each cone. This gives 
  each arm unimpeded movement all the way around 
  the robot. The phasers are placed equidistant from 
  each other around the “equator” of the main canister. 
  Each phaser can be fired independently, provided 
  there is a target in the proper range. 
   
  Small Scout Drone: This floats on anti-grav sys-
  tems (10 yards per turn), has sensors equal to a tri-
  corder, is only lightly armored, and has one phaser 
  pistol built in (with a 360° arc of fire). This robot has 
  the equivalent ST 8 and DX 15 for any fighting skills. It 
  has the equivalent of IQ 10 for operating the sensors. 
  It is shaped like a sphere three feet in diameter. It has 
  a small nub on the top and bottom of the sphere. The 
  top nub is the phaser emitter. 
   
  Heavy Weapons Robot: Heavily armored, this 
  walks on legs (some have tracks or wheels, all are 
  fairly noisy) at three yards per turn. It has five metal 
  tentacles (three yards long) plus a heavy weapon (and 
  enough power to fire it 10 times). This robot has the 
  equivalent to ST 15 and DX 12 for fighting purposes. It 
  is fairly rare; at most 10% of boarding robots in any 
  given group will be of this or similar heavy types. 
  There are two main components to this robot. The 
  bottom part is the locomotive portion that houses the 
  legs (or wheels or tracks). The legged version has four 
  legs located at the corners of a square base. The top 
  part is a large pentagonal cone. Each face has a ten-
  tacle protruding from it. Each tentacle is thin with a 
  small grasper at each end; the strength of each belies 
  their size. However, the grasper is rarely used as the 
  tentacle is primarily used to wrap and either hold or 
  crush opponents within range. The heavy weapon is 
  mounted on the top of the cone and can rotate 360°. 
  The heavy weapon is typically either a rocket launcher 
  (equivalent to a light rocket launcher) or a phaser 
  weapon (equivalent to a repeating phaser). The rocket 
  launcher will have 10 rockets available to fire. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Andromedan Cobra 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Andromedan Intruder 
   
   
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Page 61 
   
  Lyran Star Empire 
   
   
  The Lyran Star Empire is located on the far side of 
  the Klingon Empire from the Federation. It is divided 
  into 21 counties (one of 
  which rebelled to be-
  come the neutral Lyran 
  Democratic 
  Republic). 
  One county is run by the 
  King-Emperor, with the 
  others divided into four 
  duchies (each run by a 
  duke). The Lyrans (like 
  the Kzintis, and unlike 
  the Klingons) do not allow sentient species within their 
  empire into space. 
   
  Early in history, the Lyrans fought wars with the 
  Klingons, but as time passed, they became Klingon 
  allies. The alliance was originally one of convenience, 
  but by the time of the General War the Lyrans and 
  Klingons were firm friends with the mutual respect of 
  warriors. The strong central organization of the 
  Klingons did leave the Klingons as the senior partner 
  in the alliance. The Lyrans have engaged in constant 
  warfare with the Kzintis and Hydrans; they also joined 
  in the Coalition invasion of the Federation in Y171. 
  They have engaged in attempts to reintegrate the LDR 
  into the Empire, and would love to see the WYN 
  Cluster destroyed, but have been unable to do so due 
  to the support the WYN receive from the Lyrans’ ene-
  mies. The high level of internal conflict within the Lyran 
  Star Empire has kept the empire as a whole from 
  dominating a much larger area of the galaxy. 
   
  The hatred between the Lyrans and Kzintis is so 
  tremendous that every attempt at peace negotiations 
  breaks down into hand-to-hand combat. Federation 
  diplomats attending international conferences have 
  been advised to not stand physically between Kzinti 
  and Lyran diplomats, even when the discussions are 
  proceeding calmly. The fact that Kzintis and Lyrans 
  somehow coexist peacefully inside the WYN Cluster is 
  an embarrassment to both empires. 
   
  Subject race persons have the disadvantages of 
  Social Stigma (Subjugated by Lyrans) [-20]. This ap-
  plies only when in the Lyran Star Empire, dealing with 
  Lyrans. Rarely do these people escape from the Lyran 
  Star Empire, but when they do, once they are off-world 
  (the WYN Cluster, Orion Pirates, etc.), these disad-
  vantages no longer apply. (Some Lyrans new to the 
  situation may react to the subject race persons as 
  though they are subjugated, but quickly learn that 
  subject race persons and Lyrans are legally equals.) 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Lyrans 
  48 points 
   
  The Lyrans (pronounced Lear-uhns) are Human-
  sized cat-like humanoids 
  with 
  great 
  physical 
  strength. Their fur coats 
  and features bear a strik-
  ing resemblance to those 
  of a Terran lynx with 
  some 
  variations; 
  their 
  temperaments are also 
  similar. Lyrans have short 
  fur-covered tails. Males 
  and females are equals. 
  Federation scientists have 
  determined that the Ly-
  rans and Kzintis are descended from common stock 
  seeded by the “Leopard Kings” countless years ago; 
  however if this commonality is mentioned in the pres-
  ence of a member of either species, the discussion is 
  likely to become heated (and bloody). 
   
  Homeworld: Class M, Gravity 1.10G, Atmospheric 
  pressure 1.02, Mean temperature 70°F, Zorski Group 
  IV-a. 
   
  Attribute Modifiers: ST+1 [10]; DX+1 [20]; IQ+1 [20]. 
  Advantages: Damage Resistance 1 (Tough 
  Skin, -40%) [3]; Discriminatory Smell [15]; Night 
  Vision 9 [9]; Sharp Claws [5]; Sharp Teeth [1]. 
  Perk: Fur [1]. 
  Disadvantages: Curious [-5]; Gregarious [-10]; 
  Intolerance (Kzintis and Carnivons) [-5]; Odious 
  Species Habits (Eat other sentient beings) -3 [-15]. 
  Quirk: Chauvinistic toward Lyrans from other counties 
  [-1]. 
   
   
  Peladine Republic (Conquered) 
   
   
  Peladine is a class-M planet within Lyran territory. 
  It gave birth to two intelligent species, the Ranel and 
  the Phelen. After several wars, they achieved a unified 
  Peladine Republic and had achieved TL9 when they 
  were discovered by the Lyran Empire in Y130. The 
  Lyrans quickly reduced them to a subject race. Since 
  then, Ranel and Phelen are rarely found offworld. A 
  few are recruited into Lyran service; a few who cannot 
  tolerate Lyran rule join the Orion Pirates. 
   
  Homeworld: Class M, Gravity 0.97G, Atmospheric 
  pressure 0.95, Mean temperature 72°F, the Ranel are 
  Zorski Group IV-c; the Phelan are IV-d. 
   
   
  Ranel 
  25 points 
   
  The Ranel resemble four-foot tall, bipedal Terran 
  raccoons and share the habit of curiosity with that 
  species. The Ranel are mute, and all Ranel know their 
  
  Page 62  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  sign language (their native language, no cost). Those 
  Ranel who must interact with alien species wear a 
  speech synthesizer which resembles and accordion, 
  but allows them to use spoken language. As a mute 
  species, all Ranel receive a +3 to Sign Language rolls. 
  All Ranel are taught by the Phelan to understand the 
  Phelan spoken language. While they do not speak the 
  language, they comprehend it. 
   
  Attribute Modifiers: DX+1 [20]. 
  Advantages: Brachiator [5]; Catfall [10]; Damage 
  Resistance 1 (Tough Skin, -40%) [3]; Flexibility 
  (Double-Jointed) [15]; Sharp Teeth [1]. 
  Perk: Fur [1]. 
  Disadvantages: Mute (Mitigator, speech 
  synthesizer -60%) [-10]; Social Stigma 
  (Subjugated by Lyrans) [-20]. 
   
  Phelen 
  42 points 
   
  The Phelen resemble Terran dolphins. As their 
  flippers have Bad Grip, they built TL8 artificial hands 
  (and used their mouth for fine manipulation). Later, the 
  Ranel made TL9 artificial arms for them. They can 
  speak in their own tongue to the mute Ranel. All Phe-
  lan are taught by the Ranel to understand the Ranel 
  sign language. While they usually cannot sign in it, 
  they comprehend it. (A few Phelan use their artificial 
  arms to sign, but they are a rarity.) 
   
  Attribute Modifiers: ST+2 [20]; HT+2 [20]. 
  Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: Water Move +2 
  [10]. 
  Advantages: Damage Resistance 2 (Tough 
  Skin, -40%) [6]; Doesn’t Breathe (Oxygen Storage, 
  200×normal, -20%) [16]; Pressure Support 2 [10]; 
  Speak Underwater (Interface Crossing, +50%) [8]; 
  Striker (Tail) [5]. 
  Disadvantages: Bad Grip 2 (Mitigator, artificial 
  arms -20%) [-8]; Dependency (Immersion in water, 
  daily) [-15]; No Legs (Aquatic) [0]; Short Arms 
  [-10]; Social Stigma (Subjugated by Lyrans) [-20]. 
   
  Lyran Democratic Republic 
   
   
  One of the 21 Lyran counties rebelled in Y145 and 
  became the independent and neutral Lyran Demo-
  cratic Republic. The tiny enclave remained independ-
  ent mostly because Fore-
  most Duchy welcomed the 
  reduction in power of its ri-
  val, 
  the 
  Enemy’s 
  Blood 
  Duchy (of which the LDR 
  had been a part). The LDR 
  later acquired some signifi-
  cant Hydran technology as a 
  result of the Hydrans bribing 
  them to stay neutral in the 
  General War. While an officially neutral power, the 
  LDR has fought minor wars with the Hydrans and with 
  the Klingons, two of their neighboring empires. Ten-
  sions with the Lyran Star Empire have remained high, 
  no doubt caused in part by the LDR’s attempts to ex-
  port its revolution to the Lyran Star Empire. The Lyran 
  Star Empire and the Lyran Democratic Republic have 
  fought at least two minor wars with each other. 
   
  Ethnic Lyrans from the LDR will be identical to 
  other Lyrans, except that they will average about an 
  inch shorter in height. The Carnivons were presumed 
  extinct when the LDR was formed; had they been 
  alive, Lyran inhabitants of the LDR would have shown 
  them the same intolerance as other Lyrans had. Some 
  Ranel and Phelan work in the LDR in various jobs. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Lyran Alleycat War Destroyer 
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Page 63 
   
  The WYN Cluster 
   
  The WYN Star Cluster stands as a huge (50-
  parsec diameter) beacon at the crossroads of the gal-
  axy. Marking the point 
  where the Klingon, Ly-
  ran, and Kzinti borders 
  meet, the Cluster itself 
  was long considered un-
  inhabitable. Surrounded 
  by a dense cloud of 
  highly radioactive dust, it 
  was assumed that the 
  entire cluster was satu-
  rated with deadly radiation.  
   
  There is no species profile for the WYN because 
  there are no ethnic WYN. All residents of the WYN 
  Cluster are immigrants from other species and em-
  pires described in this book. Kzinti and Lyran charac-
  ters from the WYN Cluster do not have the mutual In-
  tolerance rating toward each other. They both have 
  a -5-point intolerance rating toward all Kzintis and 
  Lyrans from outside of the WYN Cluster. Characters 
  from Klingon “subject races” who were “freeborn” in 
  the Cluster do not have the Social Stigma or Low 
  Status disadvantages. Klingons born in the Cluster do 
  not have the same attitude toward subject races. 
   
  In Y116, the Kzinti Duke failed in an effort to seize 
  the Patriarchal throne. Pursued by the victorious Patri-
  arch’s fleet, the Usurper (as he was known forever 
  after) led the ragged survivors of his fleet to the edge 
  of the WYN Cluster and plunged directly into it, be-
  lieving it better to die than be taken prisoner. However, 
  the Usurper and his followers survived. The radioac-
  tive clouds were a relatively thin shell, but only by 
  driving into them at Warp 7 could even that brief expo-
  sure be tolerated. Once inside, his people were safe. 
  Given up for dead by his former empire, the Usurper 
  secretly began constructing a society within the 
  Cluster.  
   
  Later, a large group of Lyrans (on the losing side 
  of one of their civil wars) also flew into the Cluster to 
  die, and, surprisingly, made an alliance with their 
  hated enemies, the Kzintis. In time, Klingon renegades 
  also joined the mix. When Orions (fleeing pursuit) 
  entered the Cluster (expecting to die) they found the 
  WYNs ready to deal. Once the Orions were involved, 
  renegades from virtually every sentient species in the 
  galaxy joined the WYNs. Common enemies and a 
  common cause forced these groups to set aside past 
  rivalries and form a rare multi-species culture. 
   
  The planets and asteroids within the Cluster are 
  rich in rare metals, making the WYNs a wealthy em-
  pire. They would no doubt be destroyed by their 
  neighbors were it not for a combination of defensive 
  factors. First, until they recovered from the effects of 
  the radiation, invading ships would suffer continuous 
  malfunctions that drastically reduced their effective-
  ness in combat, and the small WYN fleet could easily 
  defeat much larger forces. The second reason for 
  WYN defensive success was that none of the border-
  ing empires could afford to see the others gain control 
  of the fabulously wealthy area. The WYN try to main-
  tain a strict neutrality despite the fact that an entire 
  Orion Pirate cartel operates from the Cluster. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  WYN Barracuda 
   
   
  
  Page 64  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  The Inter-Stellar Concordium (ISC) 
   
  The Inter-Stellar Concordium (ISC) is an organiza-
  tion of five species as-
  sociated by treaty, all 
  speaking 
  a 
  common 
  language. In this they 
  are similar to the Fed-
  eration. As is typical of 
  the eastern regions of 
  the Alpha Octant, all of 
  these species are na-
  tive to different planets, 
  but most of these systems are within a relatively small 
  area at the center of ISC territory. The various species 
  discovered each other, fought several minor wars, and 
  formed the ISC before the era of warp-powered star-
  ships. 
   
  There, the resemblance to the Federation ends. 
  The ISC has no concept of a Prime Directive, and will 
  intervene in the development of any species to bring it 
  up to ISC standards. The ISC’s prime conviction is that 
  “a peaceful, harmonious and well-ordered universe is 
  the duty of all sentient species. Civilizations collapse 
  when that duty is ignored, therefore it must be required 
  of all.” The dark underside of the ISC is that they have 
  no respect for individual or cultural rights that violate 
  this principle, and will go to any lengths to enforce their 
  idea of “peace, order, and good government.” There-
  fore, the ISC will try (usually successfully) to separate 
  warring powers, forcing them back within their borders. 
  The ISC does not try to conquer those powers or force 
  them to adopt ISC philosophies, but the ISC enforces 
  a “Zero Tolerance for War” policy. 
   
  The ISC became aware of the Gorns and Romu-
  lans in Y160 when the energy flashes of a battle were 
  detected by a far-ranging survey mission. As the ISC 
  is singularly pacifistic anyway (having found wars very 
  unprofitable), its first encounter with the two warring 
  empires left a scar on the ISC psyche. The ISC had 
  assumed that the development of warp-power would 
  lead all species to a higher understanding based on 
  the realization that there were enough worlds for eve-
  ryone. The “outworlders” were considered to be dan-
  gerously violent and not entirely sane. After seeing the 
  battles, the ISC treated both neighbors with the same 
  disdain and considered both to be untrustworthy, dan-
  gerous lunatics. There was never any thought of ally-
  ing with one against the other; both were considered 
  (metaphorically speaking) to be wild animals to be kept 
  outside of the civilized area of the ISC itself. The 
  Romulans and Gorns, however, constantly tried to en-
  list the ISC on their side. The two enemies never had 
  enough combat power to spare to make any serious 
  move against the ISC (beyond responding to their in-
  cursions). During this period ISC diplomats met with 
  both species, and ambassadors were sent to the Fed-
  eration and other capitals. 
   
  What the ISC found shocked them even more 
  deeply. The galaxy had not just two dangerous lunatic 
  empires on the loose but, in fact, had at least eight, 
  and they apparently became more and more barbaric 
  the farther they were from the ISC. The ISC built a 
  huge fleet and, at the end of the General War (Y185), 
  imposed themselves as peacekeepers between the 
  warring factions. (Those factions regarded the ISC 
  forces as buying them time to build new fleets.) With 
  their forces scattered as they were, the huge ISC fleet 
  (which might have defended the sector) became easy 
  prey for the invading Andromedans. 
   
  The ISC is a democracy that makes sure each 
  species has a voice. Each species has an election 
  every five years. The species elects a vice president 
  for the empire’s government. These elections are 
  staggered so that only one vice-president is elected 
  each year. The most senior vice president (the one 
  facing re-election or replacement) is the president for 
  the year. It is expected that the president will govern, 
  not spend time on campaigning for re-election. Senior-
  ity starts over again at election; there is no “carry over” 
  of years in service when it comes to the seniority of the 
  vice presidents. 
   
  All ISC citizens have ISC Standard as an extra 
  Native language due to the insist-
  ence of educators that a common 
  language unites all the species 
  and actually speaking a language 
  is much preferable to relying on an 
  artificial 
  translation 
  which, 
  no 
  matter how sophisticated, can 
  miss important nuances of 
  emphasis and phrasing.  
   
   
   
   
                     
   
            
   
   
   
   
  Interstellar-Concordium Heavy 
  Cruiser, Two Destroyers, and  
  Three Frigates 
  in Echelon Formation 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Page 65 
   
  Veltressai 
  79 points 
   
  The Veltressai are humanoids and they are clearly 
  the leaders of the ISC. The policy of stopping conflicts 
  emanates from their original role in uniting many spe-
  cies into the ISC.  
   
  Veltressai were the leaders at infiltrating the 
  Romulan Star Empire to find out more about it. Many 
  times it was the “normal” Veltressai who were as-
  signed this duty, but for particularly hazardous mis-
  sions, a Quad would be assigned. The Quad would 
  only have one member in public at a time, but if their 
  member were to be killed, they would know everything 
  he learned. The Veltressai (and the Veltressai alone) 
  flew trading ships into Romulan space. They posed as 
  traders from “out there” and were able to determine 
  much about the ruthlessness and lengths the Romu-
  lans were willing to go to in order to fulfill their per-
  ceived destiny of ruling the galaxy. By limiting these 
  missions to Veltressai, the ISC was able to disguise 
  that a united empire was behind the visits. 
   
  Veltressai Quads 
  141 points 
   
  One of every 20 Veltressai births consists of a set 
  of four identical quadruplets who are empathetically 
  and telepathically linked and, while four individuals, 
  have one personality. Anything known or felt by one is 
  relayed telepathically to the others (within 15 miles 
  maximum) within minutes and is part of their common 
  experience. 
   
  A memory buffer allows the four individuals to 
  function without distraction, maintain peripheral con-
  tact, and “catch up” at convenience. Veltressai Quads 
  are frequently called the “Captain’s Race” because the 
  four Quad members can arrange their schedule to 
  keep one of them on duty at all times. If Veltressai 
  Quads try to pick up individual careers, they quickly 
  find that they have the “book learning” of the careers 
  other than their own, but may not have the physical 
  skills to accomplish the task. If a Quad member tries to 
  do a task that he didn’t learn himself and doesn’t prac-
  tice regularly, the GM may impose a penalty, such as 
  using a secondary attribute as the skill base. For ex-
  ample, if a Quad member who is a Marine tries to do 
  the surgery that another Quad member knows as a 
  surgeon, the GM may add penalties for being unfamil-
  iar with the equipment and/or may rule that a DX-
  based roll be used instead of IQ. Thus the Quads are 
  strongly urged to pick one profession for all four Quad 
  members. (The Veltressai leadership always stresses 
  this to Quads from their earliest education on.) 
   
  If separated by distance, unconsciousness, or a 
  telepathic shield, each Quad functions independently 
  but the “Telepathic Addiction Withdrawal” penalty 
  starts after 24 hours. (This penalty is only in effect if 
  there is a single Quad; two Quads able to link are not 
  affected.)  Telepathic addiction is a very difficult addic-
  tion to overcome. The separated Quad member suf-
  fers a -1 penalty to all DX based skills. In addition, his 
  IQ is temporarily lowered by 1 for the duration of the 
  withdrawal period. (The reason is because the char-
  acter is continually distracted by the loss of the tele-
  pathic link.) It can be overcome over time, and the 
  character can beat the addiction in 1d6+6 months. 
   
  As soon as the lone Quad member re-establishes 
  contact, he will merge back into the group mind and 
  exchange memories quickly in 1d6 minutes, removing 
  the effects of the isolation. Medications or poisons with 
  a psychological effect will affect all four when they 
  Mindshare; one HT roll is made for all four Quad 
  members, using the lowest HT. 
   
  A Quad which suffers a loss of a member has a -1 
  penalty to all IQ based Skills for a period of 2d6 weeks 
  while the surviving Quads work through their mourning 
  and grief. Note that this is cumulative with the tele-
  pathic addiction withdrawal, so the sole survivor would 
  undergo withdrawal and mourning. If one Quad mem-
  ber dies, the survivors cannot spend character points 
  for anything until they buy off a portion of the Ad-
  vantage: Ally Group. If one player character is a mem-
  ber of a Quad, the GM controls the others. If one Quad 
  member dies, the survivors cannot spend character 
  points for anything until they buy off a portion of the 
  Advantage: Ally Group. 
   
  Homeworld: Class M, Gravity 0.78G, Atmospheric 
  pressure 0.95, Mean temperature 77°F, Zorski Group 
  II. 
   
  All Veltressai 
  Attribute Modifiers: ST -1 [-10]; IQ +2 [40]. 
  Advantages: Common Sense [10]; Fearlessness 2 
  [4]; Intuition [15]; Xeno-Adaptability [20]. 
   
  Veltressai Quads Add 
  Advantages: Ally Group (3 allies, same point cost, 
  appearing almost all the time, ×3, Sympathy, 
  Medications with psychological effects have same 
  effect on other Quad members when mind-
  linked, -10%) [41]; Mindlink (Only to other 
  members of Quad, Nuisance Effect; distracted 
  during periodic telepathic contact with other 
  members, -10%) [9]; Telesend (Broadcast, +50%, 
  Accessibility, Only to other members of the Quad, 
  -60%) [27]. 
  Disadvantages: Addiction (Mindlinking with other 
  Quad members, expensive, can only link with 
  other members of Quad, totally additive, legal) 
  [-15]. 
   
  
  Page 66  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Q’Naabians 
  27 points 
   
  Q’Naabians are one 
  of the five species that 
  formed the Inter-Stellar 
  Concordium. They are 
  short humanoids, with a 
  greenish dappled skin. A 
  Q’Naabian may use his 
  tail to express emotion, 
  much as Terran dogs 
  do. 
   
  Because the system 
  Q’Naabia is relatively far 
  away from the other four ISC homeworlds, Q’Naabians 
  did not get as deeply involved with the early Resource 
  Wars that happened among the five species. They 
  joined the Inter-Stellar Concordium more out of a 
  sense of curiosity than anything else and are its top 
  historians. They tend to keep to themselves, giving the 
  impression that they are snobs, but in fact they simply 
  prefer the company of their own species — in their 
  own environmentally controlled, oxygen/chlorine at-
  mosphere living cabin. While Q’Naabians prefer a 
  colder temperature (about 52°F) than most of the fel-
  low member species of the ISC, they can tolerate a 
  “normal” Class-M planetary temperature. When they 
  are in a “normal” oxygen/nitrogen atmosphere on 
  board a ship or base or on planet-side, Q’Naabians 
  carry a small canister of chlorine gas with them. They 
  then can breathe a trace amount of chlorine through 
  what Humans would call a nasal cannula. Without the 
  chlorine, they would die quickly, much as a Human 
  deprived of oxygen. 
   
  Q’Naabian culture praises the recording of history. 
  Not every species is lucky enough to have racial 
  memory, so the true history must be recorded for 
  them. In addition, a memory of what your people did is 
  more easily placed in context by knowing what may 
  have influenced decisions. Each Q’Naabian ship (and 
  later every ISC ship) included at least one Q’Naabian 
  historian. Those historians tend to be quite curious and 
  that curiosity can lead them into danger. (What hap-
  pens if that big red button on that wall gets pushed? 
  What is behind that door?) Historians often swear to 
  devote their lives to the pursuit of knowledge. A 
  Q’Naabian historian who deliberately misstates or 
  slants the true facts of history is shunned by polite 
  Q’Naabian society. The same love of truth means that 
  if a Q’Naabian engineer tells you it will take three 
  hours to repair an engine, it will be as an accurate an 
  estimate as he can make. There’s no padding an esti-
  mate so that his department will look good. 
   
  Q’Naabians live longer than Humans, about as 
  long as Vulcans which is 180 years. They have a racial 
  memory of sorts, sometimes having a sense of déjà vu 
  in situations they have never encountered. They tend 
  to be truthful due to societal expectations. The histo-
  rian can be curious enough that the curiosity can lead 
  them into trouble. Any Q’Naabian who deliberately 
  records false information as true history is ostracized 
  by proper Q’Naabian society. 
   
  Homeworld: Q’Naabia: Class R, Gravity 0.88G, 
  Atmospheric pressure 1.33, mean temperature 52°F, 
  Zorski Group VIII-a. In some places the planet 
  Q’Naabia is listed as Q’Naab. Q’Naabia is the pre-
  ferred form. 
   
  Attribute Modifiers: IQ+2 [40]; HT+1 [10]. 
  Advantages: Extended Lifespan 1 [2]; Racial Memory 
  (Passive) [15]. 
  Disadvantages: Dependency (Chlorine gas, Very 
  Common, Constantly) [-25]; Increased Life 
  Support (chlorine-oxygen atmosphere) [-10]; 
  Truthfulness (12) [-5]. 
   
   
  Pronhoulites 
  48 points 
   
  The 
  Pronhoulites 
  are land-based, biped-
  ally erect, reptilian hu-
  manoids, perhaps dis-
  tantly related to the 
  Gorns (or not). Pron-
  houlites 
  are 
  not 
  as 
  powerful as the Gorns, 
  but are much faster. 
  They are one of the five 
  species found in the 
  Inter-Stellar Concordium. 
   
  Pronhoulites originally formed many tribes that 
  squabbled over territory. They finally united under the 
  joint rulership of King and Queen Rathanon. Tradition 
  suggested that no other ruler would have the primary 
  name of Rathanon. (When the Pronhoulites started 
  traveling in space, the kings and queens took on the 
  title of emperor and empress, but still held to the 
  naming convention.) To unite the tribes it was empha-
  sized that friendship was one of the primary devotions 
  of all Pronhoulites. Duty was important, be it to the 
  tribe or the highest level of the kingdom. As the gods 
  had blessed the union of the tribes, so Pronhoulites 
  showed their devotion to those gods through perform-
  ing their duties and forming strong and loyal 
  friendships.  
   
  Every proper Pronhoulite undergoes The Time of 
  Cleansing, which is obviously marked by eating his 
  tribe’s native foods and privately marked by performing 
  the rituals and meditations of his tribe. Fortunately, 
  The Time of Cleansing is staggered through the vari-
  ous tribes so that good friends can take over any seri-
  ous obligations that might interfere. Pronhoulites who 
  are serving a higher duty to the state perform anything 
  private in their off-hours. 
   
  Pronhoulites never placed an emphasis on frivo-
  lous technology to the degree that many other species 
  did. They enjoy many of the innovations, but believe 
  that they must rule technology and not be ruled by it. 
  Technology is reserved for practical usage and not as 
  
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  Page 67 
   
  much for recreational purposes. If a meeting is held in 
  a town, Pronhoulites feel it is far better to be there in 
  person. However, if it isn’t practical to be there, then it 
  is perfectly acceptable to use technology to participate 
  by videocasting.  
   
  They have never become numerous enough to be 
  a major power within the ISC. Part of the reason is that 
  being cold-blooded, the planets they find attractive are 
  not as numerous. Pronhoulites are aggressive in pro-
  tecting what they deem important (what they have 
  sworn a duty to and to their friendships). They are 
  adaptable to situations and other beings. They seem 
  to have an instinct for and are very adept at military 
  matters.  A Pronhoulite strategist is valued in the mili-
  tary, police, and navy. Many who join the ISC’s navy 
  become first officers where they are happy following a 
  duty, not creating new paths. They tend to gravitate to 
  the Marines where they carry out their missions and 
  assignments, usually successfully. 
   
  The Pronhoulites were in favor of doing more than 
  just separating the barbarian powers, perhaps utterly 
  destroying any ships they found in conflict. The other 
  species in the ISC were more inclined to hope that by 
  “spanking the barbarians,” the barbarian species 
  would learn that they didn’t have to fight. 
   
  Homeworld: Class M, Gravity 1.45G, Atmospheric 
  pressure 1.25, mean temperature 95°F, Zorski Group 
  V-b. 
   
  Attribute Modifiers: ST+1 [10]; DX+1 [20]. 
  Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: Basic Speed 
  +1 [20]. 
  Advantages: Damage Resistance 1 (Tough 
  Skin, -40%) [3]. 
  Disadvantages: Cold Blooded [-5]. 
  Taboo Trait: Temperature Tolerance. 
   
  Rovillians 
  100 points 
   
  The Rovillians are one of the five species that 
  formed the Inter-Stellar Concordium. They are a 
  psionically 
  active 
  aquatic 
  species, 
  something like a cross 
  between a turtle and a 
  dolphin. 
  They 
  have 
  vestigial exo-chitin on 
  their backs and heads 
  and 
  possess 
  crudely 
  articulated 
  digits 
  on 
  their flippers. While un-
  gainly on dry land, the 
  Rovillians 
  are 
  inhu-
  manly graceful and acrobatic in their native element. 
  When in the water, a Rovillian can use his strong tail to 
  strike a ball in sport or an enemy in a fight. 
   
  All Rovillians have latent psionic abilities, much 
  like the Vulcans. Many (but not all) Rovillians who 
  make it into space have developed them to some ex-
  tent, especially telepathy (to improve communication 
  with the “dry” ISC species) and telekinesis (to com-
  pensate for their lack of fine manipulators). Rovillians 
  tend to be healthier and stronger than Humans, more 
  like Rigellians. Part of the reason for their increased 
  strength is due to the higher gravity of their home 
  planet. 
   
  The physiology of the Rovillians was much de-
  bated by Federation scientists and based in part off 
  glimpses from viewscreens. For many years it was 
  thought they must be totally aquatic and (like Terran 
  dolphins) must moisten their bodies frequently.  Scien-
  tists speculated that it would be easier for such a spe-
  cies to work from a tank. Only during the era of the 
  ISC Pacification did it become known that Rovillians 
  actually have stubby hind legs to walk on, much as if a 
  turtle could walk on its hind legs. When a Rovillian 
  wants to swim, he tucks up his legs next to his body 
  and uses his flippers and tail to achieve a very fast 
  speed. Heavy-duty moisturizing ointments take care of 
  a Rovillian’s skin when he is out of the water. Rovilli-
  ans can speak, but their voices tend to be very high-
  pitched.  When communicating with their “dry” cowork-
  ers, Rovillians with telepathy use that to be sure that 
  what they mean is communicated accurately.  (Their 
  coworkers may find this “dual voice” somewhat dis-
  concerting until they become used to it.) Rovillians do 
  breathe, but they can hold their breath for a long time 
  compared to Humans. 
   
  The ISC has made accommodations on their ships 
  for their semi-aquatic crewmates. Every ship includes 
  a large swimming pool which helps keep all the crew 
  fit. It is a common saying though, “Never race a man 
  with his own flippers.” Crew quarters are modular so 
  that where a Q’Naabian might have a bed (or a Vel-
  tressai Quad might prefer a set of bunk beds), a Rovil-
  lian has a “lounging pool” for relaxation and sleep. 
  Duty stations have chairs that swivel and recline. Much 
  as Hilidarians do, the Rovillians reverse the chair and 
  lean forward in it, the better to see the instrument 
  panel. If a Rovillian must stand for a long period of 
  time, you may catch him using his muscular tail as a 
  third point of contact. 
   
  Technologically, the Rovillians didn’t have the 
  level of sophistication of the others in the ISC did. So 
  many forms of power don’t “play well” with water. 
  Some speculate the plasma cannons found on the 
  earlier ships of the Rovillian nation were suggested by 
  the exhalation from the Rovillians’ “blowholes.”  Still, 
  the Rovillians managed to build a fearsome fleet in 
  numbers compared to the other four species and as 
  part of unification had to scrap about half of it.  
   
  What the Rovillians lacked in technology, they 
  more than made up for in their culture. Movement is an 
  art form with them, much as rhythmic gymnastics are 
  for Humans. They enjoy sports based in water. Newer 
  sports for them are “The Races.” Typical of the 
  
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Rovillians, they identified a problem, created a solu-
  tion, and then made the solution fun. 
   
  While the Rovillians were almost totally aquatic, 
  their lower limbs were slowly shrinking in size and 
  strength. Some scientists speculate that eventually 
  they would be little more than vestigial limbs. Now that 
  Rovillians lead semi-aquatic lives, they need their legs 
  to more easily move around. They created a pedal 
  exercise “bike” to help strengthen their legs. This grew 
  into something resembling a unicycle which they race 
  for sport. One race is for pure strength – Rovillians 
  peddle the unicycle for speed. A second race is for 
  dexterity and reaction time – the unicycle has an 
  added battery pack and small engine. Courses vary 
  and may include obstacles. The Rovillian equivalent of 
  a triathlon is a water race, a strength race, and a 
  dexterity race.  
   
  Note that the Mute disadvantage only applies to 
  speaking outside of water to non-Rovillians (i.e., any 
  Rovillian that is living off his homeworld or not on a 
  world colonized by Rovillians should take this 
  disadvantage). 
   
  Homeworld: Class N, Gravity 1.51G, Atmospheric 
  pressure 1.47, mean temperature 79°F, Zorski Group 
  IV-d. 
   
  Attribute Modifiers: ST+2 [20]; HT+2 [20]. 
  Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: Water Move +4 
  [20]. 
  Advantages: Doesn’t Breathe (Oxygen Storage, 
  200×normal, -20%) [16]; Pressure Support 2 [10]; 
  Telekinesis 5 (Psychokinetic, -10%) [23]; Telesend 
  (Telepathic, -10%) [27]; Striker (Tail) [5]. 
  Disadvantages: Bad Grip 2 [-10]; Cannot Speak 
  (Mute, mitigator, translators -60%) [-10]; 
  Dependency (Immersion in water, hourly, 
  mitigator, uses moisturizer daily, -60%) [-6]; No 
  Legs (Semi-Aquatic) [0]; Semi-Upright [-5]; Short 
  Arms [-10]. 
   
   
  Korlivilar 
  158 points 
   
  The Korlivilar are a 
  feline 
  species; 
  their 
  height often measures 
  less than 6 feet. The 
  Korlivilar are the undis-
  puted masters of speed 
  and reaction time, and 
  most often serve as for-
  ward scouts and in spe-
  cial forces units. They 
  do require lots of sleep 
  to function well, spending only a third of the day awake 
  by choice. However, they awaken easily, so often their 
  shipboard cabins are soundproofed. They also tend to 
  be loners or to work in small groups that understand 
  their need for “down time.” 
   
  The Korlivilar are not like the other feline species 
  found in the Alpha Octant of the Milky Way Galaxy. 
  They are not as big as the Kzinti but slightly bigger 
  than the Lyrans. They are both stronger and more 
  dexterous than the Lyrans. Their coats tend to run to 
  earth tones such as black, brown, tans, and a dusty 
  red. Occasionally a non-albino white Korlivilar is born. 
  In the more distant past, these were considered to be 
  a gift from the gods and were raised to an age where 
  they could be sent to a church-run monastery. There 
  they became priests and scholars. 
   
  When the Korlivilar heard that the Kzintis and Ly-
  rans had exterminated the Carnivons, they were ap-
  palled. These were not stupid predators, driven by ap-
  petite alone. These were sentient beings. The felines 
  were worse than the Gorns who were responsible for 
  the genocide of the Paravians, but were at least sorry 
  for what they had done. The Kzinitis and Lyrans had 
  done it and were proud of it. The Korlivilar doubled 
  down on aggressively bringing peace to the galaxy. 
   
  Homeworld: Class M, Gravity 0.98G, Atmospheric 
  pressure 1.05, mean temperature 75°F, Zorski Group 
  IV-a. 
   
  Attribute Modifiers: ST+2 [+20]; DX+4 [80]. 
  Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: Per+2 [10]. 
  Advantages: Absolute Direction [5]; Combat Reflexes 
  [15]; Damage Resistance 1 (Tough Skin, -40%) 
  [3]; Enhanced Move 1 (Ground) [20]; Infravision 
  [10]; Sharp Claws [5]; Very Fit [15]. 
  Perk: Fur [1]. 
  Disadvantages: Light Sleeper [-5]; Loner [-5]; Sleepy 
  [-16]. 
   
  ISC Cruiser 
   
  ISC Battleship 
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
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  Seltorian Tribunal 
   
  The Seltorians resemble large humanoid insects. 
  They reach a height of 5’4”-5’7” and weigh 100-156 
  pounds at full maturity. This seems to be a species 
  constant, except for the Queens which are much 
  larger. There are two sexes 
  divided into five types. The 
  Seltorian species resides in 
  the original Tholian Home 
  Galaxy (M81). Prior to the 
  downfall of the Tholians, 
  the Seltorians (genetically 
  engineered by the Tholians 
  for loyalty) occupied the 
  position of “Most Trusted 
  Subject Race” within that galaxy and enforced Tholian 
  rule of their other subject races. It turned out that a few 
  Seltorian sages lacked the loyalty gene and a revolu-
  tionary conspiracy grew. 
   
  About a decade before the Revolution, Seltorian 
  scientists stumbled upon a weapon that would disrupt 
  webs. When the Tholians realized what was going on, 
  they destroyed the starbase that had originally in-
  vented the weapon. But hundreds of the components 
  (and blueprints to build more) had already been dis-
  tributed to other bases and were quickly fitted to Sel-
  torian ships. The entire Seltorian Revolution lasted 
  only a few years, as the Tholians lost base after base 
  to growing rebel fleets. After the revolution was com-
  plete, the Seltorians simply replaced the Tholians as 
  masters of a galaxy-wide empire. 
   
  It was known that some Tholian forces had es-
  caped the debacle. Various factions of the Seltorians 
  debated what should be done, with one group wanting 
  to let the surviving Tholians go in peace while others 
  wanted to hunt down the hated overseers. Several 
  groups were known to have escaped to (or at least 
  toward) other nearby galaxies, and the Tribunal re-
  solved to track them down. 
   
  Hive Ships of incredible size were assembled and 
  sent on long voyages to many different galaxies, in-
  cluding both the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies. 
  With the exception of the Hive Ship that reached the 
  Milky Way Galaxy, nothing is known of the other expe-
  ditions (although it can be imagined that the Hive Ship 
  that went to Andromeda did not fare well). 
   
  Scouts from this Hive Ship, following the ion trail 
  left by the Tholian 312th Battle Squadron, contacted 
  the Klingons in Y182. They announced their presence 
  and mission, and the Klingons were only too happy to 
  point out the location of the Tholian Holdfast. 
   
  The Seltorians asked the Klingons if they could set 
  up a base on any convenient planet and conduct com-
  bat operations against the Tholians. The Klingons, 
  facing a growing stalemate in the General War, were 
  only too happy to accept the offer of co-belligerency. 
  The Seltorian force, which had arrived as a holy cru-
  sade and functioned as a war crimes tribunal, quickly 
  took on the aspect of a big game hunt. 
   
  The ISC Pacification Forces arrived in late Y186 
  and insisted that the Tholians and Seltorians stop 
  fighting immediately. When they did not, the ISC as-
  saulted the Seltorian base, destroying it. When the last 
  remnants of the escaping Seltorians fled to the Klingon 
  starbase in that sector, the Klingons destroyed them. 
  With the General War over, the Klingons did not want 
  or need the fast-breeding Seltorians within their Em-
  pire. A few individuals may have survived on pirate 
  ships or in remote areas. 
   
  Most Seltorians only communicate in their native 
  language. Even in their home galaxy they never knew 
  the Tholian language as they simply used translation 
  devices to communicate. 
   
  Homeworld: Unknown, data is from ships: Gravity 
  0.98G, Atmospheric pressure 1.01, mean temperature 
  65°F, Zorski Group VI-b. 
   
   
  Queens 
  -15 points 
   
  The only fertile females are the queens, who make 
  up less than 1% of the population and live more than a 
  century. Queens continue to grow throughout their 
  long lifespan (almost an inch a year) and can reach 
  lengths of nearly 16 feet 
  (all of the length gain is 
  in the abdomen, making 
  their legs useless). One 
  mating 
  session 
  can 
  produce hundreds of 
  thousands of eggs, and 
  queens usually mate 
  many times during their 
  life span. 
   
  Egg production can 
  be controlled by limiting 
  dietary 
  intake, 
  which 
  allows the Seltorians to 
  limit their population (or 
  to increase it rapidly 
  when needed). Queens do not need or possess a par-
  ticularly high level of intelligence. 
   
  Because their size over time spans two different 
  categories, the queens are divided into young queens 
  (up to nine feet long or SM+1) and elder queens (nine 
  feet and longer, SM+2). Elder queens are frequently 
  placed onto gravity sleds that will take them safely 
  from place to place. The sled allows fewer Seltorian 
  workers (always directed by a Seltorian sage) to have 
  to try to move the queen. The controls are placed so 
  the queen herself cannot reach them and direct the 
  sled erratically. The sled is designed to be added onto 
  as the queen increases in size. 
   
  Seltorian queens are mature at when they reach 
  their seventh month. Their aging thresholds are at 75, 
  100, and 125 years. When queens reach the age of 
  100, unless there is a need for more workers, they are 
  
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  retired to a dark, quiet chamber where they live until 
  there is again a need for large numbers of workers.  
   
  Seltorian queens get slower as they get longer 
  and this affects their point value. For every foot in 
  length over six (each foot takes about 12 years to 
  achieve), their Basic Move decreases by 1 [-5 per foot 
  of growth]. The disadvantage of No Legs (Sessile) 
  [-50] comes into effect when the queen achieves a 
  Base Move of 0. 
   
  Attribute Modifiers: IQ-4 [-80]; HT+5 [50]. 
  Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: HP+5 [7]; 
  SM+1. 
  Advantages: Extended Lifespan 1 [2]; Damage 
  Resistance 2 (Tough Skin, -40%) [6]. 
   
   
  Rams 
  -4 points 
   
  Fertile males, called rams, are driven to mate with 
  a queen and live only until they do so, after which they 
  die in an hour. Rumors that the queens eat their mates 
  appear to be incorrect. Players should not play rams; 
  they mate, then they die. Rams are mature at seven 
  months. At two years, the ram hormones burn out and 
  the former ram is now a sage (see following section). 
  There are not that many rams to begin with and only 
  10-20% of the rams survive long enough to become a 
  sage. 
   
  Attribute Modifiers: ST+2 [20]. 
  Advantages: Damage Resistance 2 (Tough 
  Skin, -40%) [6]. 
  Disadvantages: Incurious (6) [-10]; Obsession: Mate 
  with Queen (6) [-20]. 
   
   
  Seltorian Ram and Worker 
   
  Sages 
  40 points 
   
  Those rams who do not mate within a few weeks 
  of sexual maturity be-
  come infertile and live 
  for two centuries or 
  more as sages. The 
  sages run the govern-
  ment, have the highest 
  intelligence, 
  provide 
  most of the starship of-
  ficers and industrial ad-
  ministrators, and take a 
  much longer view of the 
  development 
  of 
  the 
  species. While it would 
  seem that the choice 
  between the short lifespan of a fertile ram and the 
  longer, more fulfilling lifespan of a sage would be a 
  simple one, this choice is not one given to the Rams. It 
  is more a case of not being in the right place at the 
  right time. The only downside is that the genetic mate-
  rial of sages is not passed on. 
   
  Sages have aging thresholds at 300, 400, and 500 
  years.  
   
  Attribute Modifiers: IQ+2 [40]. 
  Advantages: Damage Resistance 2 (Tough 
  Skin, -40%) [6]; Extended Lifespan 2 [4]. 
  Disadvantages: Incurious (6) [-10]. 
  Species Feature: Sterile [0]. 
   
   
  Workers 
  21 points 
   
  The infertile females are the workers, who 
  make up more than 95% of the population and live 
  only a few years; one authoritative source cites a life 
  span of five years but suggests that few workers die 
  natural deaths. Workers are reasonably intelligent and 
  provide most of the starship crews, a job for which 
  they are trained practically from birth. They are born 
  with the knowledge that they will not lead long lives, 
  but they work mostly without complaint. They reach 
  physical and mental maturity in only a few months. At 
  five years, if they are workers, they start aging rapidly 
  and will die within a month as their organs fail. If they 
  live over five years, they are really experts. 
   
  Attribute Modifiers: ST+2 [20]; DX+1 [20]; IQ+1 [20]; 
  HT+2 [20]. 
  Advantages: Damage Resistance 2 (Tough 
  Skin, -40%) [6]. 
  Disadvantages: Incurious (6) [-10]; Self-Destruct 
  [-10]; Short Lifespan 4 [-40]; Workaholic [-5]. 
  Species Feature: Sterile [0]. 
   
   
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
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  Experts 
  75 points 
   
  For unknown reasons, a tiny percentage of the 
  female workers have 
  lifespans as long as 
  the male sages, and 
  due to their years of 
  experience, 
  become 
  experts in their tasks. 
  Never 
  aspiring 
  to 
  leadership (not that 
  sages would tolerate 
  it anyway), experts 
  continue their hard 
  work without complaint. 
   
  Experts have aging thresholds at 300, 400, and 
  500 years.  
   
  Attribute Modifiers: ST+2 [20]; DX+1 [20]; IQ+1 [20]; 
  HT+2 [20]. 
  Advantages: Damage Resistance 2 (Tough 
  Skin, -40%) [6]; Extended Lifespan 2 [4]. 
  Disadvantages: Incurious (6) [-10]; Workaholic [-5]. 
  Species Feature: Sterile [0]. 
   
   
   
   
   
  Seltorian Cruiser 
   
   
   
   
  Jindarian Caravans 
  126 points 
   
  The Jindarians are an ancient species, well 
  adapted to living in widely varying gravitational condi-
  tions. Jindarians function normally at up to 0.5G with-
  out a “gravity suit.” 
  After that, every addi-
  tional 
  increase 
  of 
  0.25G causes a tem-
  porary drop of one 
  point in ST, DX, and 
  HT. The “gravity suit” 
  works well to 1.5G; 
  after that, every increase of 0.25G causes a temporary 
  drop of one point in ST, DX, and HT. Of particular note 
  is the Jindarian skeleton (composed of an intricate 
  variably ossiform cartilage) and an advanced respira-
  tory system that actively adapts to the oxygen/carbon 
  dioxide ratio of the surrounding atmosphere. Jindari-
  ans produce a strong unique smell due to their spe-
  cialized respiratory system. 
   
  The Jindarians have been in space for perhaps 
  100,000 years, and have no known homeworld (or in-
  deed, no known “national government”). It is not 
  known if they originated within the Alpha Octant of the 
  Galaxy or arrived from elsewhere. To some extent, the 
  Jindarians appear to operate as “Gypsies,” establish-
  ing themselves in a system’s asteroid field and later 
  moving on. 
   
  The larger Jindarian ships (dreadnoughts, battle-
  cruisers, and construction dockyard ships) are built 
  from asteroids riddled with tunnels and fitted with warp 
  engines and other systems. These asteroid ships are 
  virtually indistinguishable from other asteroids, at least 
  until they start moving or fighting. Smaller Jindarian 
  ships (cruisers, destroyers, frigates) have typical metal 
  hulls.  
   
  The Jindarians appear to operate in groupings 
  referred to as “cara-
  vans,” which can be 
  anywhere from 3 to 12 
  of their asteroid ships. 
  For reasons that are 
  unknown, 
  it 
  appears 
  that any caravan about 
  to become larger than 
  12 ships will subdivide 
  into two or more cara-
  vans, each moving in a 
  different direction. Thus 
  dozens (perhaps hun-
  dreds) of their fleets of hollow asteroid ships crisscross 
  the galaxy (ignoring wars, borders, laws, and treaties) 
  to mine whatever asteroid belts they find valuable. 
   
  Caravans are led by a Jindavo. His senior com-
  manders are known Jindbaros. The politics inside a 
  caravan are complex, with the various asteroid ship 
  captains spying on the Jindavo and being spied on by 
  him in return. Assassinations are common, but there is 
  no such thing as a “typical” caravan government or 
  culture. 
   
  Most Jindarian caravans operate in star systems 
  that are not inhabited; hence their activities go on al-
  most unnoticed. When they move into an inhabited 
  system (which is rarely done as conflicts are expen-
  sive), problems quickly result. When Jindarians move 
  into a star system, they try to drive out any miners al-
  ready there rather than tolerate interference with “their” 
  
  Page 72  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  claims. In an uninhabited system, the prospectors 
  simply move on to less disputed stakes. In an inhab-
  ited system, the effect is generally ruinous to the local 
  economy, as the Jindarians keep most of the fruits of 
  their labors and what they sell is at prices just below 
  what the material can be imported for. It seems that 
  Jindarians in general would be what humans would 
  call “misers” as they take in far more than they spend.  
   
  There is no overall Jindarian government; every 
  “caravan” has its own style of operations. Some make 
  (and keep) contracts with various empires. From time 
  to time, a given empire will find one particular caravan 
  to be so injurious that it sends a fleet to wipe them out 
  or force them to depart. 
   
  Most Jindarian asteroid ships have only very small 
  amounts of gravity (0.1G or less), and in many areas 
  this falls to as low as 0.02G. While walking is possible, 
  most Jindarians move around inside their own ships by 
  “swimming” through the air. The Jindarians use a 
  “gravity suit” when forced to go to another ship or a 
  planet. This suit is good for at most a few hours of op-
  erations in an environment up to 1.5G. The Jindarians 
  have had this technology for thousands of years, but 
  the other Galactic Powers have never matched its 
  quality. 
   
  Most Jindarians only communicate in their native 
  language. They can live for as long as five centuries. 
  They have aging thresholds at 160, 240, and 320 
  years.  
   
  Homeworld: Unknown, data is from ships: Gravity 
  0.08G, Atmospheric pressure 0.67, mean temperature 
  55°F, Zorski Group VI-c. 
   
  Attribute Modifiers: DX+3 [60]. 
  Advantages: 3D Spatial Sense [10]; Ambidexterity [5]; 
  Doesn’t Breathe (Oxygen Storage, 
  200×normal, -20%) [16]; Double-Jointed [15]; 
  Extended Lifespan 1 [2]; Extra Arms 2 (Foot 
  Manipulators, -30%; No Physical Attack, -50%) [4]; 
  G-Experience (All) [10]; Immunity (to adverse 
  effects of Micro-Gravity) [5]; Peripheral Vision [15]; 
  Radiation Tolerance 20 [20]; Vacuum Support [5]. 
  Disadvantages: Bad Smell [-10]; Dependency 
  (Microgravity, common, constantly, mitigator, uses 
  gravity suit to interact with other species; -60%) 
  [-20]; Miserliness [-10]. 
  Quirk: Acceleration Weakness [-1]. 
   
   
   
  Jindarian Cruiser 
  Vudar Enclave 
  50 points 
   
  The Vudar, a bipedal reptilian species, live near 
  the edge of the galaxy in 
  an area where a weakness 
  in 
  the 
  energy 
  barrier 
  known as “The Hole” pro-
  duced ionizing radiation 
  that was hazardous to 
  most species, but on which 
  the Vudar thrived. 
   
  The Klingons had to 
  police and colonize the 
  area, but the radiation made this dangerous for them, 
  so they reached an accord of necessity unique in the 
  history of the Klingon Empire. They allowed the Vudar 
  to build and operate armed starships (up to destroyers 
  before the General War, to light cruisers as the Gen-
  eral War dragged on). 
   
  What the Klingons did not realize was that the 
  radiation field made it impossible to accurately track 
  Vudar ships. So long as the Klingons could not track 
  more than the authorized number at any one time, the 
  Vudar could build as many as they wanted. The Vudar 
  built a rather large fleet, and this resulted in Vudar in-
  dependence in Y178. 
   
  Well, that’s one ver-
  sion of the story, the 
  one the Federation be-
  lieved. The truth was 
  less 
  clear, 
  and 
  the 
  Vudar were never really 
  independent. The Vudar 
  took a larger and larger 
  role in policing the outer 
  galactic edges of the 
  Klingon Empire as trusted auxiliaries. The Hydrans 
  would not attack into Vudar-policed areas (even parts 
  of the original Hydran Kingdom) in an effort to “keep 
  the Vudar neutral” which was not really what was go-
  ing on. (The Vudar were perfectly happy with the idea 
  of policing a part of the Klingon Empire that no one 
  was attacking. The Klingons were quite happy to con-
  centrate their limited forces along a narrower front.) 
  With the “quasi-independent” Vudar “holding a part of 
  the front” with ships that the Klingon Empire did not 
  have to pay for, the emperor was willing to tolerate the 
  unresolved issues of just exactly how independent the 
  Vudar were. The Vudar knew very well that once the 
  war was over, the Klingon Empire could force the is-
  sue if they behaved as anything less than loyal. 
   
  Vudar are descended from a line of gecko-like 
  lizards. Their eyes have a clear inner eyelid which af-
  fords them protection while swimming. This eyelid also 
  allows them to “wet” their lenses without seeming to 
  blink. This gives others the impression they are staring 
  at things. The only way that they are amphibious (in 
  the traditional sense) is in their ability to swim well. 
  (GURPS benefits of Amphibious all apply.) 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Page 73 
   
   
  Vudar are fully mature at age 14. They have aging 
  thresholds at 30, 45, and 60 years. 
   
  Vudar have the disadvantages of Social Stigma 
  (Minority group) [-10] and Status -1 [-5]. This applies 
  only when in the Klingon Empire, dealing with 
  Klingons. Once off-world (the WYN Cluster, Orion Pi-
  rates, etc.), these disadvantages no longer apply. 
  (Some ethnic Klingons new to the situation may react 
  to the Vudar as though the disadvantages still apply, 
  but quickly learn that Vudar and Klingons are legally 
  equals.) 
   
  Most Vudar will add Military Klingon as a language 
  skill in addition to their native language. 
   
  Homeworld: Class M, Gravity 0.89G, Atmospheric 
  pressure 1.01, mean temperature 75°F, Zorski Group 
  V-c. 
   
  Attribute Modifiers: IQ+1 [20]. 
  Advantages: Acute Vision 2 [4]; Amphibious [10]; 
  Nictitating Membrane 1 [1]; Radiation Tolerance 
  200 [35]; Resistant to Poison +3 [5]. 
  Disadvantages: Short Lifespan [-10]; Social Stigma 
  (Minority group) [-10]; Status -1 [-5]. 
   
   
   
   
  Vudar Heavy Cruiser 
   
   
   
  Paravian Raiders 
  17 points 
   
  The Paravians were a bipedal birdlike species, 
  whose homeworld was in a system located between 
  the Gorn homeworlds and 
  the Galactic Core. They lost 
  a savage war with the Gorns, 
  and the species is extinct in 
  the Alpha Sector. 
   
  The Gorns and Para-
  vians first met in Y24, at the 
  very start of the space explo-
  ration period for both species 
  and it was the first 
  contact for each spe-
  cies. 
  Early 
  discus-
  sions 
  exposed 
  that 
  both shared a great 
  mystery: they 
  were 
  not native to their 
  homeworlds. The fos-
  sil 
  record 
  indicated 
  that both had been 
  transplanted to their 
  planets by forces or beings unknown about 13,400 
  years earlier. Further explorations provided an even 
  greater surprise: the Paravians were descended from 
  a species virtually identical to the Gorns which had 
  become extinct after an asteroid impact on their 
  homeworld 12,600 years earlier. The Paravian reac-
  tion to the paleontological evidence was a fanatical 
  hatred for the Gorns, as the fossil Gorns of their own 
  world had for centuries held the position of demons 
  and devils.   
   
  The Paravians launched a campaign of hatred 
  such as the known galaxy had never seen before and 
  has only rarely seen since. The war lasted for 10 years 
  until the Gorns succeeded in blockading the Paravian 
  homeworld in Y85 and then hunting down all of the 
  surviving raiders. Rather than wipe out the Paravians 
  (who refused to negotiate), the Gorns eliminated all 
  Paravian facilities related to space travel. A squadron 
  of warships then kept the Paravians neatly trapped on 
  their homeworld.  
   
  This plan worked for a dozen years, but in Y94 a 
  sun snake dove into the Paravian star, causing it to go 
  nova. The Gorn garrison ships were unable to even 
  attempt a rescue, and the Paravians would not have 
  accepted their help. There were occasional reports of 
  Paravians after the nova incident. Perhaps these were 
  the descendants of raiders who had escaped the 
  Gorns. None of these reports were ever confirmed. 
   
  While Paravians have wings, their ability to fly was 
  limited. Most could glide from a height or running start; 
  some athletic individuals could actually fly for several 
  dozen meters. Some non-athletic individuals could not 
  fly at all. Due to their light, hollow bones, Paravians 
  are more susceptible to any bludgeoning attacks or 
  crushing damage. 
   
  Homeworld: Class M, Gravity 0.80G, Atmospheric 
  pressure 1.33, mean temperature 90°F, Zorski Group 
  V-a. 
   
  Attribute Modifiers: ST-1 [-10]; DX+1 [20]; HT+1 [10]. 
  Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: Basic Speed 
  +1 [20]. 
  Advantages: Flight (Gliding, -50%; Winged, -25%) 
  [10]. 
  Disadvantages: Intolerance (Gorns) [-5]; Vulnerability 
  (cr×2) [-30] 
  Skill: Flight at HT [2]. 
   
  
  Page 74  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Carnivon Horde 
  48 points 
   
  The Carnivons were exterminated by the Lyrans 
  and Kzintis about Y110. This data ap-
  plies before that date.  
   
  The Carnivon species was often 
  described as “wolf-like,” but they were 
  in fact genetically related to the Kzintis 
  and Lyrans and all three apparently 
  descended from some ancestral spe-
  cies. Curiously, the felinoid species (descended from 
  solitary hunters) were able to create fairly unified stel-
  lar empires, while the Carnivons (descended from 
  pack hunters) were a species rather than a nation.  
   
  Carnivons 
  stood 
  about four feet tall, 
  massed 
  about 
  120 
  pounds, 
  and 
  were 
  covered with coarse 
  fur that ranged from 
  black to gray to brown. 
  Carnivons 
  walked 
  erect and had oppos-
  able thumbs, just as 
  their felinoid cousins 
  do. Carnivons reached 
  physical maturity within a year, but were regarded as 
  juveniles until their hormones balanced at three years 
  old. Carnivons were regarded as too old to fight by 
  their 25th birthday and few survived into their 30s. 
  They have aging thresholds at 20, 25, and 30 years. 
   
  There was no such thing as a Carnivon govern-
  ment. There were, at any given time, from a dozen to 
  two dozen Hordes (each with millions of members) 
  subdivided into Packs. Each Pack was a feudal state, 
  with its own ships, colonies, and interests. Some were 
  autocratic, some democratic, and others had familial 
  structures. Packs (and even Hordes) were known to 
  divide or merge, sometimes violently. Warlords tried to 
  unify the Hordes but none succeeded in merging more 
  than a few, and none of the mergers survived the 
  warlord. There was no single “home planet” for Car-
  nivons. (The homeworld listed below is the world that 
  they originated on.)  
   
   
  Carnivon Cruiser 
   
   
   
  The only thing the Lyrans and the Kzintis ever 
  agreed upon was their hatred of the Carnivons, who 
  hated them in return. The felinoid species destroyed all 
  of the Carnivon worlds and inhabitants they could find 
  by Y110. Rumors that Carnivons survive in remote 
  areas are unconfirmed.  
   
  Homeworld: Class M, Gravity 1.18G, Atmospheric 
  pressure 1.15, mean temperature 75°F, Zorski Group 
  IV-a. 
   
  Attribute Modifiers: ST+1 [10]; DX+1 [20]; HT+1 [10]. 
  Advantages: Combat Reflexes [15]; Damage 
  Resistance 1 (Tough Skin, -40%) [3]; 
  Discriminatory Smell [15]; Night Vision 9 [9]; Teeth 
  (Sharp) [1]. 
  Perk: Fur [1]. 
  Disadvantages: Gregarious [-10]; Intolerance (Kzintis, 
  Lyrans, and other Hordes) [-5]; Short Lifespan 2 
  [-20]. 
  Quirk: Chauvinistic (other packs within your Horde) 
  [-1]. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Check out Amarillo Design Bureau’s 
  Master Starship Book series to find out 
  everything you ever wanted to know about 
  the ships.  The books have descriptions of 
  the ships but no Ship Display Diagrams or 
  Annexes.  
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Page 75 
   
  Height and Weight Ranges 
  Species 
  Height 
  Range 
  Weight 
  Range 
  Alpha-Cent., male 
  5'2"-6'8" 
  124-280 lb. 
  Alpha-Cent., female 
  4'10"-6'4" 
  89-245 lbs. 
  Andorian, male 
  5'2"-6'8" 
  124-280 lbs. 
  Andorian, female 
  4'10"-6'4" 
  89-245 lbs. 
  Antarean, male 
  5'2"-6'8" 
  124-280 lbs. 
  Antarean, female 
  4'10"-6'4" 
  89-245 lbs. 
  Arcturian, male 
  4'11"-5'6" 
  112-174 lbs. 
  Arcturian, female 
  4'6"-5'1" 
  72-134 lbs. 
  Bargantine, male 
  4'10"-5'8" 
  89-181 lbs. 
  Bargantine, female 
  4'9"-6'3" 
  74-230 lbs. 
  Brecon, male 
  6'11"-8'1" 
  184-372 lbs. 
  Brecon, female 
  6'9"-7'11" 
  159-347 lbs. 
  Carnivon, male 
  4'1"-5'7" 
  137-215 lbs. 
  Carnivon, female 
  4'-5'6" 
  132-210 lbs. 
  Cromarg, male 
  4'3"-4-9" 
  194-286 lbs. 
  Cromarg, female 
  4'1"-4'7" 
  154-246 lbs. 
  Cygnan, male 
  5'2"-6'8" 
  124-280 lbs. 
  Cygnan, female 
  4'10"-6'4" 
  89-245 lbs. 
  Deian, male 
  5'2"-6'8" 
  124-280 lbs. 
  Deian, female 
  4'10"-6'4" 
  89-245 lbs. 
  Dionaean, both 
  genders 
  3'2"-10'6" 
  51-510 lbs. 
  Dunkar, male 
  5'2"-6'8" 
  124-280 lbs. 
  Dunkar, female 
  4'10"-6'4" 
  89-245 lbs. 
  Fralli, male 
  5'2"-6'8" 
  119-275 lbs. 
  Fralli, female 
  4'10"-6'4" 
  84-240 lbs. 
  Gerlunian, male 
  5'10"-6'6" 
  164-320 lbs. 
  Gerlunian, female 
  5'8"-6'4" 
  134-290 lbs. 
  Gorn, male 
  5'10"-7'4"  
  184-420 lbs. 
  Gorn, female 
  5'8"-7'2" 
  154-390 lbs. 
  Hilidarian, male 
  5'2"-6'8" 
  134-290 lbs. 
  Hilidarian, female 
  4'10"-6'4" 
  94-250 lbs. 
  Human, male 
  5'2"-6'8" 
  124-280 lbs. 
  Human, female 
  4'10"-6'4" 
  89-245 lbs. 
  Hydran, all genders 
  3'11"-4'9" 
  139-279 lbs. 
  Jindarian, all genders 
  6'1"-8'1" 
  165-307 lbs. 
  Klingon, male 
  5'2"-6'8" 
  124-280 lbs. 
  Klingon, female 
  4'10"-6'4" 
  89-245 lbs. 
  Korlivilar, male 
  5'3"-5'9" 
  135-181 lbs. 
  Korlivilar, female 
  4'10"-5'4" 
  107-153 lbs. 
  Kzinti, male 
  6'10"-7'8" 
  179-319 lbs. 
  Kzinti, female 
  6'8"-7'6" 
  154-294 lbs. 
  Lyran, male 
  5'2"-6'8" 
  124-280 lbs. 
  Lyran, female 
  4'10"-6'4" 
  89-245 lbs. 
  Mantorese, male 
  5'6"-6' 
  224-316 lbs. 
  Mantorese, female 
  5'5"-5'11" 
  219-311 lbs. 
  Mynieni, male 
  3'9"-4'3" 
  74-134 lbs. 
  Mynieni, female 
  4'2"-4'8" 
  99-159 lbs. 
  Orion, male 
  5'2"-6'8" 
  119-275 lbs. 
  Orion, female 
  4'10"-6'4" 
  84-240 lbs. 
  Paravian, male 
  5'10"-7'4"  
  124-280 lbs. 
  Paravian, female 
  5'8"-7'2" 
  89-245 lbs. 
  Phelen, male 
  7'1"-7'11" 
  217-263 lbs. 
  Phelen, female 
  7'1"-7'11" 
  182-228 lbs. 
  Prellarian, male 
  3'7"-4'1" 
  144-204 lbs. 
  Prellarian, female 
  3'5"-3'11" 
  114-174 lbs. 
  Pronhoulite, male 
  5'2"-6'8" 
  124-280 lbs. 
  Pronhoulite, female 
  4'10"-6'4" 
  89-245 lbs. 
  Q'Naabian, male 
  4'1"-4'7" 
  89-149 lbs. 
  Q'Naabian, female 
  3'11"-4'5" 
  84-144 lbs. 
  Ranel, male 
  4'3"-4'9" 
  54-114 lbs. 
  Ranel, female 
  4'2"-4'8" 
  49-109 lbs. 
  Rigellian, male 
  6'4"-7'10" 
  134-290 lbs. 
  Rigellian, female 
  5'10"-7'4" 
  94-250 lbs. 
  Romulan, male 
  5'2"-6'8" 
  224-380 lbs. 
  Romulan, female 
  4'10"-6'4" 
  149-305 lbs. 
  Rovillian, male 
  5'2"-6'8" 
  124-280 lbs. 
  Rovillian, female 
  4'10"-6'4" 
  89-245 lbs. 
  Satha'hi, male 
  5'2"-5'8" 
  119-179 lbs. 
  Satha'hi, female 
  4'10"-5'4" 
  84-144 lbs. 
  Seltorian, all types 
  (except Queens) 
  5'4"-5'7" 
  109-156 lbs. 
  Skolean, male 
  4'9"-5'3" 
  119-179 lbs. 
  Skolean, female 
  4'8"-5'2" 
  104-164 lbs. 
  Slirdarian, male 
  5'10"-7'8" 
  154-294 lbs. 
  Slirdarian, female 
  6'8"-7'3" 
  134-274 lbs. 
  Tellarite, male 
  4'11"-5'5" 
  194-286 lbs. 
  Tellarite, female 
  4'9"-5'3" 
  104-196 lbs. 
  Tholian, all genders 
  4'7"-6'1" 
  74-310 lbs. 
  Veltressai, male 
  5'2"-6'8" 
  124-280 lbs. 
  Veltressai, female 
  4'10"-6'4" 
  89-245 lbs. 
  Vergarian, all genders 
  4'2"-5'0" 
  94-186 lbs. 
  Vudar, male 
  5'4"-6'10" 
  124-280 lbs. 
  Vudar, female 
  5'-6'6" 
  89-245 lbs. 
  Vulcan, male 
  5'2"-6'8" 
  224-380 lbs. 
  Vulcan female 
  4'10"-6'4" 
  149-305 lbs. 
  Yitlian, male 
  5'2"-6'8" 
  124-280 lbs. 
  Yitlian, female 
  4'10"-6'4" 
  89-245 lbs. 
  Zoolie, male 
  5'2"-6'8" 
  124-280 lbs. 
  Zoolie, female 
  4'10"-6'4" 
  89-245 lbs. 
  
  Page 76  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  ACADEMY TEMPLATES 
   
  A character may buy an Academy Template, but is 
  not required to do so. Normally only one may be pur-
  chased. Characters who are initially generated as en-
  listed characters and later attend officer training should 
  only pay the difference in character point cost between 
  the enlisted and officer templates which were 
  purchased. 
   
  All of these templates give the character some 
  level of Resistant to Disease; this represents the im-
  munizations and other preventative medical treatment 
  received during training. The benefit granted by Re-
  sistant to Disease (and its cost) is dependent upon the 
  Tech Level of the society; as a result, the level of Re-
  sistant to Disease granted in these templates is at the 
  most basic level, which is TL 9. GMs should feel free 
  to increase the level of Resistant to Disease if their 
  campaign is set at a higher Tech Level. 
   
  Some disadvantages prevent a character from 
  entering the military. In most cases, species traits that 
  are disadvantages are not a bar to such service. Note 
  that if the character should acquire such a disad-
  vantage during the course of play, the character is no 
  longer qualified to remain in that service. The charac-
  ter must either buy off the disadvantage or leave the 
  service, possibly as a medical retiree. GMs have some 
  latitude on this. The individual might be kept on duty 
  because of his extraordinary skills, or could be retired, 
  then hired as a civilian advisor and given a “warrant” 
  rank and allowed to stay with his group. 
   
  Disadvantages that disqualify a character from 
  entering the military include Addiction (to illegal sub-
  stances), Bad Temper (extreme), Berserk, Blindness 
  (no mitigation), Bloodlust, Compulsive Behaviors, 
  Cowardice, Deaf (no mitigation), Delusions, Depend-
  ency, Extra Sleep (level 4), Fragile (to commonly en-
  countered items), Gluttony, Greed, Laziness, Lecher-
  ousness, Mute (no mitigation), Phobias (to items that 
  would be commonly found in the service), Sadism, 
  Short Lifespan (unless the person can serve at least 
  five years), Space Sickness, Unfit, and Weakness (to 
  common substances). Any prospective cadet or recruit 
  turned down by a service or academy may appeal the 
  decision to the proper board (the GM) and that deci-
  sion is final. During times of conflict, waivers were fre-
  quently given. Sometimes a special skill was needed 
  and the person might be recruited for that skill, in spite 
  of a personal disadvantage. 
   
  Code of Honor (Uphold the Prime Directive) is an 
  example of a code of honor that an empire’s military 
  generally holds. The Prime Directive is discussed on p. 
  302.  
   
  The time in service listed for each rank and acad-
  emy is for the total and assumes peacetime promotion. 
  In times of war, promotion can take as little as half the 
  time. 
   
  Other Academies 
   
  The academies listed below are found within the 
  Federation. Other empires have their own academies, 
  which will be detailed in their sourcebooks and in other 
  supplements. Each planet has its own self-defense 
  military force with its own Academy; these are basi-
  cally Star Fleet Academy packages without some 
  items such as xenology, research, or diplomacy. 
   
  Star Fleet Academy 
  40 points 
   
  After four years, graduates become officers at 
  Grade O1 (Ensign); players may increase the starting 
  Grade of their characters but not beyond O5 (Com-
  mander). Increasing the Grade takes time: gaining the 
  O2 takes an additional year; O3 takes four years; O4 
  takes 10 years; O5 takes 15 years. Most graduates 
  add these skills to a practical college education. 
   
   
  Suggested Minimums: ST 9, DX 9, IQ 12, HT 9. 
  (These are not counted in the point value.) 
  Advantages: Fit [5]; Military Rank 3 [15]; Resistant to 
  Disease (+3) [3]; Social Regard (Respected) 3 
  [15]. 
  Disadvantages: Code of Honor (Uphold the Prime 
  Directive) [-10]; Duty (Star Fleet) (15 or less) [-15]; 
  Sense of Duty (Federation) [-10]. 
  Skills: Administration IQ-1 [1]; Astronomy/TL IQ-2 [1]; 
  Beam Weapons/TL (Pistol) DX [1]; Computer 
  Operation/TL IQ [1]; Computer Programming/TL 
  IQ-2 [1]; Diplomacy IQ-2 [1]; Electronics 
  Operation/TL (Transporter) IQ [2]; Electronics 
  Operation/TL (Tricorder) IQ [2]; Engineer/TL 
  (choose one) IQ-2 [1]; Engineer/TL (Electronics) 
  IQ-2 [1]; Expert Skill (Xenology) IQ-2 [1]; First 
  Aid/TL IQ [1]; Free Fall DX-1 [1]; History (Recent 
  Federation) IQ-2 [1]; Judo DX-2 [1]; Law 
  (Federation Military) IQ-2 [1]; Leadership IQ-1 [1]; 
  Mathematics/TL (Applied) IQ-2 [1]; Mechanic/TL 
  (choose one) IQ-1 [1]; Navigation/TL (Space) IQ 
  [2]; Operations (Space) IQ-1 [2]; Physics/TL 
  (specialty optional) IQ-3 [1]; Piloting/TL 
  (Shuttlecraft) DX-1 [1]; Piloting/TL (Starship) DX-1 
  [1];Research/TL IQ-1 [1]; Savoir-Faire (Military) IQ 
  [1]; Shiphandling/TL (Starship) IQ-1 [2]; Spacer/TL 
  IQ [1]; Strategy (Space) IQ-2 [1]; Survival (choose 
  one) Per-1 [1]; Tactics IQ-2 [1]; Vacc Suit/TL IQ-1 
  [1]. 
   
  Star Fleet Basic Training 
  0 points 
   
  After 90 days, graduates become enlisted person-
  nel at Grade E1 (Crewman Recruit); players may in-
  crease the starting Grade of their characters but not 
  beyond E5 (Petty Officer 2nd Class). Increasing the 
  Grade takes time: gaining the E4 or E5 takes an addi-
  tional 90 days though wartime “shake and bake” train-
  ing or one year per Grade in peacetime. 
   
   
  Suggested Minimums: ST 9, DX 9, IQ 10, HT 9. 
  (These are not counted in the point value.) 
  Advantages: Fit [5]; Military Rank [0]; Resistant to 
  Disease (+3) [3]; Social Regard (Respected) 1 [5]. 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Page 77 
   
  Disadvantages: Code of Honor (Uphold the Prime 
  Directive) [-10]; Duty (Star Fleet) (15 or less) [-15]; 
  Sense of Duty (Federation) [-10]. 
  Skills: Astronomy/TL IQ-2 [1]; Beam Weapons/TL 
  (Pistol) DX [1]; Computer Operation/TL IQ [1]; 
  Electronics Operation/TL (choose one) IQ [2]; 
  Electronics Operation/TL (choose one) IQ [2]; 
  Engineer/TL (choose one) IQ-1 [2]; Expert Skill 
  (Xenology) IQ-2 [1]; First Aid/TL IQ [1]; Free Fall 
  DX-1 [1]; History (Recent Federation) IQ-2 [1]; 
  Judo DX-2 [1]; Law (Federation Military) IQ-2 [1]; 
  Mathematics/TL (Applied) IQ-2 [1]; Mechanic/TL 
  (choose one) IQ-1 [1]; Physics/TL (specialty 
  optional) IQ-3 [1]; Savoir-Faire (Military) IQ [1]; 
  Spacer/TL IQ [1]; Survival (choose one) Per-1 [1]; 
  Vacc Suit/TL IQ-1 [1]. 
   
  Federation Marine Academy 
  62 points 
   
  After four years, graduates become officers at 
  Grade O1 (2nd Lieutenant); players may increase the 
  starting Grade of their characters but not beyond O5 
  (Lieutenant Colonel). Increasing the Grade takes time: 
  gaining the O2 takes an additional year; O3 takes four 
  years; O4 takes 10 years; O5 takes 15 years. Most 
  graduates add these skills to a practical college 
  education. 
   
  Suggested Minimums: ST 10, DX 10, IQ 12, HT 12. 
  (These are not counted in the point value.) 
  Advantages: Fearlessness 3 [6]; Military Rank 3 [15]; 
  Resistant to Disease (+3) [3]; Social Regard 
  (Respected) 3 [15]; Very Fit [15]. 
  Disadvantages: Code of Honor (Uphold the Prime 
  Directive) [-10]; Duty (Star Fleet Marines) (15 or 
  less) [-15]; Sense of Duty (Federation) [-10]. 
  Skills: Administration IQ-1 [1]; Armoury/TL (Small 
  Arms) IQ-1 [1]; Beam Weapons/TL (Pistol) DX+2 
  [4]; Beam Weapons/TL (Rifle) DX+2 [4]; 
  Camouflage IQ [1]; Climbing DX [2]; Computer 
  Operation/TL IQ [1]; Electronics Operation/TL 
  (Communications) IQ [2]; First Aid/TL IQ+1 [2]; 
  Free Fall DX-1 [1]; Gunner/TL (Beams) DX [1]; 
  History (Recent Federation) IQ-2 [1]; Karate DX-2 
  [1]; Knife DX [1]; Law (Federation Military) IQ-2 [1]; 
  Leadership IQ [2]; Operations/TL (Land) IQ-1 [2]; 
  Parachuting/TL DX [1]; Running HT-1 [1]; Savoir-
  Faire (Military) IQ [1]; Spacer/TL IQ [1]; Stealth 
  DX-1 [1]; Strategy (Land) IQ-1 [2]; Survival 
  (choose two) Per-1 [2]; Swimming HT [1]; Tactics 
  IQ-1 [2]; Throwing DX-1 [1]; Tonfa DX-1 [1]; Vacc 
  Suit/TL IQ-1 [1]. 
   
  Federation Marine Boot Camp 
  37 points 
   
  After 90 days, graduates become enlisted person-
  nel at Grade E1 (Private); players may increase the 
  starting Grade of their characters but not beyond E4 
  (Corporal). Increasing the Grade takes time: gaining 
  the E3 or E4 takes an additional 90 days though war-
  time “shake and bake” training or one year per Grade 
  in peacetime. 
  Suggested Minimums: ST 10, DX 10, IQ 12, HT 12. 
  (These are not counted in the point value.) 
  Advantages: Fearlessness 2 [4]; Military Rank [0]; 
  Resistant to Disease (+3) [3]; Social Regard 
  (Respected) [15]; Very Fit [15]. 
  Disadvantages: Code of Honor (Uphold the Prime 
  Directive) [-10]; Duty (Star Fleet Marines) (15 or 
  less) [-15]; Sense of Duty (Federation) [-10]. 
  Skills: Armoury/TL (Small Arms) IQ-1 [1]; Beam 
  Weapons/TL (Pistol) DX+2 [4]; Beam Weapons/TL 
  (Rifle) DX+2 [4]; Camouflage IQ [1]; Climbing DX 
  [2]; Computer Operation/TL IQ [1]; Electronics 
  Operation/TL (Communications) IQ [2]; First 
  Aid/TL IQ [1]; Free Fall DX-1 [1]; Gunner/TL 
  (Beams) DX [1]; History (Recent Federation) IQ-2 
  [1]; Karate DX-2 [1]; Knife DX [1]; Law (Federation 
  Military) IQ-2 [1]; Leadership IQ-1 [1]; 
  Parachuting/TL DX [1]; Running HT-1 [1]; Savoir-
  Fair (Military) IQ [1]; Spacer/TL IQ [1]; Stealth 
  DX-1 [1]; Survival (choose two) Per-1 [2]; 
  Swimming HT [1]; Tactics IQ-2 [1]; Throwing DX-1 
  [1]; Tonfa DX-1 [1]; Vacc Suit/TL IQ-1 [1]. 
   
  Merchant Marine Academy 
  36 points 
   
  After two years, graduates become officers at 
  Grade O1 (Ensign); players may increase the starting 
  Grade of their characters but not beyond O5 (Com-
  mander). Increasing the Grade takes time: gaining the 
  O2 takes an additional year; O3 takes four years; O4 
  takes 10 years; O5 takes 15 years. 
   
  Suggested Minimums: ST 8, DX 8, IQ 10, HT 8. 
  (These are not counted in the point value.) 
  Advantages: Merchant Rank 3 [15]; Resistant to 
  Disease (+3) [3]. 
  Disadvantages: Code of Honor (Obey the Prime 
  Directive) [-5]; Duty (Merchant Marine) (12 or less) 
  [-10]; Sense of Duty (Merchant Marine Crew) [-5]. 
  Skills: Accounting IQ-2 [1]; Administration IQ [2]; 
  Astronomy/TL IQ-2 [1]; Beam Weapons/TL (Pistol) 
  DX [1]; Brawling DX [1]; Computer Operation/TL 
  IQ [1]; Diplomacy IQ [4]; Economics IQ-2 [1]; 
  Electronics Operation/TL (choose one) IQ [2]; 
  Electronics Operation/TL (Tricorder) IQ [2]; Expert 
  Skill (Xenology) IQ-2 [1]; Fast-Talk IQ-1 [1]; First 
  Aid/TL IQ [1]; Free Fall DX-1 [1]; Freight Handling 
  IQ-1 [1]; Law (Federation Trade) IQ [4]; 
  Leadership IQ-1 [1]; Mathematics/TL (Applied) 
  IQ-2 [1]; Mechanic/TL (choose one) IQ-1 [1]; 
  Merchant IQ [2]; Navigation/TL (Space) IQ [2]; 
  Piloting/TL (Starship) DX-1 [1]; Shiphandling/TL 
  (Starship) IQ-1 [2]; Savoir-Faire (Merchant Marine) 
  IQ [1]; Spacer/TL IQ [1]; Vacc Suit/TL IQ-1 [1]. 
   
   
  
  Page 78  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Merchant Marine Basic Training 
  3 points 
   
  After 90 days, graduates become enlisted person-
  nel at Grade E1 (Crewman Recruit). Players may only 
  gain a higher Grade with the permission of the GM. In 
  most cases, the starting Grade should not be ad-
  vanced beyond E5 (Petty Officer 2nd Class); this takes 
  one year of experience per grade. 
   
  Suggested Minimums: ST 8, DX 8, IQ 9, HT 8. 
  (These are not counted in the point value.) 
  Advantages: Merchant Rank 0 [0]; Resistant to 
  Disease (+3) [3]. 
  Disadvantages: Code of Honor (Obey the Prime 
  Directive) [-5]; Duty (Merchant Marine) (12 or less) 
  [-10]; Sense of Duty (Merchant Marine Crew) [-5]. 
  Skills: Administration IQ-1 [1]; Astronomy/TL IQ-2 [1]; 
  Beam Weapons/TL (Pistol) DX [1]; Brawling DX 
  [1]; Computer Operation/TL IQ [1]; Diplomacy IQ-2 
  [1]; Electronics Operation/TL (choose one) IQ [2]; 
  Expert Skill (Xenology) IQ-2 [1]; Fast-Talk IQ-1 [1]; 
  First Aid/TL IQ [1]; Free Fall DX-1 [1]; Freight 
  Handling IQ-1 [1]; Law (Federation Trade) IQ-2 [1]; 
  Mathematics/TL (Applied) IQ-2 [1]; Mechanic/TL 
  (choose one) IQ-1 [1]; Merchant IQ-1 [1]; Savoir-
  Faire (Merchant Marine) IQ [1]; Spacer/TL IQ [1]; 
  Vacc Suit/TL IQ-1 [1]. 
   
  Galactic Intelligence Agency Academy 
  67 points 
   
  In most cases, students are recruited after at least 
  three years in college. If the courses taken in college 
  match skills below, then those college “credits” are 
  subtracted from the point total if the player wishes. 
  Alternatively, the skill may be increased appropriately. 
  Players may work with the GM to create a graduate 
  trained for a specific job such as forensic accounting. 
  Generally, graduating from the Academy means that 
  you spend a total of five years being educated. 
   
  Sometimes students are recruited from the military 
  or other professions. If their skills match skills below, 
  the points spent in the skill can be subtracted from the 
  point total. Players may work with the GM to create a 
  graduate trained for a specific job such as infiltrating 
  the Orion pirates. 
   
  After acquiring the necessary skills, graduates be-
  come officers at Grade GS1 (Probational Agent); play-
  ers may increase the starting Grade of their characters 
  but not beyond GS4 (Senior Agent). Note that the GIA 
  does not have any enlisted personnel. Increasing the 
  Grade takes time: gaining the O2 takes an additional 
  year; O3 takes four years; O4 takes 10 years; O5 
  takes 15 years. 
   
   
  Suggested Minimums: ST 8, DX 8, IQ 12, HT 10. 
  (These are not counted in the point value.) 
  Advantages: Fit [5]; Legal Enforcement Powers [15]; 
  Military Rank 3 [15]; Resistant to Disease (+3) [3]; 
  Social Regard (Respected) 3 [15]. 
  Disadvantages: Duty (GIA) (15 or less) [-15]; Sense 
  of Duty (Federation) [-10]. 
  Quirks: Code of Honor (Respect the Prime Directive) 
  [-1]; 
  Skills: Acting IQ-1 [1]; Beam Weapons/TL (Pistol) DX 
  [1]; Computer Operation/TL IQ [1]; Computer 
  Programming/TL IQ-2 [1]; Criminology/TL IQ-1 [1]; 
  Cryptography/TL IQ-2 [1]; Diplomacy IQ-2 [1]; 
  Electronics Operation/TL (Security Systems) IQ 
  [2]; Electronics Operation/TL (choose one) IQ [1]; 
  Escape DX-2 [1]; Expert Skill (Xenology) IQ-2 [1]; 
  Explosives/TL (Demolition) IQ-1 [1]; First Aid/TL 
  IQ [1]; Free Fall DX-1 [1]; Garrote DX [1]; History 
  (Recent Federation) IQ-2 [1]; Intelligence Analysis 
  IQ-2 [1]; Interrogation IQ-1 [1]; Judo DX-1 [2]; 
  Karate DX-2 [1]; Knife DX [1]; Law (Federation) IQ 
  [4]; Leadership IQ-1 [1]; Lockpicking/TL IQ-1 [1]; 
  Observation Per-1 [1]; Parachuting/TL DX [1]; 
  Psychology IQ-2 [1]; Research/TL IQ [2]; Savoir-
  Faire (choose one) IQ [1]; Shadowing IQ-1 [1]; 
  Stealth DX-1 [1]; Strategy (Space) IQ-2 [1]; Tactics 
  IQ-2 [1]; Vacc Suit/TL IQ-1 [1]. 
   
  Federation Marshals Service Academy 
  63 points 
   
  After four years, graduates become officers at 
  Grade GS1 (Marshal 3rd Grade); players may 
  increase the starting Grade of their characters but not 
  beyond GS4 (Senior Marshal). Note that the Marshals 
  Service does not have any enlisted personnel. 
  Increasing the Grade takes time: gaining the O2 takes 
  an additional year; O3 takes four years; O4 takes 10 
  years. 
   
   
  Suggested Minimums: ST 9, DX 8, IQ 12, HT 10. 
  (These are not counted in the point value.) 
  Advantages: Fit [5]; Legal Enforcement Powers [15]; 
  Military Rank 3 [15]; Resistant to Disease (+3) [3]; 
  Social Regard (Respected) 3 [15]. 
  Disadvantages: Code of Honor (Obey the Prime 
  Directive) [-5]; Duty (Marshal Service) (15 or less) 
  [-15]; Sense of Duty (Federation) [-10]. 
  Skills: Beam Weapons/TL (Pistol) DX [1]; Computer 
  Operation/TL IQ [1]; Criminology/TL IQ-1 [1]; 
  Cryptography/TL IQ-2 [1]; Diplomacy IQ [4]; 
  Electronics Operation/TL (Security Systems) IQ 
  [2]; Electronics Operation/TL (choose one) IQ [1]; 
  Expert Skill (Xenology) IQ-2 [1]; First Aid/TL IQ [1]; 
  History (Recent Federation) IQ-2 [1]; Intelligence 
  Analysis IQ-2 [1]; Interrogation IQ [2]; Judo DX [4]; 
  Karate DX-2 [1]; Knife DX [1]; Law (Federation) IQ 
  [4]; Leadership IQ-1 [1]; Professional Skill (Law 
  Enforcement) IQ [2]; Psychology IQ-2 [1]; 
  Research/TL IQ [2]; Savoir-Faire (Law 
  Enforcement) IQ [1]; Shadowing IQ [2]; Stealth 
  DX-1 [1]; Strategy (Space) IQ-2 [1]; Tactics IQ-2 
  [1]; Vacc Suit/TL IQ-1 [1]. 
   
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Creating a Character 
  Page 79 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATIONS 
   
  Unlike the Academy Templates above, these pro-
  fessional certifications list the minimum skill levels that 
  a person should have for a given position. No cost can 
  be given for them, as the cost for these skills are com-
  pletely dependent on the characters’ attributes. How-
  ever, at least one character point must be spent on the 
  skill in question; simply having a high-enough default 
  is not sufficient. 
   
  Players who wish to have their characters consid-
  ered “competent” in their profession should purchase 
  the skills below; there is no absolute requirement to do 
  so, but a character with low levels of Navigation/TL 
  (space) is likely to end up a cook’s assistant, not a 
  helmsman! 
   
  Communications Officer: Cryptography/TL-12; 
  Electronics Operation/TL (Communications)-15; 
  Electronics Repair/TL (Communications)-15; 
  Mathematics/TL (Cryptology)-12. 
   
  Damage Control Technician: Armoury/TL (choose 
  one)-12; Electronics Repair/TL (choose one)-15; 
  Electronics Repair/TL (choose one)-12; Mechanic/TL 
  (choose one)-15; Spacer/TL-15. 
   
  Helm/Navigation: Astronomy/TL-12; Electronics 
  Operation/TL (Sensors)-15; Electronics Repair/TL 
  (Sensors)-15; Navigation/TL (Space)-15; Piloting/TL 
  (Aerospace)-15. 
   
  Medical Assistant: Diagnosis/TL-12; Electronics 
  Operation (Medical)-12; Electronics Repair 
  (Medical)-12; First Aid/TL-15; Physician/TL-12; 
  Physiology/TL (native species)-12. 
   
  Medical Doctor: Diagnosis/TL-15; Electronics 
  Operation (Medical)-12; Electronics Repair 
  (Medical)-12; First Aid/TL-18; Physician/TL-18; 
  Physiology/TL (native species)-15; Physiology/TL (one 
  other species, if applicable to empire)-12; 
  Surgery/TL-15. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Operations Officer: Computer Operation/TL-18; 
  Electronics Operation/TL (choose one)-15; Electronics 
  Operation/TL (choose two)-12; Electronics Repair/TL 
  (choose one)-15; Electronics Repair/TL (choose 
  one)-12. 
   
  Propulsion Engineer: Electrician/TL-15; 
  Engineer/TL (Electrical)-12; Mechanic/TL (Warp 
  Engine)-15; Mechanic/TL (Impulse)-15. 
   
  Science Officer: Computer Operation/TL-15; 
  Electronics Operation/TL (Scientific)-18; Electronics 
  Repair/TL (Scientific)-12; Any one science skill 
  (primary discipline)-15; Any two science skills 
  (secondary disciplines or related)-12. 
   
  Special Forces Training: Armoury/TL (Small 
  Arms)-15; Beam Weapons/TL (Pistol)-15; Beam 
  Weapons/TL (Rifle)-15; Camouflage-15; Climbing-15; 
  Electronics Operations/TL (Communications)-12; 
  Engineer/TL (Combat)-12; Explosives/TL 
  (Demolition)-12; First Aid/TL-15; Forward 
  Observer/TL-12; Jumping-12; Karate-15; Knife-15; 
  Navigation/TL (Land)-12; Operations/TL-12; 
  Stealth-15; Strategy-12; Swimming-12; Tactics-12; 
  Throwing-12; Traps/TL-12. 
   
  Transporter Operator: Electronics Operation/TL 
  (Sensors)-15; Electronics Operations/TL 
  (Transporter)-18; Electronics Repair/TL 
  (Transporter)-16; Electronics Repair/TL (Sensors)-12. 
   
  Weapons (Tactical) Officer: Armoury/TL (Heavy 
  Weapons)-12; Armory/TL (Small Arms)-12; Electronics 
  Operation/TL (Electronic Warfare)-12; Electronics 
  Operation/TL (Force Shields)-12; Electronics 
  Operation/TL (Sensors)-12; Electronics Repair/TL 
  (choose two of the above)-12; Gunner/TL (Pick one of: 
  phaser, empire-specific heavy weapon, empire-
  specific seeking weapon)-15; Gunner/TL (Pick 
  remaining two of: phaser, empire-specific heavy 
  weapon, empire-specific seeking weapon)-12; 
  Tactics-12. 
   
  “Shake and Bake School” 
  1 point 
   
  So-called "shake and bake" schools 
  are used only in wartime when the rapid 
  expansion of the military forces demands 
  more new junior leaders than can be 
  produced by the normal "two years in a 
  front-line post" can provide. These schools 
  last 90 days, take selected high performing 
  individuals from basic training or boot 
  camp, and focus entirely on how to lead a 
  group of 5-10 people. Most leadership on 
  this level is done by the simple order of 
  "follow me and do what I tell you to do." 
   
  Skills: Leadership IQ-1 [1]. 
  
  Page 80  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
   
   
  ADVANTAGES 
   
   
  An “advantage” is a useful trait that gives you a 
  mental, physical, or social “edge” over someone else 
  who otherwise has the same abilities as you. Each 
  advantage has a cost in character points. This is fixed 
  for some advantages; others can be bought in “levels,” 
  at a cost per level (e.g., Acute Vision costs 2 
  points/level, so if you want Acute Vision 6, you must 
  pay 12 points). Advantages with “Variable” cost are 
  more complicated; read the advantage description for 
  details. 
   
  You can start out with as many advantages as you 
  can afford – although some advantages are forbidden 
  to certain kinds of characters. You can also add ad-
  vantages in play, if the GM permits. For instance, all 
  the beneficial social traits in Chapter 2 (Status, Wealth, 
  etc.) are advantages, and you could realistically ac-
  quire any of these in the course of the game. For in-
  formation on adding advantages in play, see Chapter 
  9. 
   
  TYPES OF ADVANTAGES 
   
  Advantages fall into several broad categories, 
  each of which has affects who can possess those ad-
  vantages and how they work in play. 
   
  Mental advantages originate from your mind, or 
  perhaps even your soul. They stay with you even if 
  your mind ends up in a new body. Most mental ad-
  vantages work automatically, but a few require a roll 
  against IQ, Perception, or Will to use.  
   
  Physical advantages are part of your body. You 
  lose these traits if your mind moves to a new body – 
  and if another mind takes over your body, the body’s 
  new owner gains your physical advantages. Ad-
  vantages provided by bionics and similar implants 
  usually fall into this category (the GM may rule that 
  these take time to become familiar with. Make a HT 
  roll to activate any physical advantage that does not 
  work automatically. 
   
  Social advantages are associated with your iden-
  tity. This category includes Rank, Status, Wealth, and 
  related traits from Chapter 2.  
   
  Exotic advantages are traits that ordinary humans 
  cannot have (in most cases). Nonhumans will often 
  have exotic advantages as part of their species tem-
  plate, but this does not entitle them to add other such 
  traits freely. You need the GM’s permission to add ex-
  otic traits that do not appear on your species template. 
  Many exotic advantages could belong to more than 
  one of these categories. This is noted where especially 
  appropriate. The GM has the final say when choosing 
  any advantage. The categories of advantages are 
  meant to assist GM judgment, not replace it. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  NOTE TO PLAYERS 
   
  The selection of advantages and disadvantages in 
  this chapter are taken from GURPS 4th Edition. We 
  have chosen the ones we feel are best suited for the 
  Star Fleet Universe and think you can play with just 
  these; however, more are included in GURPS Basic 
  Set Characters. When we reference one of these 
  advantages or disadvantages it will be marked with a ‡ 
  symbol. 
  Most 
  references 
  to 
  magic 
  and 
  the 
  supernatural have been omitted as not germane to the 
  Star Fleet Universe. 
   
   
   
  PSIONICS IN THE STAR FLEET 
  UNIVERSE 
   
  As noted, psionics are rare in the Star 
  Fleet Universe.  Only about one in every 
  2.5 million healthy adults has psionics, 
  except for Vulcans. As far as anyone in the 
  SFU is concerned, “that’s just the way it is.”  
   
  Some Federation psionics who are not 
  Vulcan go to Vulcan to gain control over 
  their gifts. They may also gain the 
  advantage of Vulcan Psi Powers which for 
  non-Vulcans does not include the 
  specialized Affliction, Nerve Pinch. 
   
  For more on psionics see GURPS 
  Basic Set, p. 254. 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Page 81 
  ADVANTAGES LIST 
   
  3D Spatial Sense 
  see Absolute Direction 
   
  Absolute Direction 
  5 or 10 points 
   
  You have an excellent sense of direction. This 
  ability comes in two levels: 
   
   
  Absolute Direction: You always know which way is 
  north, and you can always retrace a path you have 
  followed within the past month, no matter how faint or 
  confusing. This ability does not work in environments 
  such as interstellar space or the limbo of the astral 
  plane, but it does work underground, underwater, and 
  on other planets. This gives +3 to Body Sense‡ and 
  Navigation (Air, Land, or Sea). 5 points. 
   
  3D Spatial Sense: As above, but works in three 
  dimensions. This ability is useful in deep space – al-
  though it does not help you if you travel across dimen-
  sions. You get the skill bonuses given for Absolute 
  Direction, plus +1 to Piloting and +2 to Aerobatics, 
  Free Fall, and Navigation (Hyperspace‡ or Space). 10 
  points. 
   
  Special Limitations 
   
  Requires Signal: You rely on signals from a 
  navigational satellite network (like Earth’s GPS) or 
  similar system. Your ability does not function in the 
  absence 
  of 
  such 
  a 
  system, 
  and 
  it 
  can 
  be 
  jammed. -20%. 
   
  Acute Senses  
  2 points/level 
   
  You have superior senses. Each Acute Sense is a 
  separate advantage that gives +1 per level to all 
  Sense rolls you make – or the GM makes for you – 
  using that one sense. 
   
   
  Acute Hearing gives you a bonus to hear some-
  thing, or to notice a sound (for instance, someone 
  taking the safety off a gun in the dark). 2 points/level. 
   
  Acute Taste and Smell gives you a bonus to notice 
  a taste or smell (for instance, poison in your drink). 2 
  points/level. 
   
  Acute Touch gives you a bonus to detect some-
  thing by touch (for instance, a concealed weapon 
  when patting down a suspect). 2 points/level. 
   
  Acute Vision gives you a bonus to spot things 
  visually, and whenever you do a visual search (for in-
  stance, looking for traps or footprints). 2 points/level. 
   
  With the GM’s permission, you may also buy 
  Acute Sense advantages for specialized senses such 
  as Scanning Sense‡ and Vibration Sense.  
   
  You cannot usually buy Acute Senses in play – 
  raise your Perception instead. However if you lose a 
  sense, the GM may allow you to spend earned points 
  on other Acute Senses to compensate. For instance, if 
  you blinded, you might acquire Acute Hearing. 
   
  Administrative Rank 
  see Rank, p. 37 
   
  Affliction 
  10 points/level 
   
  You have an attack that causes a baneful, 
  nondamaging effect: blindness, paralysis, weakness, 
  etc. Specify the details of the attack form when you 
  buy the advantage. This is an exotic advantage that 
  requires the GM’s permission to add. 
   
  By default, Affliction is a ranged attack with 1/2D 
  10, Max 100, Acc 3, RoF 1, Shots N/A, and Recoil 1, 
  although you can apply modifiers to change these sta-
  tistics (see Modifiers, p. 109). 
   
  If you hit, your victim gets a HT+1 roll to resist. 
  Apply a penalty equal to the level of the Affliction (so 
  Affliction 1 gives an unmodified HT roll). The victim 
  gets a bonus equal to his DR unless the Affliction has 
  one of the following modifiers: Blood Agent, Contact 
  Agent, Cosmic‡, Follow-Up, Malediction, Respiratory 
  Agent, or Sense-Based. The victim gets a further +3 if 
  he is beyond 1/2D range. 
   
  If the victim makes his HT roll, he is unaffected. If 
  he fails, he suffers the effects of the Affliction. By de-
  fault, he is stunned (see p. 224). He may roll vs. HT+1 
  once per second to recover, but once again at a pen-
  alty equal to the level of the Affliction (DR has no effect 
  on this roll).  
   
  If your Affliction causes an effect other than stun-
  ning, this is a special enhancement (see below). You 
  can inflict more than one effect by giving your Affliction 
  multiple special enhancements. These effects occur 
  simultaneously, except where noted. 
   
  Successive Afflictions that produce the same ef-
  fects are not normally cumulative. Use the single worst 
  effect.  
   
  Use the special enhancements below to create 
  specific Afflictions. Many Modifiers (see p. 109) are 
  also logical. For instance, a blinding flash is Sense-
  Based (p. 114); most drugs have Follow-Up (p. 112), 
  Blood Agent (p. 110), or Contact Agent (p. 110); and 
  touch attacks call for Melee Attack. 
   
  If an Affliction produces two or more effects due to 
  the special enhancements below, some of these ef-
  fects may be secondary. Secondary effects occur only 
  if the victim fails his HT roll by 5 or more or rolls a criti-
  cal failure. A secondary effect is worth 1/5 as much; 
  e.g., Secondary Heart Attack is +60% rather than 
  +300%. 
   
  Once you have chosen all the modifiers on your 
  Affliction, describe the nature of the attack as detailed 
  in Innate Attack. 
   
   
   
   
   
  
  Page 82  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Special Enhancements 
   
  Advantage: The victim immediately experiences 
  the effects of a specific physical or mental advantage. 
  Advantages with instantaneous effects affect the target 
  once, as soon as he is hit, if he fails his HT roll. Ad-
  vantages that can be switched on and off (such as In-
  substantiality‡) are automatically “on” for one minute 
  per point by which the victim fails his HT roll, and are 
  not under the subject’s control. This is worth +10% per 
  point the advantage is worth; e.g., Insubstantiality‡ (an 
  80 point advantage) would be +800%! If the advantage 
  comes in levels, specify the level. 
   
  Attribute Penalty: The victim suffers temporary 
  attribute loss. This is +5% per -1 to ST or HT, or +10% 
  per -1 to DX or IQ. For instance, an attack that caused 
  DX-3 and IQ-2 would be +50%. Lower all skills based 
  on reduced attributes by a like amount. ST penalties 
  also reduce BL and damage, while IQ reductions also 
  apply to Will and Perception. Secondary characteris-
  tics are not otherwise affected; for instance, HT reduc-
  tion does not affect Basic Speed or FP. Penalties last 
  for one minute per point by which the victim fails his 
  HT roll. 
   
  Coma: The victim collapses, profoundly uncon-
  scious, and will likely die in days unless treated. 
  +250%. 
   
  Cumulative: Repeated attacks are cumulative! You 
  must take this in conjunction with Attribute Penalty, or 
  with an Advantage, Disadvantage, or Negated Ad-
  vantage Enhancement that inflicts a “leveled” trait. 
  +400%. 
   
  Disadvantage: The victim temporarily gains one or 
  more specific physical or mental disadvantages (but 
  not self-imposed mental disadvantages – see p. 120). 
  This is worth +1% per point the temporary disad-
  vantages are worth; e.g., Paranoia‡ [-10] is worth 
  +10%. If a disadvantage comes in levels, specify the 
  level. The disadvantages last for one minute per point 
  by which the victim fails his HT roll. 
   
  Heart Attack: The victim suffers an incapacitating 
  heart attack, and will die in minutes unless treated. 
  +300%. 
   
  Incapacitation: The victim is incapacitated for a 
  number of minutes equal to the margin of failure on his 
  HT roll. After that, he is stunned until he can make a 
  HT roll (roll once per second). If you combine Incapac-
  itation with other effects (such as Irritant), those effects 
  occur after the Incapacitation wears off; they replace 
  the stunning and last for the same length of time the 
  Incapacitation did. Incapacitation can take the form of 
  any of the following: Daze, +50%; Hallucinating, +50%; 
  Retching, +50%; Agony, +100%; Choking, +100%; 
  Ecstasy, +100%; Seizure, +100%; Paralysis, +150%; 
  Sleep, +150%; or Unconsciousness, +200%. See In-
  capacitating Conditions (p. 229) for game effects.  
   
  Irritant: The victim suffers an impairing but non-
  incapacitating condition instead of being stunned. It 
  lasts for a number of minutes equal to the margin of 
  failure on his HT roll. The possibilities are Tipsy +10%; 
  Coughing, +20%; Drunk, +20%; Moderate Pain, +20%; 
  Euphoria, +30%; Nauseated, +30%; Severe Pain, 
  +40%; or Terrible Pain, +60%. For definitions, see Ir-
  ritating Conditions (p. 229). 
   
  Negated Advantage: The victim loses a specific 
  advantage for one minute per point by which he failed 
  his HT roll. There is no effect if the victim lacks that 
  advantage! This enhancement is worth +1% per point 
  the advantage is worth. If the advantage comes in lev-
  els, you must specify the level negated. 
   
  Stunning: May only accompany Advantage, Attrib-
  ute Penalty, Disadvantage, or Negated Advantage. If 
  the victim fails to resist, he is stunned (per an unmodi-
  fied Affliction) in addition to the effects of the other en-
  hancement(s). +10%. 
   
  Allies  
  Variable 
   
  Many fictional heroes have partners – loyal 
  comrades, faithful sidekicks, trusted retainers, or 
  lifelong friends – who accompany them on adventures. 
  These partners are “Allies.” 
   
  An NPC Ally is wholly reliable. Perhaps you fought 
  side by side in a long war; trained under the same 
  master; or grew up in the same village. The two of you 
  trust each other implicitly. You travel together, fight 
  back-to-back, share rations in hard times, and trade 
  watches through the night. 
   
  Your Ally is usually agreeable to your suggestions, 
  but he is not your puppet. He will disagree with you 
  from time to time. An Ally may try to dissuade you from 
  a plan that seems foolish to him – and if he can’t talk 
  you out of the plan, he may refuse to cooperate. An 
  Ally may even cause problems for you: picking fights, 
  landing in jail, insulting a high noble ... Of course, the 
  Ally will also try to bail you out when you make 
  mistakes. 
   
  The GM will not award you bonus character points 
  for any play session in which you betray, attack, or 
  unnecessarily endanger your Ally. Blatant, prolonged, 
  or severe betrayal will break the trust between you and 
  your Ally, and he will leave you permanently. If you 
  drive your Ally off in this way, the points you spent on 
  him are gone, reducing your point value. Leading your 
  Ally into danger is all right, as long as you face the 
  same danger and are a responsible leader. 
   
  The point cost for an Ally depends on his power 
  and frequency of appearance. Only PCs who take 
  NPCs as Allies pay points for the privilege. Two PCs 
  can be mutual “allies” for free, as can two NPCs – and 
  NPCs never pay points for PCs as Allies. An Ally is 
  specifically a skilled NPC associate for one PC. 
   
  Ally’s Power 
   
  Consult the following table (p. 83) to determine 
  how many points you must spend on your Ally. “Point 
  Total” is the Ally’s point total expressed as a 
  percentage of the PC’s starting points; “Cost” is the 
  cost of the Ally. If the Ally’s point total falls between 
  two percentages, use the higher. 
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Page 83 
  Point Total 
  Cost 
  25% 
  1 point 
  50% 
  2 points 
  75% 
  3 points 
  100% 
  5 points 
  150% 
  10 points 
   
   
  Allies built on more than 150% of the PC’s starting 
  points are not allowed; treat such NPCs as Patrons 
  (see p. 98). Exception: The progression above extends 
  indefinitely for nonsentient (IQ 0) Allies; each 50% of 
  the PC’s starting points costs a further +5 points. 
   
  Allies built on no more than 100% of the PC’s 
  starting points may also be Dependents. Add the cost 
  of Ally and Dependent together and treat the combina-
  tion as a single trait: an advantage if the total point 
  cost is positive; a disadvantage if it is negative. 
   
  Ally Groups 
   
  You may purchase as many Allies as you can af-
  ford. Each Ally is normally a separate advantage, but 
  you can treat a group of related Allies as a single trait 
  to save space on your character sheet. For a group of 
  individuals – with their own unique abilities and char-
  acter sheets – add the costs of the individual Allies to 
  find the cost of the group, adjust the total cost for fre-
  quency of appearance, and then apply any special 
  modifiers. 
   
  For a group of more than five identical and inter-
  changeable allies that share a single character sheet – 
  for instance, an army of low-grade thugs or a swarm of 
  robot drones – find the point cost to have one member 
  of the group as an Ally, and then multiply that cost as 
  follows to find the cost of the group: 
   
  Size of Group 
  Multiplier 
  6-10 
  ×6 
  11-20 
  ×8 
  21-50 
  ×10 
  51-100 
  ×12 
   
   
  Add ×6 to the multiplier per tenfold increase in 
  number (e.g., 100,000 Allies would be ×30). The GM 
  may require an Unusual Background (p. 107) if you 
  wish to have hordes of Allies, or even prohibit groups 
  larger than a certain size – although he might permit 
  an army or other large group as a Patron. Frequency 
  of appearance multipliers and special modifiers (if any) 
  apply to the final cost of the entire group. 
   
  Frequency of Appearance  
   
  Choose a frequency of appearance (see boxed 
  text on the right). If your Ally appears at the start of an 
  adventure, he accompanies you for the duration of that 
  adventure. 
   
   
  Allies in Play 
   
  As with Dependents, the GM will adjust your Ally’s 
  abilities in order to keep his point total a fixed percent-
  age of your own as you earn points. This will keep his 
  value as an advantage constant. The GM decides how 
  the Ally evolves, although he might ask you for your 
  input.  
   
  If your Ally dies through no fault of yours, the GM 
  will not penalize you. (Exception: Veltressai Quads, 
  see p. 65.) You may put the points spent on the de-
  ceased Ally toward a new Ally. The new relationship 
  should normally develop gradually, but the GM might 
  allow an NPC to become an Ally on the spot if you 
  have done something that would win him over (e.g., 
  saving his life). This is especially appropriate in cul-
  tures where debts of honor are taken seriously.  
   
  There is no penalty for amicably parting ways with 
  your Ally. You may use the points spent on him to buy 
  a new Ally met during play 
   
  Special Limitations 
   
  Unwilling: You have obtained your Ally through 
  coercion (e.g., blackmail). You do not have to treat him 
  as well as you would a normal Ally. However, he hates 
  you and is likely to act accordingly, reducing his overall 
  reliability level. If you endanger such an Ally or order 
  him to do something unpleasant, he may rebel (GM’s 
  option) if the consequences of doing so would be less 
  severe than those of doing your bidding. An Ally who 
  rebels is gone, along with the points you spent on him. 
  -50%. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Frequency of Appearance 
   
  Whether you pay points for a useful 
  relationship with an NPC or collect points for a 
  troublesome one, it is unlikely that the NPC will 
  be a constant presence. Each friend or foe has 
  a frequency of appearance, and will figure into a 
  given adventure only if the GM rolls less than or 
  equal to that number on 3d at the start of the 
  adventure. How the NPC interacts with you if the 
  roll succeeds depends on the nature of the 
  relationship. 
   
  Frequency of appearance multiplies the 
  point cost for an Associated NPC after 
  determining power level and group size (as 
  applicable), but before you apply any special 
  modifiers: 
   
   
  Constantly (no roll required): ×4. The NPC is 
  always present. This level is reserved for NPCs 
  – usually Allies – that are implanted, worn like 
  clothing, etc. 
   
  Almost all the time (roll of 15 or less): ×3. 
   
  Quite often (roll of 12 or less): ×2. 
   
  Fairly often (roll of 9 or less): ×1. 
   
  Quite rarely (roll of 6 or less): ×1/2 (round 
  up). 
   
  
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Ambidexterity  
  5 points 
   
  You can fight or otherwise act equally well with 
  either hand, and never suffer the -4 DX penalty for 
  using the “off” hand. Note that this does not allow you 
  to take extra actions in combat – that’s Extra Attack. 
  Should some accident befall one of your arms or 
  hands, assume it is the left one. 
   
  Amphibious  
  10 points 
   
  You are well-adapted to movement in the water. 
  You do not suffer skill penalties for working underwa-
  ter, and you can swim at your full Basic Move. You still 
  require air (but see Doesn’t Breath). Typical features 
  include smooth, seal-like skin and webbed fingers and 
  toes. If you can move only in the water, take the 
  Aquatic disadvantage instead. This is an exotic ad-
  vantage that requires the GM’s permission to add. 
   
  Appearance 
  see Appearance Levels, p. 31 
   
  Above-average appearance is treated as an 
  advantage. 
   
  Artificer 
  see Talent 
   
  Body of Stone 
  140 points 
   
  Your body is made of rock. This meta-trait in-
  cludes the following advantages: Doesn’t Breathe [20]; 
  DR 5 [25]; Immunity to Metabolic Hazards (see Re-
  sistant) [30]; Injury Tolerance (Homogenous, No 
  Blood) [45]; Pressure Support 3 [15]; Sealed [15]; 
  Vacuum Support [5]; and Fragile (Brittle) [-15]. This is 
  an exotic meta-trait that requires the GM’s permission 
  to add. 
   
  Brachiator  
  5 points 
   
  You can travel by swinging on vines, tree 
  branches, ropes, chandeliers, etc. You get +2 to 
  Climbing skill, and can move at half your Basic Move 
  while brachiating. This is an exotic advantage that re-
  quires the GM’s permission to add. 
   
  Business Acumen 
  see Talent 
   
  Catfall 
  10 points 
   
  You subtract five yards from a fall automatically 
  (treat this as an automatic Acrobatics success – don’t 
  check again for it). In addition, a successful DX roll 
  halves damage from any fall. To enjoy these benefits, 
  your limbs must be unbound and your body free to 
  twist as you fall. This is an exotic advantage that re-
  quires the GM’s permission to add. 
   
  Chameleon 
  5 points/level 
   
  You can change your surface pattern to blend into 
  your surroundings. In any situation where being seen 
  is a factor, you get +2 per level to Stealth skill when 
  perfectly still, or +1 per level if moving. Clothing re-
  duces this bonus to +1 per level when you are mo-
  tionless, with no bonus if you are moving (unless the 
  clothing is, in the GM’s opinion, camouflaged relative 
  to your current environment). 
   
  Chameleon does not normally help in the dark or 
  against someone relying upon senses other than sight. 
  However, you can specify that your ability is effective 
  against a particular visual or scanning sense (e.g., In-
  fravision or Radar‡) instead of normal vision. This is an 
  exotic advantage that requires the GM’s permission to 
  add. 
   
  Special Enhancements 
   
  Extended: Your ability affects more than one vis-
  ual or scanning sense. Each sense beyond the first is 
  +20%. 
   
  Special Limitations 
   
  Always On: You cannot turn this ability off. 
  Strangers react at -1; the flickering effect is irritat-
  ing. -10%. 
   
  Charisma 
  5 points/level 
   
  You have a natural ability to impress and lead oth-
  ers. Anyone can acquire a semblance of charisma 
  through looks, manners, and intelligence – but real 
  charisma is independent of these things. Each level 
  gives +1 on all reaction rolls made by sapient beings 
  with whom you actively interact (converse, lecture, 
  etc.); +1 to Influence rolls; and +1 to Fortune-Telling‡, 
  Leadership, Panhandling‡, and Public Speaking skills. 
  The GM may rule that your Charisma does not affect 
  members of extremely alien species. 
   
  Claws 
  Variable 
   
  You have claws. This advantage modifies all your 
  hands and feet; there is no discount for claws on only 
  some of your limbs. This is an exotic advantage that 
  requires the GM’s permission to add. There are sev-
  eral variations: 
   
   
  Blunt Claws: Very short claws, like those of a dog. 
  Add +1 per die to the damage you inflict with a punch 
  or kick; e.g., 2d-3 becomes 2d-1. 3 points. 
   
  Hooves: Hard hooves, like those of a horse. Add 
  +1 per die to the damage you inflict with a kick, and 
  give your feet (only) +1 DR. 3 points. 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Page 85 
   
  Sharp Claws: Short claws, like those of a cat. 
  Change the damage you inflict with a punch or kick 
  from crushing to cutting. 5 points. 
   
  Talons: Longer claws – up to 12” long. Change the 
  damage you inflict with a punch or kick from crushing 
  to your choice of cutting or impaling (choose before 
  you roll to hit). 8 points. 
   
  Long Talons: Huge claws, like sword blades ex-
  tending from your body! Treat these as Talons, but 
  damage is +1 per die. 11 points. 
   
  Clerical Investment 
  5 points 
   
  You are an ordained priest of a recognized reli-
  gion. You enjoy a number of privileges that a layman 
  lacks, notably the authority to preside over weddings, 
  funerals, and similar ceremonies. This gives you a +1 
  reaction bonus from co-religionists and those who re-
  spect your faith, and entitles you to use a title – Father, 
  Sister, Rabbi, etc. 
   
  Remember that not all clerics are “good”! Aka’Ar, 
  high priest of the unholy Cult of Set, is also a vested 
  priest. The blessings and marriages are as meaningful 
  to his followers as those of a vicar are to his parish.  
   
  Clerical Investment is purely social in nature. It 
  does not confer miraculous powers. Clerical Invest-
  ment includes Religious Rank 0 (see p. 38). If you 
  want more influence within your church, buy up your 
  Rank. 
   
  Clinging 
  20 points 
   
  You can walk or crawl on walls and ceilings. You 
  can stop at any point and stick to the surface without 
  fear of falling. Neither feat requires a roll against 
  Climbing skill, provided the surface is one you can 
  cling to. Move while clinging is half your Basic Move. 
  This is an exotic advantage that requires the GM’s 
  permission to add. 
   
  If you are falling and try to grab a vertical surface 
  to break your fall, the GM must first decide whether 
  there is anything in reach. If there is, make a DX roll to 
  touch the surface, and then make a ST roll at -1 per 5 
  yards already fallen. If you succeed, you stop your fall. 
  Otherwise, you continue to fall – but you may subtract 
  5 yards from the height of the fall thanks to the slowing 
  effect of the failed Clinging attempt. Variations in grav-
  ity affect these distances; e.g., in 0.5G, the ST roll 
  would be at -1 per 10 yards. 
   
  Combat Reflexes 
  15 points 
   
  You have extraordinary reactions, and are rarely 
  surprised for more than a moment. You get +1 to all 
  active defense rolls (p. 211), +1 to Fast-Draw skill, and 
  +2 to Fright Checks (p. 200). You never “freeze” in a 
  surprise situation, and get +6 on all IQ rolls to wake 
  up, or to recover from surprise or mental stun. Your 
  side gets +1 on initiative rolls to avoid a surprise attack 
  – +2 if you are the leader. (See GURPS Basic Set p. 
  393 for more on Surprise Attacks and Initiative.) Com-
  bat Reflexes is included in Enhanced Time Sense‡. 
   
  Common Sense 
  10 points 
   
  Any time you start to do something the GM feels is 
  STUPID, he will roll against your IQ. A successful roll 
  means he must warn you: “Hadn’t you better think 
  about that?” This advantage lets an impulsive player 
  take the part of a thoughtful character. 
   
  Courtesy Rank  
  see Rank, p. 37 
   
  Cultural Adaptability 
  10 or 20 points 
   
  You are familiar with a broad spectrum of cultures. 
  When dealing with those cultures, you never suffer the 
  -3 “cultural unfamiliarity” penalty. Point cost depends 
  on the scope of your familiarity: 
   
  Cultural Adaptability: You are familiar with all cul-
  tures of your species. 10 points. 
   
  Xeno-Adaptability: You are familiar with all cul-
  tures in the Star Fleet Universe, regardless of spe-
  cies. 20 points. 
   
  Cultural Familiarity 
  see p. 33 
   
  Damage Resistance 
  5 points/level 
   
  Your body itself has a Damage Resistance score. 
  Subtract this from the damage done by any physical or 
  energy attack after the DR of artificial armor (you can 
  normally wear armor over natural DR) but before mul-
  tiplying the injury for damage type. By default, natural 
  DR does not protect your eyes or help against purely 
  mental attacks such as telepathy. 
   
  Normal humans cannot purchase DR at all. Crea-
  tures with natural armor can buy DR 1 to 5. Thick skin 
  or a pelt would be DR 1; a heavy pelt, or scales like 
  those of a lizard would be DR 2; armor plates would be 
  DR 3; alligator scales or elephant hide would be DR 4; 
  and a giant tortoise would have DR 5. 
   
  Many special modifiers are available to change the 
  basic assumptions of this advantage.  
   
  Special Enhancements 
   
  Absorption: You can absorb damage and use it to 
  enhance your abilities. Each point of DR stops one 
  point of damage and turns it into one character point 
  that you can use to improve traits (anything but skills) 
  temporarily. You store these points in a “battery” with 
  capacity equal to DR (e.g., DR 10 gives a 10-point 
  battery). Once this battery is full, each point of DR will 
  still stop one point of damage, but will not convert it 
  into a character point. You do not have to use stored 
  points immediately, but you cannot reallocate points 
  once used. You lose absorbed points – unused ones 
  
  Page 86  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  first – at the rate of one point per second. You lose 
  enhanced abilities as the points drain away. (Excep-
  tion: If you are missing HP or FP, you can heal your-
  self. Restoring one HP drains 2 stored points immedi-
  ately; restoring one FP drains 3 points. Such healing is 
  permanent. Only HP or FP in excess of your usual 
  scores drain away.) You cannot absorb damage from 
  your own ST or attack abilities. +80% if absorbed 
  points can only enhance one trait (determined when 
  you create your character) or can only heal; +100% if 
  you can raise any trait. 
   
  Force Field: Your DR takes the form of a field pro-
  jected a short distance from your body. This protects 
  your entire body – including your eyes – as well as 
  anything you are carrying, and reduces the damage 
  from attacks before armor DR. Effects that rely on 
  touch only affect you if carried by an attack that does 
  enough damage to pierce your DR. +20%. 
   
  Hardened: Each level of Hardened reduces the 
  armor divisor of an attack by one step. These steps 
  are, in order: “ignores DR,” 100, 10, 5, 3, 2, and 1 (no 
  divisor). +20% per level. 
   
  Reflection: Your DR “bounces back” any damage 
  it stops at your attacker. The remaining damage af-
  fects you normally. The attacker doesn’t get an active 
  defense against the first attack you reflect back at him 
  but gets his usual defenses against subsequent re-
  flected attacks. Reflection only works vs. direct hits!  It 
  cannot reflect damage from explosions, fragments, 
  poison gas, or anything else that affects an entire 
  area. This enhancement is mutually exclusive with Ab-
  sorption. +100%. 
   
  Special Limitations 
   
  Ablative: Your DR stops damage once. Each point 
  of DR stops one point of basic damage but is de-
  stroyed in the process. Lost DR “heals” at the same 
  rate as lost HP (including the effects of Regeneration). 
  -80%. 
   
  Can’t Wear Armor: Your body is designed in such 
  a way that you cannot or will not wear body armor or 
  clothing. -40%. 
   
  Directional: Your DR only protects against attacks 
  from one direction. -20% for the front (F); -40% for the 
  back (B), right (R), left (L), top (T), or underside (U). 
  Humanoids may only take this limitation for front and 
  back. 
   
  Flexible: Your DR is not rigid. This leaves you vul-
  nerable to blunt trauma (see p. 214). -20%. 
   
  Limited: Your DR applies only to certain attack 
  forms or damage types. See Limited Defenses (p. 87) 
  for details 
   
  Partial: Your DR only protects a specific hit loca-
  tion. This is worth -10% per -1 penalty to hit that body 
  part. For instance, an animal with butting horns and a 
  thick skull might have “Skull only,” for -70%. “Torso 
  only” is -10%, and also protects the vital organs. When 
  you take this limitation for arms, legs, hands, or feet, 
  the DR protects all limbs of that type. If it only protects 
  one limb, the limitation value doubles (e.g., arms 
  are -2 to hit, so a single arm would be -40%). If you 
  have arms, legs, etc. with different penalties, use the 
  least severe penalty to calculate limitation value. 
   
  Semi-Ablative: When an attack strikes semi-abla-
  tive DR, every 10 points of basic damage rolled re-
  moves one point of DR, regardless of whether the at-
  tack penetrates DR. Lost DR “heals” as for Ablative 
  (and you cannot combine the two). -20%. 
   
  Tough Skin: By default, Damage Resistance is 
  “hard”: armor plate, chitin, etc. With this limitation, your 
  DR is merely tough skin. Any effect that requires a 
  scratch (e.g., poison) or skin contact (e.g., electrical 
  shock or Pressure Points‡ skill) affects you if the attack 
  carrying it penetrates the DR of any armor you are 
  wearing – even if it does exactly 0 damage! Your natu-
  ral DR, being living tissue, provides no protection at all 
  against such attacks. This limitation includes all the 
  effects of the Flexible limitation; you cannot take both. 
  It is mutually incompatible with Force Field. -40%. 
   
  “Layered” Defenses 
   
  You may have multiple “layers” of DR with differ-
  ent combinations of modifiers. You must specify the 
  order of the layers – from outermost to innermost – 
  when you create your character. You may not change 
  this order once set. 
   
  Danger Sense 
  15 points 
   
  You can’t depend on it, but sometimes you get this 
  prickly feeling right at the back of your neck, and you 
  know something’s wrong . . . If you have Danger 
  Sense, the GM rolls once against your Perception, 
  secretly, in any situation involving an ambush, im-
  pending disaster, or similar hazard. On a success, you 
  get enough of a warning that you can take action. A 
  roll of 3 or 4 means you get a little detail as to the na-
  ture of the danger. 
   
  Danger Sense is included in Precognition‡; if you 
  have the latter trait, you cannot also have Danger 
  Sense. 
   
  Daredevil 
  15 points 
   
  Fortune seems to smile on you when you take 
  risks! Any time you take an unnecessary risk (in the 
  GM’s opinion), you get a +1 to all skill rolls. Further-
  more, you may reroll any critical failure that occurs 
  during such a high-risk behavior. 
   
   
  Example: Orion pirates open fire on you with dis-
  ruptors. If you crouch down behind a wall and return 
  fire from cover, Daredevil gives no bonuses. If you 
  vault over the wall and charge the pirates, screaming, 
  it provides all its benefits. 
   
  Detect 
  Variable 
   
  You can detect a specific substance or condition, 
  even when it is shielded from the five human senses. 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Page 87 
  This requires one second of concentration, after which 
  the GM will secretly make a Sense roll for you (See 
  Sense Rolls, p. 195). The range modifiers from the 
  Size and Speed/Range Table (p. 211) apply. You may 
  buy a special Acute Sense to improve the roll, thereby 
  increasing your effective range. This is an exotic ad-
  vantage that requires the GM’s permission to add. 
   
  On a success, the GM tells you the direction to the 
  nearest significant source of the substance, and gives 
  you a clue as to the quantity present. On a failure, you 
  sense nothing. 
   
  Detect also includes the ability to analyze what 
  you detect. This requires an IQ roll; the better the roll, 
  the more precise the details. For instance, if you had 
  Detect (Metal), you could tell gold from iron on a suc-
  cessful IQ roll, and might learn details – such as 
  whether the gold is in the form of ore or bars, and its 
  precise purity – on a critical success. 
   
  The base cost of Detect is as follows: 
   
   
  Rare (dilithium, gold, radar, radio): 5 points. 
   
  Occasional (precious metal, electric fields, mag-
  netic fields, radar and radio): 10 points. 
   
  Common (humans, supernatural phenomena, su-
  pernatural beings, metal, electric and magnetic fields): 
  20 points. 
   
  Very Common (all life, all supernatural phenom-
  ena and beings, all minerals, all energy): 30 points. 
   
   
  Note that the ability to detect certain phenomena 
  can often justify other advantages, For instance, De-
  tect 
  (Magnetic 
  Fields) 
  could 
  explain 
  Absolute 
  Direction. 
   
  Special Enhancements 
   
  Precise: On a successful Sense roll, you also 
  learn the distance to whatever you detect. +100%. 
   
  Signal Detection: You can detect an active trans-
  mission of some sort, such as a radio, radar, or laser; 
  see Scanning Sense‡ and Telecommunication. You 
  suffer no range penalties, but must be within twice the 
  signal’s own range and (if the signal is directional) 
  within in its path. +0%. 
   
  Special Limitations 
   
  Vague: You can only detect the presence or ab-
  sence of the target substance. Direction and quantity 
  are revealed only on a critical success, and you cannot 
  analyze what you detect. This limitation is mutually 
  exclusive with Precise. -50%. 
   
  Discriminatory Hearing 
  15 points 
   
  You have a superhuman ability to distinguish be-
  tween sounds. You can always identify people by 
  voice, and can recognize individual machines by their 
  “sound signature.” You may memorize a sound by lis-
  tening to it for at least one minute and making a suc-
  cessful IQ roll. On a failure, you must wait at least one 
  full day before making a repeated attempt. This is an 
  exotic advantage that requires the GM’s permission to 
  add. 
   
  You get +4 (in addition to any Acute Hearing bo-
  nuses) on any task that utilizes hearing, and receive 
  +4 to Shadowing skill when following a noisy target.  
   
  To simulate the passive sonar used by subma-
  rines, add a -30% Accessibility limitation, “Only 
  underwater.” 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Limited Defenses 
   
   
  When you buy Damage Resistance – or any 
  advantage that protects against damage (as op-
  posed to nondamaging  effects) – you may specify 
  that it is only effective against certain damage types. 
  This is a limitation that reduces the cost of the 
  advantage. Attacks fall into four rarity classes for 
  this purpose: 
   
   
  Very Common: An extremely broad category of 
  damage that you are likely to encounter in almost 
  any setting. Examples: ranged attacks, melee 
  attacks, physical attacks (from any material 
  substance), energy attacks (e.g., beam weapons, 
  electricity, fire, heat and cold, and sound), or all 
  damage with a specified advantage origin (chi, 
  magic, psionics, etc.). -20% 
   
  Common: A broad category of damage. Exam-
  ples: a standard damage type (one of burning, 
  corrosion, crushing, cutting, impaling, piercing, or 
  toxic), a commonly encountered class of substances 
  (e.g., metal, stone, water, wood, or flesh), a threat 
  encountered in nature and produced by exotic 
  powers or technology (e.g., acid, cold, electricity, or 
  heat/fire), or a refinement of a “Very Common” 
  category (e.g., magical energy). -40% 
   
  Occasional: A fairly specific category of dam-
  age. Examples: a common substance (e.g., steel or 
  lead), any one specific class of damage that is 
  usually produced only by exotic abilities or tech-
  nology (e.g., particle beams, lasers, disintegrators, 
  or shaped charges), or a refinement of a “Common” 
  category (e.g., magical electricity, piercing 
  metal). -60% 
   
  Rare: An extremely narrow category of damage. 
  Examples: charged particle beams, dragon’s fire, 
  piercing lead, ultraviolet lasers, or an uncommon 
  substance (e.g., silver or blessed weapons). -80% 
   
   
  Unless specified otherwise, limited DR works 
  only against direct effects. If you are levitated by an 
  anti-grav beam and then dropped, the damage is 
  from the fall; “DR vs. beam weapons” would not 
  protect. Similarly “DR vs. Slirdarians” would not help 
  against a boulder hurled by a Slirdarian – the 
  damage is from a boulder, not a Slirdarian. Be sure 
  to work out such details with the GM before setting 
  the value of the limitation. If the GM feels that a 
  quality would never directly influence damage, he 
  need not allow it as a limitation! 
   
  
  Page 88  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Discriminatory Smell 
  15 points 
   
  Your sense of smell is far beyond the human 
  norm, and can register distinctive odors for practically 
  everything you may encounter. This allows you to rec-
  ognize people, places, and things by scent. You may 
  memorize a scent by sniffing it for at least one minute 
  and making a successful IQ roll. On a failure, you must 
  wait at least one full day before making a repeated 
  attempt. This is an exotic advantage that requires the 
  GM’s permission to add. 
   
  You get +4 (in addition to any Acute Taste and 
  Smell bonuses) on any task that utilizes the sense of 
  smell, and receive +4 to Tracking skill. 
   
  Special Enhancements 
   
  Emotion Sense: You can detect a person or ani-
  mal’s emotional state by odor. This functions as the 
  Empathy advantage, but you must be within 2 yards of 
  the subject. +50%. 
   
  Discriminatory Taste 
  10 points 
   
  This talent functions in most ways like Discrimina-
  tory Smell, but enhances the sense of taste instead, so 
  tracking is not possible. You must ingest a small quan-
  tity of the material to be examined; for a living subject, 
  this means bodily fluids. This gives you an IQ roll to 
  recognize the taste, identify whether a substance is 
  safe to eat, etc. You can perform a detailed “analysis” 
  with a roll against a suitable skill (Chemistry, Cooking, 
  Pharmacy, Poisons, etc.). You get +4 (in addition to 
  any Acute Taste and Smell bonuses) on any task that 
  utilizes the sense of taste. This is an exotic advantage 
  that requires the GM’s permission to add. 
   
  Doesn’t Breathe 
  20 points 
   
  You do not breathe or require oxygen. Choking 
  and strangulation attempts cannot harm (or silence!) 
  you, and you are immune to inhaled toxins. You are 
  still affected by contact poisons, pressure, and vac-
  uum; take Sealed, Pressure Support, and Vacuum 
  Support respectively, to resist those threats. This is an 
  exotic advantage that requires the GM’s permission to 
  add. 
   
  Special Limitations 
   
  Gills: You can extract oxygen from water, allowing 
  you to remain submerged indefinitely. You are immune 
  to strangulation and “the bends.” If you can only sur-
  vive underwater, and suffocate in air as quickly as a 
  normal human would drown underwater, Doesn’t 
  Breathe (Gills) is a 0-point feature; otherwise, -50%. 
   
  Oxygen Absorption: As Gills, but you can absorb 
  oxygen through the surface of your body whether it is 
  in the air, a liquid, or other medium. Your body does 
  not absorb poisonous gases, but you will suffocate if 
  there is no oxygen available. You can use breathing 
  equipment in space (your lungs are capable of working 
  normally). You may not have the Sealed advan-
  tage. -25%. 
   
  Oxygen Combustion: As Oxygen Absorption, but 
  you cannot breathe underwater or anywhere else fire 
  cannot burn. -50%. 
   
  Oxygen Storage: You need to breathe, but you 
  can go for extended periods of time without doing so; 
  perhaps you store oxygen (like a whale) or have supe-
  rior blood oxygenation. This differs from Breath-Hold-
  ing in that you are completely immune to “the bends” 
  while your oxygen supply holds out. If you can effec-
  tively “hold your breath” for 25 times as long as usual, 
  this is -50%; 50 times, -40%; 100 times, -30%; 200 
  times, -20%; 300 times, -10%. 
   
  Doesn’t Sleep 
  20 points 
   
  You do not have to sleep at all. You can ignore all 
  ill effects from missed nights of rest. This is an exotic 
  advantage that requires the GM’s permission to add. 
   
  Double-Jointed 
  see Flexibility 
   
  Eidetic Memory 
  5 or 10 points 
   
  You have an exceptionally good memory. Anyone 
  may attempt an IQ roll to recall the general sense of 
  past events – the better the roll, the truer the memory, 
  but details are often sketchy. With this talent, you au-
  tomatically succeed at these “memory rolls,” and you 
  often recall precise details. This trait comes in two 
  levels: 
   
   
  Eidetic Memory: You automatically remember the 
  general sense of everything you concentrate on, and 
  can recall specific details by making an IQ roll. It is 
  possible to “learn” this advantage in play (bards and 
  skalds often acquire it to recall poems and songs). 5 
  points. 
   
  Photographic 
  Memory: 
  As 
  above, 
  but 
  you 
  automatically recall specific details, too. Any time you, 
  the player forget a detail your character has seen or 
  heard, the GM or other players must remind you – 
  truthfully! 10 points. 
   
   
  This trait affects recall, not comprehension, and so 
  does not benefit skills. However, it gives a bonus 
  whenever the GM requires an IQ roll for learning: +5 
  for Eidetic Memory, +10 for Photographic Memory. 
   
  Empathy 
  5 or 15 points 
   
  You have a “feeling” for people. When you first 
  meet someone – or are reunited after an absence – 
  you may ask the GM to roll against your IQ. He will tell 
  you what you “feel” about that person. On a failed IQ 
  roll, he will lie!  
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Page 89 
   
  This talent is excellent for spotting impostors, pos-
  session, etc., and for determining the true loyalties of 
  NPCs. You can also use it to determine whether 
  someone is lying … not what the truth is, but just 
  whether they are being truthful with you. 
   
  This advantage comes in two levels: 
   
   
  Sensitive: Your ability is not entirely reliable; the 
  IQ roll is at -3. You get +1 to your Detect Lies and 
  Fortune-Telling‡ skills, and to Psychology rolls to ana-
  lyze a subject you can converse with. 5 points. 
   
  Empathy: Your ability works at full IQ, and the bo-
  nus to Detect Lies, Fortune-Telling‡, and Psychology is 
  +3. 15 points. 
   
   
  This advantage works only on sapient (IQ 6+), 
  natural beings. The equivalent talents for animals, 
  plants, and supernatural entities are Animal Empathy‡, 
  Plant Empathy‡, and Spirit Empathy‡, respectively. 
   
  Enhanced Move 
  20 points/level 
   
  Each level of Enhanced Move doubles your top 
  speed in one environment: Air, Ground, Space‡, or 
  Water. You may also take a half-level of Enhanced 
  Move, either alone or with any whole number of levels; 
  this costs 10 points and multiplies Move by 1.5. This is 
  an exotic advantage that requires the GM’s permission 
  to add. 
   
  Your multiplied Move is your top speed. Record it 
  in parentheses after your Enhanced Move trait. Exam-
  ple: Enhanced Move 4 (Ground Speed 128).  
   
  Enhanced Move does not affect Basic Speed, 
  Basic Move, or Dodge. Its benefits apply only when 
  moving along a relatively straight, smooth course (see 
  Sprinting, p. 192). It does have some defensive value, 
  however; those who attack you with ranged attacks 
  must take your speed into account when calculating 
  speed/range. 
   
  Most forms of Enhanced Move have prerequisites. 
  Enhanced Move (Water) requires Amphibious or 
  Aquatic. Enhanced Move (Air) requires Flight. 
   
  Enhanced Tracking 
  5 points/level 
   
  You can “track” more than one target – whether 
  with a built-in sensor array or eyes that can swivel in-
  dependently, like those of a chameleon. An Aim or 
  Evaluate maneuver (p. 114) normally applies to a sin-
  gle target. Each level of Enhanced Tracking allows 
  your maneuver to apply to one additional target. You 
  can only track targets that you can detect, and you 
  cannot Aim at more targets than you have ready 
  weapons to Aim with. This is an exotic advantage that 
  requires the GM’s permission to add. 
   
  Extended Lifespan 
  2 points/level 
   
  An average life cycle is defined as maturity at age 
  18, with aging effects (see p. 125) starting at age 50 
  and accelerating at ages 70 and 90. Each level of Ex-
  tended Lifespan doubles all these values. This is an 
  exotic advantage that requires the GM’s permission to 
  add. 
   
  Extra Arms 
  Variable 
   
  In GURPS, a limb with which you can manipulate 
  objects is an arm, regardless of where it grows or what 
  it looks like. A normal arm can strike a blow that inflicts 
  thrust-1 crushing damage based on ST. The human 
  norm is two arms for 0 points. Extra arms have a base 
  cost of 10 points apiece. This is an exotic advantage 
  that requires the GM’s permission to add. 
   
  Coordination 
   
  You can use extra arms freely for multiple 
  noncombat tasks. For instance, with three arms, you 
  could perform a one-handed task (e.g., use a com-
  puter mouse) and a two-handed task (e.g., type) sim-
  ultaneously. You need Enhanced Tracking to perform 
  tasks that require attention to events in more than one 
  place at a time, however. 
   
  You can also use all of your arms in concert for a 
  single combat maneuver where extra arms would be 
  helpful; e.g., grappling in close combat. And if you 
  have at least three arms, you can use a shield nor-
  mally with one arm and still wield a two-handed 
  weapon, just as a normal human fighter can use a 
  shield and one-handed weapon at the same time.  
   
  No matter how many arms you have, though, you 
  do not get additional attacks (or other extra maneu-
  vers) in combat unless you buy Extra Attacks. 
   
  Close Combat with Extra Arms 
   
  Extra arms give a huge advantage in close com-
  bat. You cannot punch with more than one arm at a 
  time unless you have Extra Attack, but you may grap-
  ple with all of your arms at once. Each extra arm of 
  regular length or longer, over and above the generic 
  set of two, gives +2 to any attempt to grapple or break 
  free from a grapple. Having more arms than your op-
  ponent also gives +3 on any attempt to pin or resist a 
  pin. 
   
  Special Enhancements 
   
  Extra-Flexible: Limbs with this enhancement are 
  more flexible than human arms, like tentacles or an 
  elephant’s trunk. These limbs can always reach and 
  work with other limbs, regardless of body positioning, 
  general layout, or “right” and “left.” +50%.  
   
  Long: Your arm is longer in proportion to your 
  body than a human arm relative to the human body. 
  This increases your effective SM for the purpose of 
  calculating reach with that arm (see Size Modifier and 
  Reach, p. 206). This does affect the reach of melee 
  weapons wielded in that hand. Each +1 to SM also 
  adds +1 per die to swinging damage. +100% per +1 to 
  SM. 
   
  
  Page 90  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Special Limitations 
   
  Foot Manipulators: Your “arm” is really an unusu-
  ally dexterous leg. You cannot walk while you are ma-
  nipulating objects with it (although you can sit, float, or 
  fly). This is a Temporary Disadvantage limitation, the 
  disadvantage being Legless. This kind of arm is usu-
  ally – but not always – Short. -30%. 
   
  No Physical Attack: The limb can manipulate but 
  cannot punch or wield melee weapons, and gives no 
  bonus in close combat. It can still wield a firearm or 
  similar ranged weapon. -50%. 
   
  Short: The arm has reach “C” (close combat only), 
  and lacks the leverage to use any weapon that must 
  be swung. Subtract one yard from the reach of any 
  melee weapon wielded by that limb. If all of your arms 
  are short, you are at -2 on any attempt to grap-
  ple. -50%. 
   
  Weak: The arm has less than your full body ST for 
  lifting, striking, and grappling. -25% if the arm has half 
  your body ST, or -50% if it has 1/4 your body ST 
  (round down in both cases). 
   
  Modifying Beings with One or Two Arms 
   
  Beings with one or two arms can use the special 
  modifiers above. Point cost is equal to 1/10 the per-
  centile modifier per affected arm. Thus, enhancements 
  become advantages and limitations become disad-
  vantages. For instance, Short is -50%, so it is worth -5 
  points per arm. Someone with two short arms would 
  have a -10-point disadvantage. 
   
  Those with one arm can only apply these modifi-
  ers once, but also get the -20 points for One Arm. For 
  instance, an elephant’s trunk would be Extra-Flexible 
  (+50%), Long (+100%), and Weak (-50%). These 
  modifiers total +100%, for a 10-point advantage. 
  The -20 points for One Arm would make the net 
  cost -10 points. 
   
  Extra Attack 
  25 points/attack 
   
  You can attack more than once per turn. The “de-
  fault” assumption in GURPS is that you can make one 
  attack per turn, no matter how many limbs you have. 
  Each Extra Attack allows one additional attack per 
  turn. You may not have more attacks than you have 
  limbs (arms, legs, etc.), natural weapons (Strikers, 
  Teeth, etc.), and attack powers (Afflictions, Bindings‡, 
  and Innate Attacks) with which to attack. The GM’s 
  word on what constitutes an “attack” is final. 
   
  A normal human can purchase one Extra Attack. 
  This lets him attack with both hands at once, and rep-
  resents unusually good coordination; nonhumans have 
  no such limitation (but must get the GM’s permission). 
   
  Extra Attack is exactly that: an extra Attack 
  maneuver on your turn in combat. It does not eliminate 
  the -4 penalty for an “off” hand (see Ambidexterity) or 
  let you take multiple Aim maneuvers (see Enhanced 
  Tracking). You may use some of your attacks for Feint 
  maneuvers, but you many not take multiple actions of 
  other kinds – that requires Altered Time Rate‡. 
  Extra Attacks and All-Out Attack 
   
  When an individual with Extra Attacks makes an 
  All-Out Attack, he must select one type of bonus for all 
  his attacks that turn. He could not, for instance, take 
  All-Out Attack (Determined) with one attack and All-
  Out Attack (Strong) with another. If he chooses All-Out 
  Attack (Double) to increase his number of attacks, he 
  gets one additional attack. 
   
  Extra Legs 
  Variable 
   
  If you can walk on a limb but cannot use it to 
  manipulate objects, it is a leg in GURPS (for legs that 
  double as arms, see Extra Arms). A normal leg can 
  kick for thrust/crushing damage at your usual reach (1 
  yard for a human). The human norm is two legs, which 
  costs 0 points. This is an exotic advantage that re-
  quires the GM’s permission to add. It costs points to 
  have more than two legs: 
   
   
  Three or four legs: If you lose a leg, you can con-
  tinue to move at half Move (round down). Loss of a 
  second leg causes you to fall. 5 points. 
   
  Five or six legs: Each leg lost reduces Move by 
  20% until only three legs are left. At that point, your 
  Move is 40% normal. Loss of another leg causes you 
  to fall. 10 points. 
   
  Seven or more legs: Each leg lost reduces Move 
  by 10% until only three legs are left. At that point, your 
  Move is 40% normal. Loss of another leg causes you 
  to fall. 15 points. 
   
   
  You can apply the following modifiers to all your 
  legs: 
   
  Special Enhancements 
   
  Long: Your legs are longer in proportion to your 
  body than human legs relative to the human body. 
  This increases your effective SM for the purpose of 
  calculating reach when kicking (see Size Modifier and 
  Reach, p. 206) and when clambering over obstacles. 
  +100% per +1 to SM. 
   
  Special Limitations 
   
  Cannot Kick: You cannot use your legs to kick for 
  damage. -50%. 
   
  Modifying Beings with Two Legs 
   
  The modifiers above can be applied to creatures 
  with only two legs. Point cost is equal to 1/10 the per-
  centile modifier. For instance, a human with Cannot 
  Kick (-50%) would have a -5 point disadvantage. 
   
  Fashion Sense 
  see p. 32 
   
   
   
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Page 91 
  Fearlessness 
  2 points/level 
   
  You are difficult to frighten or intimidate! Add your 
  level of Fearlessness to your Will whenever you make 
  a Fright Check or must resist the Intimidation skill or a 
  supernatural power that induces fear. You also sub-
  tract your Fearlessness level from all Intimidation rolls 
  made against you. 
   
  Filter Lungs 
  5 points 
   
  Your respiratory system can filter out ordinary con-
  taminants; e.g., dust, pollen, smoke, and even tear gas 
  (but not nerve gas or other contact agents). You suffer 
  no ill effects from such things. This is especially useful 
  in polluted cities and on alien worlds. Note that if you 
  have Doesn’t Breathe, you do not need this ad-
  vantage! This is an exotic advantage that requires the 
  GM’s permission to add. 
   
  Fit  
  5 or 15 points 
   
  You have better cardiovascular health than your 
  HT alone would indicate. This comes in two levels: 
   
   
  Fit: You get +1 to all HT rolls (to stay conscious, 
  avoid death, resist disease or poison, etc.). This does 
  not improve your HT attribute or HT-based skills! You 
  also recover FP at twice the normal rate. 5 points. 
   
  Very Fit: As above, but the bonus to HT rolls is +2. 
  In addition, you lose FP at only half the normal rate. 15 
  points. 
   
   
  In both cases, this advantage applies only to FP 
  lost to exertion, heat, etc. It has no effect on FP spent 
  to power psi. 
   
  Flexibility 
  5 or 15 points 
   
  Your body is unusually flexible. This advantage 
  comes in two levels: 
   
   
  Flexibility: You get +3 on Climbing rolls; on Escape 
  rolls to get free of ropes, handcuffs, and similar re-
  straints; on Erotic Art‡ skill; and on all attempts to 
  break free in close combat (see GURPS Basic Set, p. 
  391). You may ignore up to -3 in penalties for working 
  in close quarters (including many Explosives and Me-
  chanic rolls). 5 points. 
   
  Double-Jointed: As above, but more so. You can-
  not stretch or squeeze yourself abnormally, but any 
  part of your body may bend any way. You get +5 on 
  Climbing, Erotic Art‡, and Escape rolls, and on at-
  tempts to break free. You may ignore up to -5 in pen-
  alties for close quarters. 15 points. 
   
   
   
   
  Flight 
  40 points 
   
  You can fly. The “default” is full-fledged, self-pow-
  ered flight without wings or gliding surfaces. This 
  works at any altitude where there is still significant at-
  mosphere – but in the upper atmosphere, you’ll need a 
  way to survive in very thin, cold air (e.g., Doesn’t 
  Breathe and Temperature Tolerance). You cannot fly 
  in a trace atmosphere or vacuum. This is an exotic 
  advantage that requires the GM’s permission to add. 
   
  Your flight Move is Basic Speed × 2 (drop all frac-
  tions). As explained in Move in Other Environments (p. 
  28), you can adjust this for 2 points per 1 
  yard/second. For very high speeds, take Enhanced 
  Move (Air). If you do not have any of the Controlled 
  Gliding, Gliding, Lighter Than Air‡, Small Wings, 
  Space Flight Only‡, or Winged Flight limitations, you 
  can also “fly” at half-speed underwater. Flight includes 
  the ability to hover at Move 0 as well. 
   
  Special Limitations 
   
  Cannot Hover: You must always move at least 1/4 
  your top airspeed (round up) when flying. This is in-
  compatible with Controlled Gliding and Gliding. -15%. 
   
  Controlled Gliding: Like Gliding in most respects, 
  but you can gain altitude by riding updrafts or “ther-
  mals.” A typical ascent rate is one yard per second. 
  You can locate thermals, if any are present, on a suc-
  cessful IQ or Meteorology roll (one attempt per mi-
  nute). -45%. 
   
  Gliding: You cannot gain altitude. With a running 
  leap, you can launch yourself with an air Move equal 
  to Basic Move. Each turn, you can change velocity by 
  up to 10 yards/second × local gravity in Gs (Earth’s 
  gravity is 1G). To accelerate, you must descend by 1 
  yard for each 1 yard/second added to velocity; top 
  speed is Basic Move × 4. To decelerate, you must fly 
  level. If you do not descend at least 1 yard, you auto-
  matically decelerate by 1 yard/second that turn. When 
  working out turning radius, your basic air Move is 10 × 
  local gravity in Gs. Each level of Enhanced Move (Air) 
  either doubles top speed or halves deceleration in 
  level flight (e.g., one level means you only lose 0.5 
  yard/second in level flight); specify which when you 
  buy it. -50%. 
   
  Small Wings: As Winged, except that your wing-
  span is no more than half your height. You use your 
  wings to steer and to stabilize your flight – not to lift. If 
  your wings are crippled in flight, roll against Aerobat-
  ics‡ skill (or default) to land safely. -10%  
   
  Winged: You use large wings or skin flaps to fly. 
  Wingspan is at least twice your height. In order to take 
  off, land, or maneuver, you must have an open area 
  with a radius equal to your wingspan in all directions. If 
  your wings are bound, or if a wing is crippled (more 
  than 1/3 of your wings, if you have more than two), you 
  cannot fly. Treat wings as arms for the purpose of tar-
  geting and crippling. If you wish to strike blows or ma-
  nipulate objects with your wings, you must pay for 
  
  Page 92  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  them as Strikers or Extra Arms in addition to the cost 
  of Flight. -25%. 
   
  G-Experience 
  1 to 10 points 
   
  You have experience working in one or more 
  gravitational fields other than your native one, and 
  your reflexes adapt quickly to the way objects move 
  and fall in those fields. You suffer only half the usual 
  DX penalty for different gravity (see Different Gravity, 
  p. 196). In situations where low gravity would make a 
  task easier, you roll at full DX, plus the bonus for low 
  gravity, plus an extra +1. For instance, if a normal per-
  son would get +2 to catch a ball in low gravity, you 
  would get +3. 
   
  This trait costs 1 point per gravity field with which 
  you have experience. For instance, an Earth native 
  who works on the moon might have G-Experience 
  (0.16G). To enjoy the benefits of G-Experience in all 
  gravity fields, buy G-Experience (All) for 10 points. 
   
  Healer 
  see Talent 
   
  High Manual Dexterity 
  5 points/level 
   
  You have remarkably fine motor skills. Each level 
  (to a maximum of four) gives +1 to DX for tasks that 
  require a delicate touch. This includes all DX-based 
  rolls against Artist‡, Jeweler‡, Knot-Tying‡, Leather-
  working‡, Lockpicking, Pickpocket‡, Sewing‡, Sleight of 
  Hand, and Surgery, as well as DX-based rolls to do 
  fine work with Machinist or Mechanic (e.g., on clock-
  work). This bonus doesn’t apply to IQ-based tasks or 
  large-scale DX-based tasks, nor does it apply to com-
  bat-related die rolls of any kind. 
   
  High Pain Threshold 
  10 points 
   
  You are as susceptible to injury as anyone else, 
  but you don’t feel it as much. You never suffer a shock 
  penalty when you are injured. In addition, you get +3 
  on all HT rolls to avoid knockdown and stunning – and 
  if you are tortured physically, you get +3 to resist. The 
  GM may let you roll at Will+3 to ignore pain in other 
  situations. 
   
  High TL 
  see p. 33 
   
  Higher Purpose 
  5 points 
   
  You are driven to exceed your normal limits in one 
  specific pursuit. You must state this exactly as if it 
  were a Code of Honor disadvantage: “Defend all 
  women,” “Slay all Kzinti,” etc. If, in the GM’s judgment, 
  you are unfaltering in your pursuit of your Higher Pur-
  pose, you get +1 to all die rolls that pertain directly to 
  the pursuit of your cause. If you deviate from your 
  Higher Purpose, you lose this bonus . . . and the GM is 
  free to penalize you for bad roleplaying just as if you 
  had ignored a Code of Honor. 
   
  A Higher Purpose must be specific. In addition, a 
  Higher Purpose must entail genuine risk and incon-
  venience. The GM should not allow pragmatic Higher 
  Purposes like “Faithfully serve my superiors.” All 
  Higher Purposes are subject to GM approval. 
   
  Immunity 
  see Resistant 
   
  Improved G-Tolerance 
  5 to 25 points 
   
  You can function under a wide range of gravities. 
  For a normal human, the penalties for non-native 
  gravity accrue in increments of 0.2G; see Different 
  Gravity (p. 196). A larger increment costs points: 5 
  points for 0.3G, 10 points for 0.5G, 15 points for 1G, 
  20 points for 5G, and 25 points for 10G. Normal hu-
  mans are limited to 10 points in this trait. 
   
  Independent Income 
  see p. 35 
   
  Indomitable 
  15 points 
   
  You are impossible to influence through ordinary 
  words or actions. Those who wish to use Influence 
  skills on you (see Influence Rolls, p. 197) must pos-
  sess a suitable advantage: Empathy if you are a hu-
  man or similar being. Everyone else – however con-
  vincing – fails automatically. This trait often accompa-
  nies Unfazeable. 
   
  Infravision 
  0 or 10 points 
   
  You can see into the infrared portion of the spec-
  trum, allowing you to detect varying degrees of heat. 
  This lets you fight at no penalty even in absolute dark-
  ness, if your target emits heat (this includes nearly all 
  living beings and most machines). It also gives you +2 
  on all Vision rolls to spot such targets, since their heat 
  stands out from the background. You can follow a heat 
  trail when tracking: add +3 to Tracking rolls if the trail 
  is no more than an hour old. This is an exotic ad-
  vantage that requires the GM’s permission to add. 
   
  Infravision does not let you distinguish colors, and 
  only allows you to judge the general size and shape of 
  heat-emitting objects, including living beings (for in-
  stance, you might have trouble telling two people of 
  the same size apart). Roll at -4 to distinguish between 
  objects of similar size and shape. The GM may also 
  require a Vision-4 roll to read by reflected heat. Sud-
  den flashes of heat (e.g., a flare, fiery explosion, or 
  infrared laser) can blind you, just as a flash of light can 
  blind ordinary vision.  
   
  Cost depends on your capabilities: 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Page 93 
   
  You can only see using Infravision, and are sub-
  ject to its limitations at all times: 0 points. 
   
  You can switch freely between normal vision and 
  Infravision: 10 points. 
   
  Injury Tolerance 
  Variable 
   
  You have fewer physiological weaknesses than 
  ordinary living beings. The cost of this advantage de-
  pends on the precise frailties eliminated. Note that 
  some forms of Injury Tolerance include others, and 
  that Diffuse and Homogenous are mutually incompati-
  ble. (Note that the forms No Eyes and No Head are 
  not included here, but are in the GURPS Basic Set.) 
  This is an exotic advantage that requires the GM’s 
  permission to add. 
   
  Diffuse: Your body is fluid or particulate, com-
  posed of a swarm of smaller entities, or perhaps made 
  of pure energy. This makes you immune to crippling 
  injuries and reduces the damage you suffer from most 
  physical blows; see Injury to Unliving, Homogenous, 
  and Diffuse Targets (p. 216). Most foes (GM’s deci-
  sion) cannot slam or grapple you! Diffuse includes all 
  the benefits of No Blood, No Brain, and No Vitals. 100 
  points. 
   
  Homogenous: Your body has no vulnerable inter-
  nal organs, bones, muscles, or other mechanisms. As 
  a result, you are less susceptible to piercing and im-
  paling attacks; see Injury to Unliving, Homogenous, 
  and Diffuse Targets (p. 216). Homogenous includes 
  the benefits of No Brain and No Vitals. This trait is in-
  tended for entities such as amoebas, trees, and 
  slimes. It is part of the Body of Stone advantage. 40 
  points. 
   
  No Blood: You do not rely upon a vital bodily fluid 
  (like blood) for survival. You do not bleed, are unaf-
  fected by blood-borne toxins, and are immune to at-
  tacks that rely on cutting off blood to part of your body. 
  5 points. 
   
  No Brain: Your brain – if you have one – is distrib-
  uted throughout your body, or isn’t your true seat of 
  consciousness. Your opponents cannot target it for 
  extra damage. You may have a head, but a blow to the 
  skull or eye is treated no differently than a blow to the 
  face (except that an eye injury can still cripple that 
  eye). 5 points. 
   
  No Neck: You have no neck. As a result, you have 
  no “neck” hit location, and cannot be decapitated, 
  choked, or strangled. 5 points. 
   
  No Vitals: You have no vital organs (such as a 
  heart or engine) that attackers can target for extra 
  damage. Treat hits to the “vitals” or “groin” as torso 
  hits. 5 points. 
   
  Unliving: Your body is not composed of living 
  flesh. You take reduced damage from piercing and 
  impaling attacks, but are not quite as resilient as if you 
  were Homogenous; see Injury to Unliving, Homoge-
  nous, and Diffuse Targets (p. 216). This trait is in-
  tended mainly for machines and would be appropriate 
  for Andromedan robots. 20 points. 
  Innate Attack 
  Variable 
   
  You have a natural or built-in attack with which 
  you can inflict physical damage (for nondamaging 
  attacks see Affliction and Binding‡). This is an exotic 
  advantage that requires the GM’s permission to add. 
   
  By default, this is a ranged attack with 1/2F 10, 
  Max 100, Acc 3, RoF 1, Shots N/A, and Recoil 1, al-
  though you can apply modifiers to change these sta-
  tistics (see pp. 109-114.) 
   
  An Innate Attack inflicts 1d damage per level. Its 
  cost per level depends on the type of damage it 
  inflicts. 
   
  Burning (burn) 
   
  Your attack inflicts damage using flame, an energy 
  beam, or localized electrical burns. It may ignite fires. 
  5 points/ level. 
   
  Corrosion (cor) 
   
  Your attack involves acid or something similar. For 
  every 5 points of basic damage you inflict, reduce the 
  target’s DR by 1, in addition to regular damage. (Living 
  beings heal natural DR at the same rate as HP.) 10 
  points/level. 
   
  Crushing (cr) 
   
  Your attack inflicts damage through blunt impact, 
  like a bludgeoning weapon or an explosive blast. It is 
  likely to cause knockback (p. 215), and is more effec-
  tive at inflicting blunt trauma (p. 214) than other types 
  of damage. 3 points/level. 
   
  Cutting (cut) 
   
  Your attack inflicts lacerations, like those caused 
  by an axe or broken glass. Multiply penetrating dam-
  age by 1.5. Cutting attacks can inflict blunt trauma and 
  cause knockback. 7 points/level.  
   
  Fatigue (fat) 
   
  Your attack is nonlethal. It might involve a low-am-
  perage electric shock, or a “mind blast,” or even inflict 
  a weakening effect such as hypothermia or starvation. 
  It reduces FP, not HP, and cannot affect machines. 10 
  points/level. 
   
  Impaling (imp) 
   
  Your attack inflicts stab wounds like a spear or an 
  arrow. Double penetrating damage in flesh! Impaling 
  attacks can target the eyes and vital organs, can inflict 
  blunt trauma, and may slip through some high-tech 
  flexible armor. 8 points/level. 
   
  Piercing 
   
  Your attack involves a fast blunt projectile, such as 
  a bullet, or is sharp but too small to qualify as impaling, 
  like a dart or stinger. It may inflict blunt trauma, and 
  can target the eyes and vital organs. There are four 
  sub-classes of piercing attack: 
   
  
  Page 94  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
   
  Small piercing (pi-): Use this for very low-energy 
  projectiles (e.g., blowgun darts), or for attacks that 
  tend to punch through the target and leave a small 
  wound channel (e.g., armor-piercing bullets). Against 
  flesh, halve the damage that penetrates DR. 3 
  points/level.  
   
  Piercing (pi): Use this for most rifle and pistol bul-
  lets. 5 points/level. 
   
  Large piercing (pi+): Use this for attacks similar to 
  large-caliber solid bullets, or for smaller projectiles that 
  create large wound channels (e.g., hollow-point bul-
  lets). Multiply penetrating damage in flesh by 1.5. 6 
  points/level. 
   
  Huge piercing (pi++): Use this for attacks that 
  leave an even larger wound channel than large pierc-
  ing. 
  Double 
  penetrating 
  damage 
  in 
  flesh! 
  8 
  points/level. 
   
  Toxic (tox) 
   
  Your attack inflicts cellular damage in the manner 
  of disease, poison, or radiation. It cannot normally af-
  fect machines. The modifiers Cyclic, Onset, and Re-
  sistible are usual, but not required. 4 points/level. 
   
  Partial Dice 
   
  You do not have to buy whole-numbered dice of 
  damage. Each ±1 to damage counts as ±0.3 dice. 
  Round the final cost up. For instance, an Innate Attack 
  that does 1d+2 damage counts as 1.6 dice. If it were 
  crushing (5 points per die), it would cost 1.6 × 5 = 8 
  points. 
   
  Some attacks do only 1 point of damage. This 
  counts as 0.25 dice. Once again round cost up. Such 
  attacks can still be deadly – especially if they involve 
  the Follow-Up or Cyclic enhancements! 
   
  Special Modifiers 
   
  Many special modifiers for Innate Attack appear 
  under Attack Enhancements and Limitations (p. 109). 
  You can use these to create almost any attack – built-
  in guns, lasers, jets of liquid fire, gale-force winds, etc. 
  – and to duplicate the capabilities of weapons listed in 
  GURPS books. 
   
  Fatigue and toxic attacks intended to simulate poi-
  son or disease require modifiers. Noxious agents on 
  Claws, Teeth, darts, etc. use Follow-Up. Gases and 
  spray use Respiratory Agent or Contact Agent, often 
  with Area Effect, Cone, or Jet. Attacks that depend on 
  touch or on skin contact use Blood Agent or Contact 
  Agent, plus one of Aura‡ or Melee Attack. 
   
  Regardless of other modifiers, Innate Attacks are 
  treated as ranged attacks unless given the Melee At-
  tack 
  limitation; 
  then 
  they’re 
  considered 
  melee 
  weapons. 
   
  Description 
   
  After applying all relevant modifiers, name and 
  describe the attack. You can be as general as “electri-
  cal field” or as specific as “poisoned claws on the right 
  hand.” At the GM’s discretion, the description can im-
  ply additional noncombat abilities: for instance, a jet of 
  high-pressure water could put out fires. The GM has 
  the final say as to whether your description fits the 
  campaign setting, and may modify the attack if 
  necessary. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Intuition 
  15 points 
   
  You usually guess right. When faced with a num-
  ber of alternatives, and no logical way to choose 
  among them, you can ask the GM to let you use your 
  Intuition. The GM makes a secret IQ roll, with a bonus 
  equal to the number of “good” choices and a penalty 
  equal to the number of “bad” choices. On a success, 
  he steers you to a good choice; on a critical success, 
  he tells you the best choice. On a failure, he gives you 
  no information; on a critical failure, he steers you to-
  ward a bad choice. The GM can modify this as he 
  sees fit for other situations where Intuition might logi-
  cally help. Only one roll per question is allowed. 
   
  The GM should never allow Intuition to short-cir-
  cuit an adventure – for instance, letting a Federation 
  marshal walk into a room, slap the cuffs on the guilty 
  party, and close the case. At the most, Intuition would 
  point the marshal in the direction of a good clue. GMs 
  who don’t think they can control Intuition should not 
  allow it in their games. 
   
  Intuitive Mathematician  
  see Lightning Calculator 
  Alternative Attacks 
   
  If you have multiple Innate Attacks, you 
  may define them as being the same basic 
  attack, but with different settings, ammo 
  types, etc. Determine the cost of these 
  “alternative attacks” as usual, but only pay 
  full price for the most expensive attack. 
  Buy additional attacks at 1/5 cost (round 
  up). 
   
  This can save a lot of points, but there 
  are drawbacks. First, since the attacks 
  represent a single ability, you cannot use 
  them simultaneously, even if you are 
  capable of multiple attacks. This also 
  prevents you from combining them with the 
  Link enhancement. As well, any critical 
  failure or malfunction that disables one of 
  your attacks disables all of them. Finally, if 
  your most expensive attack is somehow 
  drained or neutralized, none of the cheaper 
  attacks will work.  
   
  You may also apply this rule to multiple 
  Afflictions or Bindings‡, or any combination 
  of this with Innate Attacks that you cannot 
  use simultaneously. With the GM’s 
  permission, you can apply this rule to 
  multipurpose Strikers as well. 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Page 95 
  Language Talent 
  10 points 
   
   You have a knack for languages. When you learn 
  a language at a comprehension level above None, you 
  automatically function at the next-highest level; thus, 
  you can purchase a language at Accented level for 2 
  points or at Native level for 4 points. For full language 
  rules, see Language (p. 33). 
   
  Legal Enforcement Powers 
  5, 10, or 15 points 
   
  You are a law enforcer, with the accompanying 
  powers and restrictions. The point cost depends on the 
  kinds of laws you enforce, the size of your jurisdiction, 
  how answerable you are for your actions, and the de-
  gree of respect you must show for the civil rights of 
  others: 
   
   
  You have local jurisdiction, the ability to arrest sus-
  pected criminals, the power to perform searches with 
  an appropriate warrant, and possibly the right to carry 
  a concealed weapon. Example: Federation marshal. 5 
  points. 
   
  As above, but you also have national or interna-
  tional jurisdiction, or are not obligated to respect the 
  civil rights of others, or are free to engage in covert 
  investigations, or may kill with relative impunity. 10 
  points. 
   
  You have three or more of the above abilities. 
  Example: Klingon Paladin. 15 points. 
   
  Legal Enforcement Powers almost always require an 
  appropriate Duty. In some cases, a Reputation (posi-
  tive, negative, or mixed) is also appropriate. All levels 
  of Legal Enforcement Powers include Police Rank 0. 
  To become a senior law enforcer, buy more Rank. 
   
  Legal Immunity 
  5 to 20 points 
   
  You are exempt from some or all of the laws of 
  your society. Should you break the law, ordinary law 
  enforcers do not have the power to charge you. Only 
  one particular authority – your own church or social 
  class, a special court, or perhaps your ruler – can 
  judge or punish you. 
   
  The point cost depends on how sweeping the im-
  munity is (GM’s judgment): 
   
   
  You are not subject to ordinary laws, but the rules 
  that govern your behavior are just as strict. 5 points. 
   
  As above, but the laws that apply to you are less 
  strict than those that apply to most people: 10 points. 
   
  You can do nearly anything you please provided 
  you don’t injure the nation, church, or other power that 
  granted you Legal Immunity in the first place. 15 
  points. 
   
   
  For an extra 5 points, you may add “diplomatic 
  pouch” privileges: you can send and receive mail or 
  objects that the ordinary authorities cannot legally stop 
  or examine. 
   
  One class of Legal Immunity is of special interest to 
  the Star Fleet Universe: 
   
   
  Diplomatic Immunity: You are a diplomat for your 
  empire. You may ignore the laws of all empires except 
  your own. While in other empires you cannot be pros-
  ecuted for any crime, no matter how grave; the local 
  police may arrest you, but they cannot press charges. 
  The only recourse is for a foreign government to de-
  clare you persona non grata. This means you must 
  leave the empire at once, ending your current assign-
  ment – and possibly your career. Empires may request 
  your extradition for normal prosecution, but your gov-
  ernment is unlikely to comply. This trait always comes 
  with a Duty to a government agency, and often has 
  some level of Administrative Rank (p. 37) as a prereq-
  uisite. 20 points. 
   
  Less Sleep 
  2 points/level 
   
  You need less sleep than most people. A normal 
  human requires 8 hours of sleep per night. Each level 
  of this advantage – to a maximum of four levels – lets 
  you get by with one hour less than this, giving you a 
  few extra hours each day in which to study or work on 
  other projects. 
   
  Lightning Calculator 
  2 or 5 points 
   
  You have the ability to do math in your head, in-
  stantly. This talent comes in two levels: 
   
   
  Lightning Calculator: You, the player, may use a 
  calculator at any time, to figure anything you want – 
  even if your character is fleeing for his life! For simple 
  math problems, the GM may just say that your char-
  acter knows the answer. 2 points. 
   
  Intuitive Mathematician: As above, but your ability 
  is not limited to arithmetic. You can perform astroga-
  tion without a computer, do any level of engineering 
  design in your head, and solve differential equations 
  almost instantaneously. You never need a calculator; 
  you yourself are far faster than that, and even faster 
  than many computers. 5 points. 
   
   
  True mathematical geniuses will have one of the 
  above traits and one or more levels of Mathematical 
  Ability (see Talent). 
   
  Longevity 
  2 points 
   
  Your lifespan is naturally very long. You fail aging 
  rolls (see p. 238) only on a 17 or 18 – or only on an 18 
  if your HT is 17 or better! 
   
   
  
  Page 96  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Mathematical Ability  
  see Talent 
   
  Merchant Rank  
  see Rank, p. 37 
   
  Military Rank 
  see Rank, p. 37 
   
  Mind Control 
  50 points 
   
  You can mentally dominate those you can see or 
  touch. To use this ability, concentrate for one second 
  and then roll a Quick Contest: your IQ vs. your sub-
  ject’s Will. This is an exotic advantage that requires 
  the GM’s permission to add. 
   
   
  Modifiers: Range penalties to the subject; -1 per 
  slave already under your control; +2 if you concentrate 
  for a full minute, or +4 if you concentrate for a full hour. 
   
   
  If you win, your victim will obey your every com-
  mand until you free him. Your control persists for as 
  long as you take uninterrupted Concentrate maneu-
  vers. Once you stop, your control lingers for one mi-
  nute per point by which you won the Quick Contest. 
  (To increase this, add Extended Duration.) If you are 
  incapacitated (stunned, knocked out, etc.), or attempt 
  to force the subject to act against his principles (e.g., 
  commit suicide or harm a loved one), roll another 
  Quick Contest. If your victim wins, he breaks free. Roll 
  at the moment of truth – you can march him to the 
  edge of a cliff, but he doesn’t roll until he’s about to 
  leap. 
   
  If you lose, you cannot attempt to control that sub-
  ject again for 24 hours, and he feels a sense of mental 
  coercion emanating from you. On a critical failure, you 
  also lose control of anyone else under the influence of 
  this ability! 
   
  Mind Control often has limitations: Accessibility 
  (Only on opposite sex), Sense-Based (for hypnotic 
  voices, eyes, scents, etc.), and so on. It may also have 
  attack modifiers, subject to the restrictions that apply 
  to attacks with Malediction. 
   
  Special Enhancements 
   
  Conditioning: You can reconstruct the subject’s 
  psyche and implant suggestions. In effect, you can 
  add or remove any mundane mental disadvantage. 
  Add Delusions for false memories, or Amnesia‡ to 
  wipe memories. Your victim must be under your con-
  trol, cooperative, and conscious. Roll a second Quick 
  Contest. You are at -1 per full -5 points of disad-
  vantages changed, but you may substitute Brain-
  washing skill for IQ. Duration in days is equal to your 
  margin of victory. If you win and roll a critical success, 
  the conditioning is permanent! A conditioned subject 
  who is no longer under your direct control imposes no 
  penalty on the use of Mind Control on others. Note that 
  another person with this ability can use it to undo your 
  work. +50%. 
   
  No Memory: Your victims have no memory of any-
  thing that occurred while under your control. +10%. 
   
  Special Limitations 
   
  Conditioning Only: You cannot use regular Mind 
  Control – only Conditioning (above). Uncooperative 
  victims must be restrained before you can use your 
  ability. -50%. 
   
  Puppet: Your victims have no initiative while under 
  your control, and temporarily acquire Slave Mentality‡. 
  -40%. 
   
  Telepathic: Your ability is part of the Telepathy (or 
  Vulcan) psi power. -10%. 
   
  Mind Probe 
  20 points 
   
  You can perform a deep “mind probe.” In effect, 
  you can force the subject to answer any one specific 
  question that he can answer with a brief sentence. To 
  attempt a probe, you must first either touch your sub-
  ject or successfully read his mind with Mind Reading. 
  You must also share a language with him. This is an 
  exotic advantage that requires the GM’s permission to 
  add. 
   
  To use Mind Probe, you must concentrate for one 
  second and roll a Quick Contest of your IQ (or Interro-
  gation skill, if higher) vs. your subject’s Will. If you win, 
  you rip the answer from his mind. The answer is what 
  the subject believes to be true – if he doesn’t know, 
  he’ll tell you. If you lose, you may try again, at a cu-
  mulative -2 per repeated attempt to ask the same (or 
  very similar) question in the past hour. Should you 
  critically fail, you cannot probe that person again for 24 
  hours.  
   
  You may use Mind Probe to ask as many ques-
  tions as you wish, but each question is a new use of 
  your ability, and requires a second of concentration 
  and its own Quick Contest. 
   
  Special Modifiers 
   
  The special enhancements and limitations given 
  for Mind Reading are also available for Mind Probe. 
   
  Mind Reading 
  30 points 
   
  You can eavesdrop on others’ surface thoughts. 
  You must be able to see or touch the subject to affect 
  him. Concentrate for one second and roll a Quick 
  Contest of IQ vs. the subject’s Will. Modify the roll for 
  range penalties to the subject (see p. 211). This is an 
  exotic advantage that requires the GM’s permission to 
  add. 
   
  If you win, you can “hear” everything the subject 
  says, subvocalizes, or actively thinks about as a voice 
  in your head. Received thought comes at the speed of 
  speech. If you do not understand the language, or if 
  your subject isn’t sapient, you only pick up feelings, 
  images, and general intent. You can maintain Mind 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Page 97 
  Reading for as long as you wish without further 
  concentration. If you switch to another person, you 
  must stop reading your current subject and roll a Quick 
  Contest with the new subject. To read multiple sub-
  jects at once, take Compartmentalized Mind‡. 
   
  If you lose, you may try again, at a cumulative -2 
  per repeated attempt on that subject in the past hour. 
  Should you critically fail, you cannot read that person 
  again for 24 hours. 
   
  The Sense-Based limitation – especially Touch-
  Based – is common. If you take Hearing-Based, you 
  can only read the thoughts of someone whose words 
  you can hear, but can function as a “truthreader” or 
  (with Universal) a “universal translator.” 
   
  Special Enhancements 
   
  Sensory: You can also tap into your subject’s 
  senses. This lets you experience everything he expe-
  riences. If he is tortured, knocked out, or killed, the GM 
  may require a Will roll to avoid stunning – or perhaps 
  even a Fright Check! +20%. 
   
  Universal: You automatically understand thoughts, 
  even those of non-sapient subjects and those with 
  whom you do not share a language. +50%. 
   
  Special Limitations 
   
  Species-Based: Your ability only works on those of 
  your own species or a very similar species (for in-
  stance, humans are similar to Alpha-Centaurans, but 
  not to dogs or Hilidarians). Combine this with the 
  Sense-Based limitation (Touch or Scent) to represent 
  a species that can share thoughts through biochemical 
  means. -20%. 
   
  Sensory Only: As for Sensory, but you can’t read 
  thoughts at all. -20%. 
   
  Telecommunication: Your ability only works on 
  those with whom you are presently in contact via Tele-
  communication. -20%. 
   
  Telepathic: Your ability is part of the Telepathy (or 
  Vulcan) psi power. -10%. 
   
  Mind Shield 
  4 points/level 
   
  You have a “shield” that warns you of and defends 
  against mental attacks. Add your Mind Shield level to 
  IQ or Will whenever you resist an advantage with the 
  Telepathic limitation.  This is an exotic advantage that 
  requires the GM’s permission to add.  
   
  Your shield also resists attempts to locate your 
  mind using psionics. Such abilities must win a Quick 
  Contest against your Will + Mind Shield level to find 
  you. 
   
  You may voluntarily lower your Mind Shield if you 
  wish – for instance, to let a friend read your mind. 
  Lowering or raising your shield is a free action, but it 
  must take place at the start of your turn. Mind Shield 
  does protect you while you are asleep or unconscious, 
  unless you fell asleep or were knocked out while your 
  shield was voluntarily lowered. 
   
  Special Limitations 
   
  Telepathic: Your ability is part of the Telepathy (or 
  Vulcan) psi power. -10%. 
   
  Mindlink 
  Variable 
   
  You have a permanent telepathic rapport with 
  someone – often a twin, loved one, hive member, etc. 
  You automatically succeed at all attempts to contact 
  him with Telesend (see Telecommunication) and Mind 
  Reading, provided he chooses not to resist or has 
  Slave Mentality‡. Mindlink does not allow automatic 
  contact across interstellar distances (more than 0.1 
  light-year), nor can it reach other dimensions, parallel 
  worlds, etc. 
   
  Mindlink costs 5 points for a single person, 10 
  points for 2-9 people, 20 points for 10-99 people, 30 
  points for 100-999 people, and so on – add 10 points 
  per tenfold increase in the number of people. 
   
  As a rule, the GM should only permit PCs to buy 
  Mindlinks with Allies, Contacts‡, and Dependents; and 
  other PCs (if their players permit). One exception is 
  married and mind-bonded Vulcan couples. 
   
  Special Modifiers 
   
  You may give Mindlink the same modifiers as your 
  Mind Reading or Telesend advantage. In most cases, 
  the GM should require this. 
   
  Nictitating Membrane 
  1 point/level 
   
  You have a transparent lens over your eyes that 
  you can open and close like an eyelid. This lets you 
  see normally underwater, and protects your eyes from 
  sand, irritants, etc. Each level of Nictitating Membrane 
  provides your eyes (only) with DR 1 and adds +1 to all 
  HT rolls concerned with eye damage. This is an exotic 
  advantage that requires the GM’s permission to add. 
   
  Night Vision 
  1 point/level 
   
  Your eyes adapt rapidly to darkness. Each level of 
  this ability (maximum nine levels) allows you to ignore 
  -1 in combat or vision penalties due to darkness, pro-
  vided there is at least some light.  
   
   
  Example: Night Vision 4 would completely elimi-
  nate darkness penalties up to -4 and would reduce a 
  penalty of -7 to -3. 
   
  Regardless of level, Night Vision only works in partial 
  darkness. It has no effect on the -10 for total darkness 
  (for that, get Dark Vision‡). 
   
  Outdoorsman 
  see Talent 
   
   
   
  
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Parabolic Hearing 
  4 points/level 
   
  You can “zoom in” on a particular sound or area, 
  and can filter out background noise from sounds of 
  interest to you. Each level of Parabolic Hearing dou-
  bles the distance at which you can clearly hear any 
  given sound (see Hearing, p. 197.) This is an exotic 
  advantage that requires the GM’s permission to add. 
   
  Patrons 
  Variable 
   
  A “Patron” is an NPC – or even an entire organiza-
  tion – that serves as your advisor, employer, mentor, 
  or protector. An employer must be exceptional to qual-
  ify as a Patron, though; a Patron is much more than an 
  ordinary boss! 
   
  Power 
   
  The base point cost of a Patron depends on its 
  power. Use the categories below as a guide, but note 
  that some Patrons won’t fit neatly into any of them. 
  The GM’s word is final. 
   
  A powerful individual (usually built on at least 
  150% of the PC’s starting points) or a fairly powerful 
  organization (assets of at least 1,000 times starting 
  wealth for the world). 10 points. 
   
  An extremely powerful individual (built on at least 
  twice the PC’s starting points) or a powerful organiza-
  tion (assets of at least 10,000 times starting wealth). 
  15 points. 
   
  An ultra-powerful individual (built on as many 
  points as the GM wants!) or a very powerful organiza-
  tion (assets of at least 100,000 times starting wealth). 
  20 points. 
   
  An extremely powerful organization (assets of at 
  least 1 million times starting wealth). 25 points. 
   
  A national government or giant multinational 
  organization (net worth basically incalculable). 30 
  points. 
   
  Frequency of Appearance 
   
  Choose a frequency of appearance, as explained 
  under Frequency of Appearance (p. 83). If the GM 
  determines that your Patron appears at the start of an 
  adventure, he may design the adventure to include an 
  assignment or aid from the Patron. He may also 
  choose to leave out your Patron, if its appearance 
  would make no sense or disrupt the adventure. 
   
  However, if the GM determined that your Patron 
  could have appeared, and you try to contact your Pa-
  tron during the adventure (for help, advice, etc.), then 
  the contact is likely to be successful and you may re-
  ceive aid. (Within reason – if you’re locked in a prison 
  without any means of communication, you won’t be 
  contacting anybody.) You will not know whether your 
  Patron is “available” on a given adventure until you 
  attempt to request aid. As a rule, you should only be 
  able to reach your Patron for help once per adventure. 
   
  Remember that a powerful Patron could be helpful 
  without actually intervening! A Chicago hood who can 
  say, “I’m from Big Eddie,” or a crime-fighter who can 
  flash a Q-clearance card, may carry some extra weight 
  in a tough spot. 
   
  Party Patrons 
   
  Often, several PCs – perhaps the entire party – 
  share a Patron (they are all agents of the same gov-
  ernment, for example). No matter how many charac-
  ters share a Patron, the cost is not shared; each char-
  acter must pay full price for the Patron. On the other 
  hand, the GM will make an appearance roll for each 
  character at the start of each adventure – and if the 
  Patron appears for any of them, then it is usually 
  available for all of them. The GM should scale the 
  quality and quantity of the aid provided in proportion to 
  the number of successful appearance rolls. 
   
  Drawbacks 
   
  If your Patron is an army, corporation, feudal lord, 
  etc., you may owe it a Duty. It may also require a 
  stringent code of behavior in return for its aid; see Self-
  Imposed Mental Disadvantages (p. 120). A Patron 
  might also have powerful foes that are now your foes; 
  this can give you an Enemy. Such factors can cut the 
  effective cost of a Patron significantly, and turn it from 
  a benefit to a considerable liability! 
   
  Employers and Patrons 
   
  Not every employer is a Patron. If you can depend 
  on your employer to get you out of trouble (at least 
  sometimes), it might really be a Patron. Otherwise, it’s 
  just a job. For example, a small police department is a 
  10-point Patron if, as some do, it takes care of its own. 
  But Star Fleet, though powerful, is not a likely Patron – 
  at least for an ordinary crew member. You could say, 
  “The Captain takes care of his men.” But you could 
  just as easily say, “I’m on my own if I get in trouble,” 
  and play a crew member who does not have a Patron.  
   
  You can apply the following modifiers after multiplying 
  for frequency of appearance: 
   
  Special Enhancements 
   
  Equipment: Your Patron supplies useful equip-
  ment that you can use for your own purposes, and that 
  you would otherwise have to buy. This enhancement 
  only applies if the equipment is yours once given. A 
  soldier with a military Patron would not pay extra for 
  his weapons, since when he goes off duty, he can’t 
  take them along. An adventurer in the employ of a 
  generous noble who hands out useful “gifts” would pay 
  extra. +50% if the equipment is worth no more than 
  the average starting wealth in the campaign, or +100% 
  if it is worth more than that. 
   
  Highly Accessible: You can attempt to contact 
  your Patron at any time – even when you are locked in 
  jail, lost on an unexplored planet, etc. This is most ap-
  propriate if either the technology is so advanced that 
  your communication is implanted or otherwise always 
  accessible. +50% 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Page 99 
   
  Special Abilities: Your Patron wields power out of 
  proportion to its wealth or point value. +50% if your 
  Patron has extensive social or political power (e.g., the 
  Governor of New York or the Pope), or +100% if your 
  Patron has magical powers in a nonmagical world, 
  possesses equipment from a TL greater than yours, 
  grants you special powers, or has unusual reach in 
  time or space (e.g., a super, spirit, or god). 
   
  Special Limitations 
   
  Minimal Intervention: Your Patron is less useful 
  than its power level would suggest. On a successful 
  appearance roll, the GM makes a reaction roll for your 
  Patron to determine whether it actually provides aid; 
  see Reaction Table (p. 198). On a Neutral or better 
  reaction, you receive the aid your Patron thinks you 
  need – which may or may not be what you want. -50%. 
   
  Secret: Your Patron works behind the scenes. You 
  do not know who it is and you cannot request aid di-
  rectly. You might be able to call for help in such a way 
  that the Patron gets the message (GM’s decision), but 
  there is no guarantee that the Patron will take action. 
  The only evidence of this kind of Patron is minor inci-
  dents and “lucky breaks.” This may take the form of 
  information, equipment, or even direct aid … but only 
  when it suits the Patron, and always in an untraceable 
  way. A patron like this often regards its aid as an in-
  vestment on which it expects some return; therefore, it 
  might not have your best interests at heart! Only the 
  GM knows any of these details. You know nothing 
  other than the fact that you have a Patron. -50%. 
   
  Unwilling: You have obtained your Patron through 
  coercion (e.g., blackmail). It provides aid only because 
  there is no other choice, and it definitely does not have 
  your best interests at heart! You will eventually make 
  one request too many (GM’s judgment – perhaps the 
  appearance roll comes up 18) and lose the Patron; 
  remove the Patron from your character sheet and 
  lower your point value accordingly. Since a Patron is 
  by definition more powerful than you are, taking an 
  Unwilling Patron is risky. If the Patron can find a way 
  to break your “hold,” it will, and may well become an 
  Enemy. -50%. 
   
  Perfect Balance 
  15 points 
   
  You can always keep your footing, no matter how 
  narrow the walking surface, under normal conditions. 
  This lets you walk along a tightrope, ledge, tree limb, 
  or other anchored surface without having to make a 
  die roll. If the surface is wet, slippery, or unstable, you 
  get +6 on all rolls to keep your feet. In combat, you get 
  +4 to DX and DX-based skill rolls to keep your feet or 
  avoid being knocked down. Finally, you get +1 to Ac-
  robatics, Climbing, and Piloting skills. 
   
  Peripheral Vision 
  15 points 
   
  You have an unusually wide field of vision. You 
  can see a 180arc in front of you without turning your 
  head, and have 30of peripheral vision to either side 
  of that. This gives you a 240“arc of vision” for obser-
  vation and ranged attacks. The figure below shows the 
  arc of vision for a normal character (white) and for 
  someone with Peripheral Vision (gray plus white). 
   
  If you are playing with a battle map, you can make 
  melee attacks into “side” (“right” and “left”) hexes as 
  well as “front” hexes – although a one-handed attack 
  to the opposite side (e.g., attacking your left hex with 
  your right hand) is clumsy and considered a Wild 
  Swing (see GURPS Basic Set, p. 388). You still can-
  not attack a foe directly behind you except with a Wild 
  Swing. 
   
  This also helps on defense! If you are attacked 
  from a “side” hex, you defend at no penalty. Even 
  against attacks from the rear, your active defense is 
  only at -2. 
   
  Out of combat, you get +3 to all rolls to detect 
  Shadowing attempts or ambushes from behind, and 
  the GM will always make a Vision roll for you to spot 
  dangers “behind your back.” 
   
  Special Limitations 
   
  Easy to Hit: Your eyes are on stalks, unusually 
  large, or otherwise more vulnerable to attack. Others 
  can target your eyes from within their arc of vision at 
  only -6 to hit. -20%. 
   
   
   
   
   
  Photographic Memory 
  see Eidetic Memory 
   
  Physical Science Talent 
  see Talent 
   
  Pitiable 
  see p. 32 
   
  Police Rank 
  see Rank, p. 37 
   
  Pressure Support 
  5 to 15 points 
   
  Every character has a “native pressure.” This is 
  listed in each the template for each species. A native 
  pressure other than that of your species is a 0-point 
  feature, but if you can survive for a prolonged period of 
  time at a wide range of pressures, you have an 
  
  Page 100  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  advantage. This is an exotic advantage that requires 
  the GM’s permission to add. This trait comes in three 
  levels: 
   
  Pressure Support 1: You can survive at pressures 
  between your native pressure and 10 times that. 5 
  points. 
   
  Pressure Support 2: You can withstand pressures 
  between your native pressure and 100 times that. 10 
  points. 
   
  Pressure Support 3: You are immune to the ef-
  fects of high pressure. 15 points. 
   
   
  Pressure Support lets your body stay at a constant 
  internal pressure with respect to a constant and uni-
  form external pressure. This protects against attacks 
  that manipulate ambient pressure or crush the entire 
  body, but provides no defense against localized or 
  transient pressure changes. In particular, Pressure 
  Support does not reduce or prevent damage from 
  crushing attacks or explosions of any kind. 
   
  Those with Pressure Support often have the 
  Sealed advantage, but this is not required. 
   
  Racial Memory 
  15 or 40 points 
   
  You have access to the memories of your direct 
  genetic ancestors. This is an exotic advantage that 
  requires the GM’s permission to add. This ability 
  comes in two forms: 
   
   
  Racial Memory (Passive): Your talent is vague and 
  totally passive. The GM secretly makes an IQ roll for 
  you in any situation that your ancestors might have 
  encountered. On a success, you get a feeling of déjà 
  vu about the situation. It is up to you to interpret this. A 
  critical success gives a vivid replay of ancient ances-
  tral memories. On a failure, nothing happens. A critical 
  failure results in a wrong impression. 15 points. 
   
  Racial Memory (Active): You may use this ad-
  vantage actively. If you want to know something, the 
  GM first determines whether or not your ancestors 
  knew the answer. Then he rolls against your IQ to see 
  if you can gain access to the information. If your an-
  cestors didn’t have the answer and the roll succeeds, 
  you will know that. On a critical failure, you will believe 
  your ancestors didn’t know, even if they really did. This 
  requires one turn of absolute concentration (the GM 
  may require more elaborate preparations to recall very 
  ancient memories). 40 points. 
   
  Federation Old Light Cruiser 
  Radiation Tolerance 
  Variable 
   
  Your cells are resistant to radiation. This is an ex-
  otic advantage that requires the GM’s permission to 
  add. The cost of this advantage depends on the divisor 
  of the effective dose of radiation you receive – after 
  dividing by the Protection Factor (PF) of artificial pro-
  tection such as armor. 
   
  Divisor 
  Cost 
  2 
  5 points 
  5 
  10 points 
  10 
  15 points 
  20 
  20 points 
  50 
  25 points 
  100 
  30 points 
  200 
  35 points 
  500 
  40 points 
  1000 
  45 points 
   
  Rank 
  see Rank, p. 37 
   
  Rapid Healing 
  5 or 15 points 
   
  Your wounds heal quickly. This trait comes in two 
  levels: 
   
   
  Rapid Healing: Whenever you roll to recover lost 
  HP or to see if you can get over a crippling injury, you 
  get +5 to your effective HT. Prerequisite: HT 10+. 5 
  points. 
   
  Very Rapid Healing: As above, but when you roll 
  to recover lost HT, a successful HT roll means you 
  heal two HP, not one. Prerequisite: HT 12+. 15 points. 
   
   
  Note that this advantage does not hasten recovery 
  from the short-term effects of injury, such as stunning 
  and knockout; get Recovery for that. 
   
  Recovery 
  10 points 
   
  You recover from unconsciousness very quickly. 
  When determining the length of time you remain un-
  conscious for any reason, divide all times by 60: hours 
  become minutes, minutes become seconds . . . even a 
  month-long coma becomes a mere 12-hour sleep. This 
  is an exotic advantage that requires the GM’s permis-
  sion to add. 
   
  Reduced Consumption 
  2 points/level 
   
  You can go for a long time without food and water, 
  or fuel – although you still require these things. (For 
  indefinite endurance, see Doesn’t Eat or Drink‡.) This 
  advantage comes in four levels: 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Page 101 
   
  Reduced Consumption 1: You require 2/3 as much 
  food and water as usual (“two meals a day”). 2 points. 
   
  Reduced Consumption 2: You require 1/3 as much 
  food and water as usual (“one meal a day”). 4 points. 
   
  Reduced Consumption 3: You require food and 
  water only once per week (“one meal a week” or about 
  5% as much). 6 points. 
   
  Reduced Consumption 4: You require food and 
  water only once per month (”one meal a month” or 
  about 1% as much). 8 points. 
   
  Special Limitations 
   
  Cast-Iron Stomach: You require the standard 
  amount of food and water, but the quality is irrelevant. 
  You can eat rotten vegetables and fuzzy blue-green 
  meat, and drink dishwater and sour milk. Instead of 
  reducing how often you must eat, reduce your de-
  mands on life support (and your food costs) by a like 
  amount: to 2/3 normal at level 1, 1/3 normal at level 2, 
  5% normal at level 3, and 1% normal at level 4. You 
  get a bonus equal to your level (+1 to +4) to resist the 
  effects of food-borne poisons or diseases not tailored 
  expressly for you, but -3 on reactions from anyone 
  watching you eat! -50%. 
   
  Food Only: You require less food, but the usual 
  amount of water. -50%. 
   
  Water Only: You require less water, but the usual 
  amount of food. -50%. 
   
  Regeneration 
  Variable 
   
  Your wounds heal in mere hours, minutes, or sec-
  onds! To regenerate lost limbs, you will also need Re-
  growth‡ – but Regeneration will greatly accelerate that 
  ability. Regeneration includes Rapid Healing at no ex-
  tra cost. This is an exotic advantage that requires the 
  GM’s permission to add. 
   
  The cost of this trait depends on your regeneration 
  speed: 
   
   
  Regeneration (Slow): You recover 1 HP every 12 
  hours, in addition to normal healing. 10 points. 
   
  Regeneration (Regular): You recover 1 HP per 
  hour. 25 points. 
   
  Regeneration (Fast): You recover 1 HP per mi-
  nute. 50 points. 
   
  Regeneration (Very Fast): You recover 1 HP per 
  second. 100 points. 
   
  Regeneration (Extreme): You recover 10 HP per 
  second. 150 points. 
   
  Special Enhancements 
   
  Heals Radiation: You shed accumulated rads at 
  10 times the rate at which you heal missing HP. For 
  instance, Regeneration (Regular) removes 10 rads per 
  hour. This will heal “permanent” radiation damage. 
  +40%. 
   
   
   
  Special Limitations 
   
  Radiation Only: As Heals Radiation, but you only 
  shed rads – you do not heal HP. -60%. 
   
  Religious Rank 
  see Rank, p. 37 
   
  Reputation 
  see p. 36 
   
  A positive Reputation is an advantage and should 
  be noted as such on your character sheet. 
   
  Resistant 
  Variable 
   
  You are naturally resistant (or even immune) to 
  noxious items or substances that are not direct, physi-
  cal attacks. This gives you a bonus on all HT rolls to 
  resist incapacitation or injury from such things.  
   
  The bonus from Resistant applies to all rolls to 
  resist noxious effects within a particular category – 
  usually some combination of disease, poison, and en-
  vironmental syndromes (altitude sickness, the bends, 
  space sickness, etc.). It also applies to rolls to resist 
  attacks that use these effects. This includes Afflictions 
  with one of Blood Agent, Contact Agent, Follow-Up, or 
  Respiratory Agent, and Innate Attacks that have such 
  modifiers and inflict toxic or fatigue damage. 
   
  Resistant does not protect against effects that 
  Damage Resistance or Protected Sense‡ either stop 
  or provide a HT bonus to resist. This includes Afflic-
  tions and Innate Attacks that do not have any of the 
  modifiers given above. 
   
  The base cost for Resistant depends on the rarity 
  of the effects it counteracts: 
   
   
  Very Common: A broad category within the nox-
  ious items described above. Example: Metabolic Haz-
  ards (all threats that only affect the living, including all 
  disease and poison, plus such syndromes as altitude 
  sickness, bends, seasickness, and jet lag). 30 points. 
   
  Common: A group of related items encountered as 
  often in nature as in an attack, or some other suitably 
  broad subset of “Very Common.” Examples: Poison 
  (all toxins, but not asphyxiants or corrosives) or 
  Sickness (all diseases and environmental syndromes). 
  15 points. 
   
  Occasional: A group of closely related items more 
  often encountered in nature than as a deliberate at-
  tack, or a subset of a “Common” group. Examples: 
  Disease (all bacteria, viruses, fungus infections, etc.) 
  or Ingested Poison. 10 points. 
   
  Rare: A specific item or environmental syndrome, 
  or a subset of an “Occasional” group. Examples: Ac-
  celeration (blackouts due to extreme G-forces), Alti-
  tude Sickness, Bends (decompression sickness), Sea-
  sickness, or Space Sickness; Nanomachines. 5 points. 
   
   
  Multiply base cost to reflect your degree of 
  resistance: 
   
  
  Page 102  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
   
  You are totally immune to all noxious effects, and 
  never have to make resistance rolls (write this as “Im-
  munity” on your character sheet): ×1. 
   
  You have +8 to all HT rolls to resist: ×1/2. 
   
  You have +3 to all HT rolls to resist: ×1/3. 
   
  Drop all fractions from the final cost. 
   
   
  An ordinary human could believably have any 
  level of resistance to a mundane “rare” item, such as 
  Seasickness. He might also have Resistant to Disease 
  (+3) [3], Resistant to Disease (+8) [5], or Resistant to 
  Poison (+3) [5]. Anything higher requires the GM’s 
  permission. 
   
   
  Mental Resistance: It is possible to be Resistant to 
  a purely mental threat. This works as described above, 
  except that the bonus applies to resistance rolls 
  against IQ and Will instead of HT. “Psionics” is an al-
  lowed category, and is considered Very Common. 
   
  Sealed 
  15 points 
   
  You are encased in a gas- and liquid-impermeable 
  layer. This makes you waterproof, and grants com-
  plete immunity to corrosive or toxic agents that must 
  touch skin or exposed machinery to work. You must 
  still breathe, unless you also have Doesn’t Breathe; 
  however, your exterior breathing apparatus (nose, 
  snorkel, etc.) is protected by this trait. Likewise, you 
  are not automatically pressurized; for that, take Pres-
  sure Support or Vacuum Support). This is an exotic 
  advantage that requires the GM’s permission to add. 
   
  Security Clearance 
  Variable 
   
  A government agency or corporation trusts you 
  with access to sensitive information that would other-
  wise be “off limits” to someone of your Rank or Status. 
  For instance, a general “cleared” for military secrets 
  commensurate with his Military Rank would not have 
  to buy Security Clearance separately, but a civilian 
  with exactly the same level of access would have to 
  pay points for the privilege.  
   
  Point cost depends on your degree of access: 
   
   
  You have access to a relatively narrow range of 
  secrets on a “need to know” basis. Example: a starship 
  helmsman, who might know secrets about spacecraft, 
  weapons, and targets. 5 points. 
   
  You have either free access to a narrow range of 
  secrets or “need to know” access to a broad range of 
  secrets. Example: a counterintelligence officer, who 
  would have limited access to many secrets, as part of 
  his job is to protect them. 10 points. 
   
  You have free access to a broad range of secrets. 
  15 points. 
   
   
  Halve these values (round up) if the organization 
  that grants the Security Clearance is of relatively minor 
  importance (e.g., a small corporation or municipal 
  government). 
   
  You cannot receive a security clearance without a 
  thorough background check. The GM is free to forbid 
  this advantage to any PC who has a suspicious past 
  (including such traits as Debt‡ or Secret) or an unsta-
  ble personality (for instance, Paranoia‡ or Sadism). 
   
  Sensitive 
  see Empathy 
   
  Single-Minded 
  5 points 
   
  You can really concentrate! You get +3 to success 
  rolls for any lengthy mental task you concentrate on to 
  the exclusion of other activities, if the GM feels such 
  focus would be beneficial. You tend to ignore every-
  thing else while obsessed (roll vs. Will to avoid this), 
  and have -5 to all rolls to notice interruptions. 
   
  The GM may rule that certain complex tasks (e.g., 
  social activities) require you to divide your attention. 
  This trait has no effect in such situations. 
   
  Smooth Operator 
  see Talent 
   
   
  Social Regard 
  5 points per +1 reaction 
   
  You are a member of a class, race, sex, species, 
  or other group that your society holds in high regard. 
  To be an advantage, this must be obvious to anyone 
  who meets you. This is the opposite of Social Stigma; 
  membership in a given social group cannot result in 
  both Social Regard and Social Stigma. 
   
  Social Regard costs 5 points per +1 to reaction 
  rolls, to a maximum of +4. This is not a Reputation, 
  despite the similarities in cost and effect. You are 
  treated well because of what you are, not because of 
  who you are. Think of it as “privilege by association.” 
  The way you are treated on a good reaction roll will 
  depend on the type of Regard: 
   
   
  Feared: Others will react to you much as if you 
  had successfully used Intimidation skill. Those who 
  like you stand aside, while those who dislike you flee 
  rather than risk a confrontation. You are met with silent 
  deference, and perhaps even respect, but never 
  friendly familiarity. Examples: a Klingon ESS agent in 
  an Army barracks. 
   
  Respected: You receive polite and obsequious 
  deference, much as if you had high Status (p. 36), re-
  gardless of your actual Status. Social interactions 
  other than combat usually go smoothly for you – but 
  there will be times when the kowtowing gets in the 
  way. Examples: a member of a ruling caste or a ruling 
  species. 
   
  Venerated: Total strangers react to you in a caring 
  way. They give up seats, let you ahead of them in 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Page 103 
  lines, and receive your every word as pearls of wis-
  dom. They also take great pains to prevent you from 
  putting yourself in danger or even discomfort – even 
  when you need to do so! Example: an elderly person 
  in many societies. 
   
  Speak Underwater 
  5 points 
   
  You can talk normally while submerged, and you 
  can understand what others say while underwater. 
  This is an exotic advantage that requires the GM’s 
  permission to add. 
   
  Special Enhancements 
   
  Interface Crossing: You can talk to those outside 
  of the water while submerged, and can understand 
  people on the surface talking to you. +50%. 
   
  Special Rapport 
  5 points 
   
  You have a unique bond with another person. This 
  acts as a potent version of Empathy that works only 
  with one person, without regard to distance. You al-
  ways know when your partner is in trouble, in pain, 
  lying, or in need of help, no matter where he is. This 
  requires no IQ roll. Your partner receives the same 
  benefits with respect to you. 
   
  Both partners in a Special Rapport must buy this 
  advantage. Your partner need not be a lover, or even 
  a close friend, but the GM has the final say. In partic-
  ular, the GM may wish to forbid PCs from buying Spe-
  cial Rapports with powerful NPCs who would other-
  wise qualify as Patrons (or allow it, but require an Un-
  usual Background). 
   
  Status 
  see p. 36 
   
  High Status is an advantage, and should be noted 
  on your character sheet. 
   
  Striker 
  5, 6, 7, or 8 points 
   
  You have a body part that you can use to strike an 
  aimed blow, but not to manipulate objects (see Extra 
  Arms) or walk on (see Extra Legs). This might be a set 
  of horns or protruding tusks, a heavy tail, a stinger, or 
  any number of other natural weapons. This is an exotic 
  advantage that requires the GM’s permission to add. 
   
  Your Striker can attack at reach C (“close combat 
  only”), inflicting thrust damage at +1 per die; e.g., 2d-1 
  becomes 2d+1. Damage is crushing or piercing for 5 
  points, large piercing for 6 points, cutting for 7 points, 
  or impaling for 8 points. See Innate Attack for details. 
   
  Roll against DX or Brawling to hit with your Striker. 
  You can also use it to parry as if you had a weapon. 
  Use the higher of (DX/2) + 3 or your Brawling parry. 
   
   
   
  Special Enhancements 
   
  Long: Your Striker is long relative to your body. 
  This increases your effective SM for the purpose of 
  calculating reach (see Size Modifier and Reach, p. 
  206). +100% per +1 to SM if you can attack at any 
  reach from C to maximum, or +75% per +1 to SM if 
  you can only attack at maximum reach (and never in 
  close combat). 
   
  Special Limitations 
   
  Cannot Parry: You cannot parry with your Strik–
  er. -40%. 
   
  Clumsy: Your Striker is unusually inaccurate. This 
  is common for tails and similar Strikers aimed from 
  outside your usual arc of vision. -20% per -1 to hit. 
   
  Limited Arc: Your Striker can only attack straight 
  ahead, straight behind, etc. Specify a direction when 
  you buy the Striker. If your target isn’t in the right 
  place, and you cannot maneuver to put him there, you 
  cannot attack him at all. -40%. 
   
  Weak: Your Striker is unusually blunt or light, or 
  simply incapable of using your full ST. It inflicts only 
  basic thrust damage, without the +1 per die. -50%. 
   
  Subsonic Hearing 
  0 or 5 points 
   
  You can hear very low-frequency sounds (under 
  40 Hz), such as the rumble of distant storms, the vi-
  brations from incipient earthquakes, and the approach 
  of stampeding herd beasts or armored vehicles. This 
  gives +1 to Tracking skill if your quarry is moving on 
  the ground. This is an exotic advantage that requires 
  the GM’s permission to add. Cost depends on your 
  capabilities: 
   
   
  You can hear very low-frequency sounds only: 0 
  points. 
   
  You can hear very low-frequency sounds and 
  other sounds: 5 points. 
   
   
  Note that Subsonic Hearing is included in the cost 
  of Subsonic Speech‡; you cannot take both traits. 
   
  Talent 
  Variable 
   
  You have a natural aptitude for a set of closely 
  related skills. “Talents” come in levels, and give the 
  following benefits: 
   
   
  A bonus of +1 per level with all affected skills, 
  even for default use. This effectively raises your attrib-
  ute scores for the purpose of those skills only; thus, 
  this is an inexpensive way to be adept at small class of 
  skills. (Generalists will find it more cost-effective to 
  raise attributes.) 
   
  A bonus of +1 per level on all reaction rolls made 
  by anyone in a position to notice your Talent, if he 
  would be impressed by your aptitude (GM’s judgment). 
  To receive this bonus, you must demonstrate your 
  Talent – most often by using the affected skills. 
  
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
   
  A reduction in the time required to learn the af-
  fected skills in play, regardless of how you learn them. 
  Reduce the time required by 10% per level of Talent; 
  e.g., Animal Friend 2 would let you learn animal-re-
  lated skills in 80% the usual time. This has no effect on 
  the point cost of your skills. 
   
   
  You may never have more than four levels of a 
  particular Talent. However, overlapping Talents can 
  give skill bonuses (only) in excess of +4. 
   
  Cost of Talents 
   
  The cost of a Talent depends on the size of the 
  group of skills affected: 
   
   
  Small (6 or fewer related skills): 5 points/level. 
   
  Medium (7 to 12 related skills): 10 points/level. 
   
  Large (13 or more related skills): 15 points/level. 
   
   
  Skills with multiple specialties are considered to be 
  one skill for this purpose. Once you buy a Talent, the 
  list of affected skills is fixed. (Exception: The GM may 
  rule that a Talent affects new skills appearing in later 
  GURPS supplements, or skills he invents in the course 
  of the campaign, if the Talent would logically be of 
  value to those skills.) 
   
  Examples of Talents 
   
  Some of the following Talents have been modified 
  to reflect the normal skill sets in the Star Fleet Uni-
  verse. Skills that are not common are marked Skill‡. 
  The point cost for the SFU has been noted if you do 
  not include the “missing” skills and if it affects the 
  value. If you decide to include the skills, use the “with 
  the missing skills” point cost. The following Talents are 
  considered standard for the Star Fleet Universe: 
   
   
  Artificer: 
  Armoury, 
  Carpentry‡, 
  Electrician, 
  Electronics Repair, Engineer, Machinist, Masonry‡, 
  Mechanic, and Smith‡. Reaction bonus: anyone you 
  do work for. 5 points/ level in the SFU; 10 points/level 
  with the missing skills. 
   
  Business Acumen: Accounting, Administration, 
  Economics, Finance, Gambling, Market Analysis‡, 
  Merchant, and Propaganda. Reaction bonus: anyone 
  you do business with. 10 points/level. 
   
  Healer: Diagnosis, Esoteric Medicine‡, First Aid, 
  Pharmacy, Physician, Physiology, Psychology, Sur-
  gery, and Veterinary. Reaction bonus: patients, both 
  past and present. 10 points/level. 
   
  Mathematical 
  Ability: 
  Accounting, 
  Astronomy, 
  Cryptography, Engineer, Finance, Market Analysis‡, 
  Mathematics, and Physics. Reaction bonus: engineers 
  and scientists. 10 points/level. 
   
  Outdoorsman: Camouflage, Fishing‡, Mimicry‡, 
  Naturalist, Navigation, Survival, and Tracking. Reac-
  tion bonus: explorers, nature lovers, and the like. 5 
  points/ level in the SFU; 10 points/level with the miss-
  ing skills. 
   
  Physical Science: Astronomy, Chemistry, Geol-
  ogy, Meteorology, and Physics. 5 points/level. 
   
  Smooth Operator: Acting, Carousing, Detect Lies, 
  Diplomacy, Fast-Talk, Intimidation, Leadership, Pan-
  handling‡, Politics, Public Speaking, Savoir-Faire, Sex 
  Appeal, and Streetwise. Reaction bonus: con artists, 
  politicians, salesmen, etc. – but only if you are not try-
  ing to manipulate them. 15 points/level. 
   
  Custom Talents 
   
  At the GM’s option, you may create your own Tal-
  ent with a custom skill list. However, the GM’s word is 
  law when determining which skills are “related” and 
  how many points the Talent is worth. Talents should 
  always be believable inborn aptitudes. For instance, 
  Sports Talent might make sense – some athletes re-
  ally do seem to have a gift. 
   
  Teeth 
  0, 1, or 2 points 
   
  Anyone with a mouth has blunt teeth that can bite 
  for thrust-1 crushing damage. This costs 0 points, and 
  is typical of most herbivores. This is an exotic ad-
  vantage that requires the GM’s permission to add. You 
  can have a more damaging bite: 
   
   
  Sharp Teeth: Like those of most carnivores. Inflict 
  thrust-1 cutting damage. 1 point. 
   
  Sharp Beak: Like that of a bird of prey. Inflicts 
  thrust-1 large piercing damage. 1 point. 
   
  Fangs: Like those of a Smilodon. Inflict thrust-1 
  impaling damage. 2 points. 
   
  Telecommunication 
  Variable 
   
  You can communicate over long distances without 
  speaking aloud. You can send words at the speed of 
  ordinary speech or pictures at the speed at which you 
  could draw them. This is an exotic advantage that re-
  quires the GM’s permission to add. To establish con-
  tact requires one second of concentration and an IQ 
  roll. After that, no concentration is required. You can 
  maintain multiple contacts, but the IQ roll is at a cu-
  mulative -1 per contact after the first.  
   
  Telecommunication works amid even the loudest 
  noises, although interference and jamming can disrupt 
  your signal. Those with suitable equipment may at-
  tempt to locate, intercept, or jam your transmission. 
  This requires an Electronics Operation (Communica-
  tions) roll for an electromagnetic signal, an Electronics 
  Operation (Psychotronics) roll for a psionic signal, and 
  so forth. 
   
  Each variety of Telecommunication is a separate 
  advantage with its own benefits and drawbacks. Some 
  forms have limited range, which you can adjust using 
  Increased Range or Reduced Range. 
   
   
  Infrared Communication: You communicate using 
  a modulated infrared beam. Base range is 500 yards 
  in a direct line of sight. The short range and line-of-
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Page 105 
  sight requirement make jamming and eavesdropping 
  almost impossible under normal circumstances. You 
  can only communicate with those who have this ad-
  vantage or an infrared communicator. 10 points. 
   
  Laser Communication: You communicate using a 
  modulated laser beam. Base range is 50 miles in a 
  direct line of sight. The narrow beam and line-of-sight 
  requirement make it extremely hard to eavesdrop on 
  you. You can only communicate with people who have 
  this advantage or a laser communicator. 15 points. 
   
  Radio: You communicate using radio waves. Base 
  range is 10 miles. Your signal is omni-directional, but 
  because you can shift frequencies, eavesdroppers 
  must still roll vs. Electronics Operation (Communica-
  tions) to listen in. A side benefit is that you can receive 
  AM, FM, SB, and ordinary radio signals on an IQ roll 
  (takes one second). Note that radio-frequency “noise” 
  from lightning and unshielded electronics can interfere 
  with Radio. Radio does not work at all underwater. 10 
  points. 
   
  Telesend: You can transmit thoughts directly to 
  others via psi or other exotic means (be specific!). 
  Your subject receives your thoughts even if he lacks 
  this ability. Range is theoretically unlimited, but the IQ 
  roll to use this ability takes the range penalties given 
  under Long-Distance Modifiers (see boxed text). If you 
  cannot see or otherwise sense your subject, you have 
  an additional penalty: -1 for family, lovers, or close 
  friends; -3 for casual friends and acquaintances; or -5 
  for someone met only briefly. 30 points. 
   
  Special Enhancements 
   
  Broadcast: This enhancement is only available for 
  Telesend. It lets you send your thoughts to everyone in 
  a radius around you. This requires an IQ roll at the 
  long-distance modifier for the desired radius, plus an 
  additional -4. +50%. 
   
  Short Wave: This is only available for Radio. You 
  can bounce your signal off a planet’s ionosphere (if the 
  planet has one). This lets you transmit to (or receive 
  from) any point on the planet. Note that solar flares, 
  weather, etc. can disrupt short-wave communications. 
  +50%. 
   
  Universal: Your messages are automatically trans-
  lated into your subject’s language. The GM may limit 
  this enhancement to individuals from advanced tech 
  levels, or restrict it to Telesend. +50%. 
   
  Video: You are not limited to simple pictures! You 
  can transmit real-time video of anything you can see. 
  +40%. 
   
  Special Limitations 
   
  Species: Your ability only works on those of your 
  own species or a very similar species, per Mind 
  Reading. -20%. 
   
  Receive Only: You can receive but not send. This 
  limitation is not available for Telesend. -50%. 
   
  Send Only: You can send but not receive. This 
  limitation is not available for Telesend. -50%. 
   
  Telepathic: Your ability is part of the Telepathy psi 
  power. -10%. 
   
  Vague: You cannot send speech or pictures. You 
  can only send a simple code (e.g., Morse code) – or 
  general concepts and emotions, in the case of Teles-
  end. -50%. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Telekinesis 
  5 points/level 
   
  You can move objects without touching them. In 
  effect, you manifest an invisible force that acts under 
  your conscious direction at a distant point. This is an 
  exotic advantage that requires the GM’s permission to 
  add. Specify how you do this; possibilities include 
  magnetism, psionic psychokinesis, an ultra-tech “trac-
  tor beam,” etc. 
   
  You can manipulate distant objects just as if you 
  were grasping them in a pair of hands with ST equal to 
  your Telekinesis (TK) level. You can move any object 
  you have strength enough to lift, at a Move equal to 
  your TK level, modified as usual for encumbrance level 
  (see Encumbrance and Move, p. 28).  Regardless of 
  level, maximum range is 10 yards; to modify range, 
  take Increased Range or Reduced Range. 
   
  Telekinesis requires constant concentration to 
  use. In combat, this means you must take a Concen-
  trate maneuver on your turn. Your TK may then per-
  form one standard maneuver as if it were a disem-
  bodied pair of hands at some point within your range: 
  a Ready maneuver to pick up an object; a Move ma-
  neuver to lift and carry it; an Attack maneuver to throw 
  it, or to grab or strike directly; and so on. 
   
   
  Example: On your turn in combat, you take a Con-
  centrate maneuver and state that your TK is taking an 
  Attack maneuver to grab a phaser from a foe. The fol-
  lowing turn, you can Concentrate again and specify 
  Long-Distance Modifiers 
   
  Use these modifiers for advantages 
  that work over long distances such as 
  Telesend. If the distance falls between the 
  two values, use the higher. 
   
  Distance 
  Penalty 
  Up to 200 yards 
  0 
  1/2 mile 
  -1 
  1 mile 
  -2 
  3 miles 
  -3 
  10 miles 
  -4 
  30 miles 
  -5 
  100 miles 
  -6 
  300 miles 
  -7 
  1,000 miles 
  -8 
   
   
  Add another -2 per additional factor of 
  10. 
   
  
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  that your TK is taking an Aim or Wait maneuver to 
  cover your enemy with the phaser, an Attack maneu-
  ver to shoot him, or a Move maneuver to bring the 
  phaser to your hand. 
   
   
  No rolls are necessary for ordinary lifting and 
  movement. For more complex actions, the GM might 
  require you to make a DX or skill roll. In situations 
  where you would roll against ST, roll against your TK 
  level instead. 
   
  All of the above assumes that you are using TK to 
  perform a task at a distance. TK can also discreetly 
  assist you with such skills as Gambling (especially to 
  cheat!), Lockpicking, and Surgery. In general, anything 
  that would benefit from High Manual Dexterity gets a 
  +4 bonus if you can successfully make an IQ roll to 
  use your TK properly. On a failure, the GM may as-
  sess any penalty he feels is appropriate. 
   
   
  Grappling and Striking: You can use TK to attack a 
  foe directly. Roll against DX or an unarmed combat 
  skill to hit. Your foe defends as if attacked by an invisi-
  ble opponent (see GURPS Basic Set, p. 394). If you 
  grapple, your foe cannot grab hold of the TK force, but 
  he can try to break free as usual – and if he also has 
  TK, he can take a Concentrate maneuver and use his 
  TK level instead of his ST. The turn after you grapple a 
  foe using TK, your TK can use a Move maneuver to 
  pick him up off the ground, provided you have enough 
  TK to lift his weight. Someone in this position can’t do 
  anything that relies on ground contact (run, retreat, 
  etc.), but can perform any other action that is possible 
  while grappled. 
   
  Levitation: If you have enough TK to lift your own 
  body weight, you can levitate. Take the Concentrate 
  maneuver and have your TK take Move maneuvers to 
  propel your body. For true psychokinetic flight, take 
  Flight with the Psychokinetic limitation (below). 
   
  Throwing: By applying a TK impulse for a fraction 
  of a second, you can throw objects faster (and farther) 
  than you can move them. Take a Concentrate maneu-
  ver and have your TK take an Attack maneuver. This 
  works just as if you were throwing the object with ST 
  equal to your TK level. Roll against Throwing or 
  Thrown Weapon skill to hit, depending on the object 
  being hurled. For 1/2D and Max purposes, measure 
  range from the object (not yourself!) to the target; for 
  the purpose of range penalties, use the sum of the 
  distance from you to the object and from the object to 
  the target. Once you throw something, you have “re-
  leased” your telekinetic grip – your TK must take a 
  Ready maneuver to pick it up again. 
   
  Special Limitations 
   
  Magnetic: Your TK is “super magnetism,” and only 
  affects ferrous metals: iron (including steel), nickel, 
  and cobalt. -50%. 
   
  Psychokinetic: Your ability is part of the Psy-
  chokinesis psi power. This makes it mental or physi-
  cal. -10%. 
   
  Visible: Your TK is not an invisible force, but a dis-
  embodied hand, glowing personal “tractor beam” or 
  similar. This makes it much easier to defend against 
  your TK attacks (do not use the Visibility rules in 
  GURPS Basic Set). -20%. 
   
  Telesend 
  see Telecommunication 
   
  Temperature Tolerance 
  1 point/level 
   
  Every character has a temperature “comfort zone” 
  within which he suffers no ill effects (such as FP or HP 
  loss) due to heat or cold. For ordinary humans, this 
  zone is 55wide and falls between 35and 90. The 
  center of this zone can be centered anywhere (and is 
  specified in the Species Template for that species), but 
  this is a 0-point feature for a zone no larger than 55. 
  A larger zone is an advantage. This is an exotic ad-
  vantage that requires the GM’s permission to add to 
  humans at a level higher than 2. Each level of Tem-
  perature Tolerance adds HT degrees to your comfort 
  zone, distributed in any way you wish between the 
  “cold” and “hot” ends of the zone. 
   
  Temperature Tolerance confers no special re-
  sistance to attacks by fire or ice unless the only dam-
  age is a result of a rise or fall in the ambient tempera-
  ture. In particular, it cannot help you if your body tem-
  perature is being manipulated. 
   
  Ultrahearing 
  0 or 5 points 
   
  You can hear sounds in the frequencies above the 
  normal range of human hearing (20 kHz). This allows 
  you to hear dog whistles, sonar, motion detectors, etc. 
  You can detect active sonar at twice its effective 
  range. This is an exotic advantage that requires the 
  GM’s permission to add. Cost depends on your 
  capabilities: 
   
   
  You can hear only high-frequency sounds: 0 
  points. 
   
  You can hear high-frequency sounds and other 
  sounds: 5 points. 
   
   
  This advantage is included in Ultrasonic Speech‡; 
  if you have Ultrasonic Speech, you cannot take this as 
  well. 
   
  Unfazeable 
  15 points 
   
  Nothing surprises you – at least, nothing that’s not 
  obviously a threat. The world is full of strange things, 
  and as long as they don’t bother you, you don’t bother 
  them. 
   
  You are exempt from Fright Checks, and reaction 
  modifiers rarely affect you either way. You treat 
  strangers with distant courtesy, no matter how strange 
  they are, as long as they’re well-behaved. You have 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Page 107 
  the normal reaction penalty toward anyone who does 
  something rude or rowdy, but you remain civil even if 
  forced to violence. Intimidation just does not work on 
  you! 
   
  You are not emotionless – you just never display 
  strong feelings. The stereotypical aged kung fu master 
  or English butler has this trait. 
   
  You must roleplay this advantage fully, or the GM 
  can declare that it has been lost. This advantage is 
  incompatible with all Phobias. 
   
  Universal Digestion 
  5 points 
   
  You have remarkably adaptable digestive pro-
  cesses that let you derive nutrition from any nontoxic 
  animal or plant protein, no matter how alien or fantas-
  tic. This enables you to subsist on things that would 
  normally be harmless but non-nutritious. You have no 
  special resistance to poison, though; for that, buy Re-
  sistant. One side benefit of this trait is that you can 
  quickly and safely dispose of any nontoxic, organic 
  evidence by eating it! This is an exotic advantage that 
  requires the GM’s permission to add. 
   
  Unusual Background 
  Variable 
   
  This is a “catch-all” trait that the GM can use to 
  adjust the point total of any character with special abil-
  ities that are not widely available in the game world. 
  “Special abilities” might mean cinematic traits, magic 
  spells, exotic advantages (for a human), supernatural 
  advantages (for anyone), or almost anything else – it 
  depends on the setting. Players are free to suggest 
  Unusual Backgrounds to the GM, but the GM decides 
  whether a proposed Unusual Background is accepta-
  ble, and if so, what its cost and benefits are. 
   
  Not every unusual character concept merits an 
  Unusual Background. The GM should only charge 
  points when the character enjoys a tangible benefit. 
  For instance, it would be unusual for a human to be 
  raised by wolves, but unless this gave him special ca-
  pabilities (such as Speak with Animals‡), it would be 
  background color, worth 0 points. 
   
  Vacuum Support 
  5 points 
   
  You are immune to deleterious effects associated 
  with vacuum and decompression. This advantage 
  does not give you an air supply; buy Doesn’t Breathe 
  for that. This is an exotic advantage that requires the 
  GM’s permission to add. 
   
  Those with Vacuum Support usually have the 
  Sealed advantage, and often have Radiation Toler-
  ance and Temperature Tolerance, but none of these 
  traits are required.  
   
   
   
   
  Versatile 
  5 points 
   
  You are extremely imaginative. You get a +1 bo-
  nus on any task that requires creativity or invention, 
  including most rolls against Artist‡ skill and all Engi-
  neer rolls for new inventions, and all skill rolls made to 
  use the Gadgeteer‡ advantage. 
   
  Very FIt 
  see Fit 
   
  Very Rapid Healing 
  see Rapid Healing 
   
  Vibration Sense 
  10 points 
   
  You can detect the location and size of objects by 
  sensing vibrations with your skin, whiskers, or anten-
  nae. You must specify whether this ability works in the 
  air or in the water. This is an exotic advantage that 
  requires the GM’s permission to add. 
   
  Vibration Sense is not a substitute for vision. You 
  can locate an opponent in the dark, but you cannot 
  detect details (e.g., whether he is armed). In a per-
  fectly still, dark chamber, you would have only a vague 
  notion of the size of the area, but you would be able to 
  sense a barrier before you ran into it, and could find 
  openings by sensing the flow of air or water. 
   
  To use Vibration Sense, make a Sense roll. Con-
  sult the Size and Speed/Range Table (p. 211) and ap-
  ply separate bonuses for the target’s size and speed, 
  and a penalty for the range to the target. Wind (in air) 
  or swift currents (in water) will generate “noise” that 
  interferes with your sense. Find the speed of the wind 
  or current on the table and assess the relevant speed 
  penalty. 
   
  A successful roll reveals the rough size, location, 
  speed, and direction of movement of the target. It does 
  not provide any information about the object’s shape, 
  color, etc. Once you have detected something, you 
  may target it with an attack. The modifiers that applied 
  to your Sense roll also apply to your attack roll, but can 
  never give you a bonus to hit. 
   
  Note that if you are outside the element (air or wa-
  ter) where your ability functions, or if you are wearing a 
  sealed suit, this ability does not work at all! 
   
  Special Enhancements 
   
  Universal: Your Vibration Sense works both in the 
  air and in the water. +50%. 
   
  Voice 
  10 points 
   
  You have a naturally clean, resonant, and attrac-
  tive voice. This gives you +2 with the following skills: 
  Diplomacy, Fast-Talk, Mimicry‡, Performance‡, Poli-
  tics, Public Speaking, Sex Appeal, and Singing‡. You 
  also get +2 on any reaction roll made by someone who 
  can hear your voice. 
  
  Page 108  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Vulcan Psi Powers 
  5 points/level 
   
  This advantage represents natural or learned abil-
  ity to control the Vulcan psionic gifts. A Vulcan char-
  acter may have latent psionics without psi abilities, but 
  can always gain this advantage later.  
   
  With this advantage you gain a bonus to any roll to 
  activate or otherwise use Vulcan psionic advantages; 
  e.g., Vulcan Psi Powers 2 would give +2 to use Mind 
  Reading abilities. This most often modifies IQ, Will, 
  and Perception rolls. 
   
  The advantages that Vulcan Psi Powers affects 
  include: Mind Control (Puppet, -40%; Telepath-
  ic, -10%) [25]; Mind Probe (Touch Based, -20%; Tele-
  pathic, -10%) [14]; Mind Reading (Touch-Based, 
  touch, -20%; Telepathic, -10%) [21]; Mind Shield (Tel-
  epathic, -10%) [4] per level; Nerve Pinch: Affliction 
  (HT; Accessibility, Hit Location, -4 to hit, -20%; Contact 
  Agent, 
  -30%; 
  Melee 
  Attack, 
  Reach 
  C, 
  -30%; 
  Racial, -20%; Telepathic, -10%; Unconscious, +200%) 
  [19] per level; Special Rapport (Telepathic, -10%) [5]. 
   
  For more on Psionics see GURPS Basic Set. 
   
  Wealth 
  see p. 35 
   
  Xeno-Adaptability 
  see Cultural Adaptability 
   
   
  PERKS 
   
  A “perk” is a very minor advantage, worth only 1 
  point. Perks cannot be modified with enhancements or 
  limitations, and they can be added in play without up-
  setting game balance. Otherwise, perks use the same 
  rules as other advantages. 
   
  The GM is encouraged to create new perks. No 
  perk should provide wealth, social standing, or combat 
  bonuses. A perk can provide a modest bonus (up to 
  +2) to an attribute, skill, or reaction roll in relatively 
  rare circumstances. The GM may allow more gener-
  ous bonuses, if they apply only in extremely rare 
  situations. 
   
  Alcohol Tolerance 
   
  Your body metabolizes alcohol with remarkable 
  efficiency. You can drink steadily for an indefinite pe-
  riod with no major detrimental effects. Binging affects 
  you as it would anyone else. You get +2 on all HT rolls 
  related to drinking. 
   
  Autotrance 
   
  You can enter a trance at will. This requires one 
  minute of complete concentration and a successful 
  Will roll, at -1 per additional attempt per hour. This 
  trance gives +2 on rolls to contact spirits, etc. You 
  must make a Will roll to break your trance. If you fail, 
  you can try again every five minutes. 
   
  Deep Sleeper 
   
  You can fall asleep in all but the worst conditions, 
  and can sleep through most disturbances. You never 
  suffer any ill effects due to the quality of your sleep. 
  You get an IQ roll to notice disturbances and awaken, 
  just like anyone else; success is automatic if you have 
  combat reflexes. 
   
  Fur 
   
  You have fur. This prevents sunburn. This is an 
  exotic perk that requires the GM’s permission to add. 
  Thicker fur might justify 1-3 levels each of Damage 
  Resistance and Temperature Tolerance. You must buy 
  these other traits separately. 
   
  Ultraviolet Tolerance 
  You are immune to the effects of UV radiation, even 
  the intense sunlight of a blue-white star. This is an ex-
  otic perk that requires the GM’s permission to add. 
  You do not tan or burn, nor does the radiation cause 
  any other harmful effects. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Hydran Iroquois New Heavy Cruiser 
   
   
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Page 109 
  MODIFIERS
   
  A modifier is a feature that you can add to a trait to 
  change the way it works. There are two basic types of 
  modifiers: enhancements and limitations. Adding an 
  enhancement makes the underlying trait more useful, 
  while applying a limitation attaches additional re-
  strictions to your ability. 
   
  Modifiers adjust the base cost of a trait in propor-
  tion to their effects. Enhancements increase the cost, 
  while limitations reduce the cost. This is expressed as 
  a percentage. For instance, a +20% enhancement 
  would increase the point cost of an advantage by 1/5 
  its base cost, while a -50% limitation would reduce it 
  by half its base cost. 
   
  You can apply any number of modifiers to a trait. 
  Total them to find the net modifier, and then apply this 
  modifier to the base cost of the trait. Round the result-
  ing cost up to the next-highest whole number. For ex-
  ample, a +10% enhancement, a +40% enhancement, 
  a -30% limitation, and a -45% limitation would give a 
  net modifier of -25%. This would reduce the cost of a 
  10-point advantage to 7.5 points, which would round 
  up to 8 points. 
   
  Modifiers can never reduce cost by more than 
  80%. Treat a net modifier of -80% or worse as -80%. 
  Thus, no matter how many limitations you take, you 
  cannot lower the cost of a trait to less than 1/5 its base 
  cost. 
   
  The GM has the final say as to which traits you 
  can modify, and in which ways. Some combinations 
  make no sense, others have potential for abuse, and 
  still others might not suit the campaign.  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  ENHANCEMENTS 
   
  You can apply enhancements to advantages, and 
  more rarely to basic attributes and secondary charac-
  teristics. The GM might even permit specific en-
  hancements on certain skills, but this is difficult to jus-
  tify unless the skill functions much as an advantage 
  (which is sometimes true of species-specific innate 
  skills possessed by nonhumans). 
   
  Accurate 
  +5%/level 
   
  Your attack is unusually accurate. Each +1 to 
  Accuracy is a +5% enhancement. 
   
  Area Effect 
  +50%/level 
   
  Your ability works as an area power instead of af-
  fecting a single target. Everything in the area suffers 
  the attack’s damage or other effects. On a miss, use 
  the scatter rules (p. 221) to see where the area is 
  centered. Active defenses don’t protect against an 
  area attack, but victims may attempt to dive for cover 
  or dodge and retreat to leave the area. For more in-
  formation, see Area-Effect Attacks (p. 221). 
   
  Radius 
  Modifier 
  2 yards 
  +50% 
  4 yards 
  +100% 
  8 yards 
  +150% 
  16 yards 
  +200% 
   
   
  Further levels continue to double the radius. If ap-
  plied to an advantage that already covers an area, 
  each level doubles the base radius. 
   
  Area Effect is a prerequisite for Mobile‡, Persis-
  tent, Selective Area, Bombardment, and Emanation‡. 
   
  Armor Divisor 
  Variable 
   
  Your attack can pierce more armor than its base 
  damage would indicate. 
   
  Armor Divisor 
  Modifier 
  (2) 
  +50% 
  (3) 
  +100% 
  (5) 
  +150% 
  (10) 
  +200% 
   
   
  Only Innate Attacks and Afflictions can have this 
  enhancement. Armor Divisor is a “penetration modi-
  fier”; you cannot combine it with other penetration 
  modifiers, such as Contact Agent and Follow-Up. 
   
   
  Special Modifiers 
   
  Many advantages, and some 
  disadvantages, offer “special enhancements” 
  and “special limitations.” These modifiers are 
  generally applicable only to the specific 
  trait(s) with which they are described. 
  However, the GM may choose to extend the 
  special modifiers of one particular trait to 
  other, very similar traits. 
   
  Range, Area, and Duration for 
  Advantages 
   
  When applying modifiers, you 
  occasionally need to know the range, area of 
  effect, or duration of an advantage for which 
  one or more of these quantities is not 
  specified – for instance, when applying an 
  enhancement that gives a range to an ability 
  that normally has none. Assume that range is 
  100 yards, area is a circle 2 yards in radius 
  (and 12’ high, should volume matter), and 
  duration is 10 seconds, unless the advantage 
  specifies otherwise. Exceptions will be noted. 
   
  
  Page 110  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Blood Agent 
  +100% 
   
  On an attack with Area Effect or Cone, this is an 
  enhancement. See the Blood Agent limitation for 
  details. 
   
  Cone 
  Variable 
   
  Your attack spreads to affect everyone in a cone-
  shaped area. Cones use special rules; see Area-Effect 
  Attacks (p. 221). Decide on the maximum width of the 
  cone, in yards, at the attack’s maximum range. Cone 
  costs +50% plus +10% per yard of maximum width.  
   
  You cannot combine Cone with Area Effect, Aura‡, 
  Jet, Melee Attack, Rapid Fire, or Emanation‡. 
   
  Contact Agent 
  +150% 
   
  On an attack with Area Effect or Cone, this is an 
  enhancement. See the Contact Agent limitation for 
  more information. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Cyclic 
  Variable 
   
  This enhancement is only available for Innate At-
  tacks that inflict burning, corrosion, fatigue, or toxic 
  damage. It represents an attack that persists on the 
  victim: acid, disease, liquid fire, poison, etc. (For at-
  tacks that linger in the environment, see Persistent.) 
   
  A Cyclic attack damages its target normally – but 
  once the target has been exposed, the attack dam-
  ages him again each time a set interval passes! All 
  penetration modifiers (e.g., Contact or Follow-Up) con-
  tinue to apply; for instance, a Cyclic attack with Follow-
  Up continues to ignore DR. Worst of all, the victim 
  cannot recover HP or FP lost to a Cyclic attack until 
  the attack stops damaging him! 
   
  You must specify a reasonably common set of cir-
  cumstances that halt any further damage from your 
  attack. For instance, to halt cyclic corrosion or burning 
  damage, the victim might have to wash the acid off or 
  roll on the ground to extinguish the flames, taking one 
  or more seconds and a DX or IQ roll. Fatigue or toxic 
  damage might require drugs or medical care (use the 
  Physician skill). Details are up to the GM. 
   
  The base value of Cyclic depends on the damage 
  interval. 
   
  Interval 
  Modifier 
  1 second 
  +100% 
  10 seconds 
  +50% 
  1 minute 
  +40% 
  1 hour 
  +20% 
  1 day 
  +10% 
   
   
  Burning or corrosion attacks shouldn’t have inter-
  vals longer than 10 seconds. At the GM’s option, 
  someone taking damage at one-second intervals might 
  have to make a Fright Check!  
   
  Multiply the base value by the number of cycles 
  after the first. The GM should consider limiting large 
  numbers of cycles to attacks that do less than 1d 
  damage. 
   
  Cyclic attacks are often Resistible; if so, an extra 
  resistance roll is allowed for each cycle, with a suc-
  cess preventing any further damage. If the attack is 
  Resistible, halve the value of Cyclic. 
   
  Some Cyclic attacks are contagious. While af-
  fected, the victim can inadvertently infect others, per 
  Disease (p. 231). This increases the final cost of the 
  enhancement, after all other factors: +20% for a 
  “mildly contagious” attack or +50% for a “highly conta-
  gious” one. 
   
  These factors are cumulative. For instance, a re-
  sistible disease with 31 daily cycles would cost +10% 
  × 30 × 1/2 = +150%. If it were highly contagious, it 
  would cost +200%. 
   
   
   
  Attack Enhancements and 
  Limitations 
   
  Some enhancements and limitations 
  are intended only for Affliction, Binding‡, 
  and Innate Attack, and for advantages 
  modified with the Ranged enhancement. 
  They are called “attack” modifiers. Certain 
  of these have additional restrictions; e.g., 
  Armor Divisor applies only to Affliction.  
   
  The following enhancements are not 
  attack modifiers: Extended Duration, 
  Increased Range, Link, Reduced Fatigue 
  Cost, and Selectivity. 
   
  The following limitations are not attack 
  modifiers: Limited Use, Mitigator, Nuisance 
  Effect, and Reduced Range. 
   
  Turning Enhancements Off and On 
   
  When you use an enhanced trait, you 
  must use all of its enhancements unless a 
  particular enhancement – or the underlying 
  ability itself – explicitly allows you to turn an 
  enhancement “off.” (The extended 
  capabilities that many enhancements 
  provide might have no effect in certain 
  situations, but they are still on.)  To be able 
  to pick which enhancements are “on” at 
  any given moment, take the Selectivity 
  enhancement. 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Page 111 
  Damage Modifiers 
  Variable 
   
  You may give an Innate Attack one or more of 
  these modifiers to further qualify the way it does 
  damage. 
   
  Double Blunt Trauma (dbt)  
  +20%  
   
  Available for Innate Attacks that do burning, corro-
  sion, cutting, impaling, or piercing damage. Burning 
  and corrosion attacks enhanced this way inflict 1 HP of 
  blunt trauma injury per 10 points of basic damage re-
  sisted by flexible armor. Cutting, impaling, and piercing 
  attacks with this enhancement inflict the same blunt 
  trauma as a crushing attack: 1 HP of blunt trauma in-
  jury per 5 points of basic damage resisted by flexible 
  armor. 
   
  Double Knockback (dkb) 
  +20%  
   
  This lets a crushing or cutting attack inflict twice as 
  much knockback as usual; see Knockback (p. 215). 
   
  Explosion (exp) 
  +50%/level 
   
  The attack produces an explosion at the point of 
  impact (on a miss, check for scatter; see p. 221). The 
  target takes damage normally; anything nearby re-
  ceives “collateral damage” equal to basic damage di-
  vided (3 × the distance in yards from the blast). If the 
  attack also has an Armor Divisor, it does not apply to 
  this collateral damage.  
   
  You can take up to two additional levels of Explo-
  sion if you desire a blast that isn’t as affected by dis-
  tance. The second level divides basic damage by 
  twice the distance in yards and is +100%; the third 
  level divides damage by the distance in yards and is 
  +150%.  
   
  Explosion is usually limited to crushing and 
  burning attacks, but the GM may permit other 
  combinations. 
   
  For more on explosions, see Explosions (p. 222). 
   
  Fragmentation (frag) 
  +15% per die  
   
  The attack scatters damaging fragments on im-
  pact. Decide on the dice of fragmentation damage and 
  note this in brackets after the attack’s basic damage. 
  Everyone within 5 yards per die of fragmentation dam-
  age is attacked with effective skill 15, modified by 
  range penalties from the point of impact; see Frag-
  mentation Damage (p. 222). 
   
  Fragments inflict cutting damage. If you add Frag-
  mentation to a burning attack or one with the Incendi-
  ary enhancement (below), the fragments are Incendi-
  ary at no extra cost. If you apply it to an attack with 
  Follow-Up, penetration indicates the fragments auto-
  matically hit the victim but no one else. Fragmentation 
  often accompanies Explosion (above), but this is not 
  required. 
   
  Fragmentation costs +15% per die of fragmenta-
  tion damage. A damage of [2d] or [3d] is typical of a 
  grenade-sized blast. Maximum fragmentation damage 
  is [12d] or the attack’s basic damage, whichever is 
  less. 
   
   
  Hot Fragments: The fragments inflict burning dam-
  age with the modifiers Cyclic (Six 10-second cycles) 
  and Armor Divisor (0.2) instead of cutting damage. 
  Cost is unchanged. 
   
  Hazard 
  Variable 
   
  You may give an Innate Attack that inflicts fatigue 
  damage one of these enhancements: Dehydration, 
  +20%; Drowning, +0%; Freezing, +20%; Missed 
  Sleep, +50%; Starvation, +40%; or Suffocation, +0%. 
  Treat FP lost to the attack identically to FP lost to the 
  relevant hazard for all purposes, notably Recovering 
  from Fatigue (p. 229). 
   
  Traits that protect the target from the hazard in 
  question also shield him from this damage. For in-
  stance, a Starvation attack would inflict FP that could 
  only be recovered by eating a meal, but someone with 
  Doesn’t Eat or Drink‡ would be immune. 
   
  Incendiary (inc) 
  +10% 
   
  An Innate Attack other than a burning attack may 
  be Incendiary. This gives the damage a secondary 
  flame effect that can ignite volatile material (fuel, dry 
  tinder, etc.). 
   
  Radiation (rad) 
  +25% or +100% 
   
  The attack irradiates the subject. Roll damage nor-
  mally, but whether or not the attack penetrates DR, it 
  inflicts 1 rad per point of basic damage rolled. See Ra-
  diation (p. 236) for effects. For a toxic attack, this dos-
  age is instead of regular damage, and the enhance-
  ment is worth +25%; this is typical of “ordinary” radio-
  activity. For a burning attack, the radiation dose is as 
  well as regular damage, and the enhancement is 
  +100%; use this for particle beams. Other damage 
  types cannot have this enhancement. 
   
  Surge (sur) 
  +20% 
   
  The attack produces an electrical surge or pulse 
  that can disable electronics or anything with the Elec-
  trical‡ disadvantage. 
   
  Extended Duration 
  Variable 
   
  This enhancement increases the normal duration 
  of your ability. “Multiple” applies to the original duration 
  (or changes it to permanent).  
   
   
   
  
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Multiple 
  Modifier 
  3× duration 
  +20% 
  10× duration 
  +40% 
  30× duration 
  +60% 
  100× duration 
  +80% 
  300× duration 
  +100% 
  1,000× duration 
  +120% 
  Permanent* 
  +150% 
   
   
  * You must specify a reasonable set of conditions 
  that will dispel the effect (or cure it, for abilities such as 
  Affliction and Mind Control). The GM is the judge of 
  what is “reasonable.” If there is no way to end the ef-
  fect, the enhancement is +300%. To keep PCs from 
  granting each other free advantages, the GM may 
  wish to forbid this level of Extended Duration on Afflic-
  tions with the Advantage modifier. 
   
   
  To add Extended Duration to an attack, the attack 
  must either have Aura‡, Persistent, or Wall‡, or specifi-
  cally allow this enhancement. You can also add Ex-
  tended Duration to any advantage that has the 
  Ranged‡ enhancement. 
   
  If the modified trait has multiple facets with sepa-
  rate durations, you must specify which duration you 
  are extending. For example, a cloud of sleeping gas 
  could have this enhancement to extend the duration of 
  the sleep it induces or the length of time the cloud per-
  sists; to do both, buy this enhancement twice. 
   
  Follow-Up 
  Variable 
   
  Your attack’s effects are delivered by a “carrier.” 
  Use this to represent poison on a dart, an explosive in 
  an armor-piercing shell, etc. Pick a different attack as 
  the carrier. This can be either body weaponry (e.g., 
  Claws or Teeth) or an Innate Attack (usually one that 
  does cutting, impaling, or piercing damage). 
   
  A Follow-Up attack need only list its damage 
  amount and type. All other details depend on the car-
  rier attack. The Follow-Up attack only hits if the carrier 
  attack hits. If the carrier attack penetrates the target’s 
  DR, DR has no effect on the Follow-Up attack’s dam-
  age or HT rolls. 
   
  If the carrier attack is a natural weapon, such as 
  Claws or Teeth, Follow-Up is a +0% enhancement. 
  (Exception: On a passive carrier attack such as 
  Spines, Follow-Up is a -50% limitation.) 
   
  If the carrier attack is an Innate Attack, the cost of 
  Follow-Up depends on the modifiers on the carrier at-
  tack. The cost of Follow-Up equals the sum of the 
  costs of whichever of the following modifiers apply to 
  the carrier attack: Always On, Aura‡, Cone, Drifting‡, 
  Emanation, Emergencies Only‡, Extra Recoil, Guided‡, 
  Homing‡, Increased Range, Jet, Limited Use, Maledic-
  tion, Melee Attack, Preparation Required‡, Rapid Fire, 
  Reduced Range, Takes Extra Time‡, Takes Re-
  charge‡, Unconscious Only‡, Uncontrollable‡, or Unre-
  liable‡. If none of these modifiers apply to the carrier 
  attack, Follow-Up costs +0%. Note that the Follow-Up 
  attack itself cannot take any of these modifiers. Only 
  its carrier attack may have them. 
   
  Follow-Up is a “penetration modifier”; you cannot 
  combine it with other penetration modifiers (although 
  the carrier attack can have them). 
   
  Increased Range 
  +10%/level 
   
  You may add this enhancement to any advantage 
  that has a range; e.g., Innate Attack or Scanning 
  Sense‡. Each level increases range as follows: 
   
  Range Multiple 
  Modifier 
  2× 
  +10% 
  5× 
  +20% 
  10× 
  +30% 
  20× 
  +40% 
  50× 
  +50% 
  100× 
  +60% 
   
   
  Further 
  levels 
  follow 
  the 
  same 
  “2-5-10” 
  progression. 
   
   
  If applied to a ranged attack, each level increases 
  1/2D and Max. You may increase 1/2D or Max individ-
  ually at half cost (that is, “Increased 1/2D” and “In-
  creased Max” are +5%/level). However, you cannot 
  increase 1/2D past Max. At most, you can make 1/2D 
  equal to Max – this means the attack has no 1/2D 
  range. For attacks that already have no 1/2D range, 
  you can increase Max for +5%/level. 
   
  Jet 
  +0% 
   
  Your attack is a continuous stream, like a 
  flamethrower. Treat it as a melee weapon with a very 
  long reach rather than as a ranged weapon. Do not 
  apply penalties for target range and speed.  
   
  An attack with Jet has no Acc, and has 1/2D 5 and 
  Max 10 instead of its usual range. Increased Range 
  increases range by 100% per level instead of its usual 
  effects.  
   
  Jet is incompatible with Area Effect, Aura‡, Cone, 
  Follow-Up, Melee Attack, and Rapid Fire. 
   
  Link 
  +10% or +20% 
   
  You can use two or more advantages simultane-
  ously, as if they were a single ability. For +10%, your 
  abilities are permanently linked into a single power, 
  and must be used together – you cannot use them 
  separately. For +20%, you can also use them sepa-
  rately. You must add this enhancement to all the abili-
  ties you wish to link.  
   
  If you link two attacks into one and give them 
  identical Malf., 1/2D, Max, Acc, RoF, Shots, and 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Page 113 
  Recoil, you can treat them as a single attack with one 
  attack roll by separate rolls for damage. This is not the 
  same as the Follow-Up enhancement. 
   
  Malediction 
  Variable 
   
  Your attack is not a conventional ranged attack. It 
  lacks Malf., 1/2D, Max, Acc, RoF, Shots, and Recoil 
  statistics, and cannot have any enhancement or limita-
  tion that modifies those statistics. Most importantly, the 
  target’s DR has no effect on the attack’s damage, re-
  sistance roll, or other effects! 
   
  Malediction requires a Concentrate maneuver ra-
  ther than an Attack maneuver to use. It can target any 
  victim you can see or otherwise clearly perceive. To 
  determine if the attack succeeds, roll against your Will, 
  applying the range penalties detailed below. Your foe 
  may choose to resist; if so, resolve the attack as a 
  Quick Contest of Will. You must win to affect the 
  victim. 
   
  When enhancing an Affliction, the Quick Contest 
  above replaces the usual resistance roll. You roll 
  against Will, but your target rolls against HT – or other 
  attribute, if the attack has Based on (Different Attrib-
  ute) – modified as usual for the Affliction. For instance, 
  an Affliction that allows a HT-1 roll to resist would re-
  sult in a Quick Contest of your Will vs. the target’s 
  HT-1. 
   
  The value of Malediction depends on the range 
  modifiers it uses. If it takes -1 per yard of range, like a 
  Regular spell, it costs +100%. If it uses the range pen-
  alties on the Size and Speed/Range Table (p. 211), it 
  costs +150%. And if it uses the penalties given under 
  Long-Distance Modifiers (p. 105), it costs +200%. 
   
  Malediction is a “penetration modifier”; you cannot 
  combine it with other penetration modifiers, nor with 
  modifiers that apply only to conventional ranged 
  attacks. 
   
  Persistent 
  +40% 
   
  You may only add this enhancement to an Area 
  Effect attack. This causes the area of effect to remain 
  in place for 10 seconds, continuing to damage (or at-
  tack and possibly damage, if taken with Bombardment) 
  anyone entering or passing through it. Use Extended 
  Duration to increase the duration. 
   
   
   
   
  Kzinti War Destroyer 
   
  Rapid Fire 
  Variable 
   
  An Innate Attack’s base Rate of Fire (RoF) is 1. 
  Consult the table below to find the cost for a higher 
  RoF: 
   
  RoF 
  Cost 
  2 
  +40% 
  3 
  +50% 
  4-7 
  +70% 
  8-15 
  +100% 
  16-30 
  +150% 
  31-70 
  +200% 
  71-150 
  +250% 
  151-300 
  +300% 
   
   
  Two special options are available for attacks with 
  this enhancement: 
   
   
  Multiple Projectile: Each shot splits into multiple 
  projectiles after you attack, like a shotgun blast or 
  forked lightning. Express this as a multiplier following 
  RoF; for instance, RoF 3×4 means each of three shots 
  fired divides into four individual projectiles. Modifier 
  cost is based on the RoF times the multiplier; e.g., 
  RoF 3×4 costs the same as RoF 12. 
   
  Selective Fire: You may designate a RoF 5+ at-
  tack as Selective Fire, allowing it to fire as if it had RoF 
  1-3. This costs an extra +10%. 
   
  Reduced Fatigue Cost 
  +20%/level 
   
  You may only take this enhancement for abilities 
  that cost FP, and never in conjunction with the special 
  modifier “Usually On.” You can take it any number of 
  times. Each level cuts the cost to use the ability by 1 
  FP. If you must “maintain” the ability by spending FP 
  on a regular basis, reduce this maintenance cost by a 
  like amount. 
   
  Respiratory Agent 
  +50% 
   
  Your attack must be inhaled to have any effect, 
  but it ignores all DR. Only Doesn’t Breathe and Filter 
  Lungs protect completely – although a victim who 
  makes a Sense roll to notice the attack in time may 
  hold his breath (see Holding Your Breath, p. 190). To 
  make your attack less noticeable, take Low Signature‡. 
   
  You may only add this enhancement to an Afflic-
  tion or to an Innate Attack that inflicts toxic or fatigue 
  damage, and you must combine it with one of Area 
  Effect, Cone, or Jet. Persistent is common but not 
  required. 
   
  Respiratory Agent is a “penetration modifier”; you 
  cannot combine it with other penetration modifiers, 
  such as Follow-Up. 
   
  
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  Selective Area 
  +20% 
   
  You may add this enhancement to any Area Effect 
  or Cone attack. It lets you choose which targets within 
  your area are actually affected. 
   
  Selectivity 
  +10% 
   
  This enhancement lets you turn a trait’s other en-
  hancements off and on at will. For instance, if you had 
  an attack with Area Effect, you could turn this en-
  hancement off to affect only one other person. You 
  must specify which enhancements you wish to ignore 
  before you activate the ability. The default assumption 
  is that you are always using all of your enhancements. 
   
  By allowing you to select which enhancements 
  you use, Selectivity permits you to have multiple ver-
  sions of the same ability without having to buy the 
  ability multiple times. 
   
  Sense-Based 
  Variable 
   
  Your attack is channeled through your victim’s 
  senses, allowing it to ignore DR! You must specify the 
  sense(s) affected. Examples include vision, hearing, 
  smell, and exotic senses such as Detect. This is worth 
  +150%, plus an extra +50% per sense after the first; 
  e.g., Vision and Hearing-Based would be +200%. 
   
  Your attack only affects someone who is using the 
  targeted sense. For instance, a Vision-Based attack 
  cannot affect a blind subject or someone with his eyes 
  closed, while a Smell-Based attack doesn’t work un-
  derwater or on a target with a gas mask. Advantages 
  (such as Protected Sense‡) and equipment that pro-
  tect the sense in question either negate the attack 
  completely or, in the case of attacks that allow a roll to 
  resist (such as Afflictions, Maledictions, and Resistible 
  attacks), give a bonus to the resistance roll. 
   
  The most common Sense-Based attack is an 
  Affliction that knocks out the sense it is based on; for 
  instance, Affliction (Blindness; Vision-Based) for a 
  blinding flash. However, Sense-Based attacks can 
  also be deadly, like a banshee’s wail or basilisk’s 
  gaze.  
   
  Sense-Based is a “penetration modifier”; you can-
  not combine it with other penetration modifiers, such 
  as Follow-Up. 
   
   
  Exception: You can combine Sense-Based with 
  Malediction. In conjunction with Malediction, or when 
  added to an ability that already ignores DR (e.g., Mind 
  Control or Mind Reading), Sense-Based becomes a 
  limitation. It is worth -20% if it works through one 
  sense, -15% if two senses, or -10% if three senses. If 
  it works through more than three senses, it is not a 
  significant limitation. 
   
   
   
  Side Effect 
  Variable 
   
  You may only add this enhancement to an Innate 
  Attack, and you cannot combine it with penetration 
  modifiers other than Armor Divisor. If any damage 
  penetrates the target’s DR, he must make a HT roll, at 
  -1 per 2 points of penetrating damage, or suffer a “side 
  effect.” 
   
  Choose the side effects from the effects described 
  for Affliction. Valid choices are stunning, Attribute 
  Penalty, Disadvantage, and Incapacitation. The cost of 
  Side Effect is a base +50%, plus the cost of the Afflic-
  tion enhancements. For instance, stunning would be 
  +50%, while Disadvantage (Blindness) would be 
  +100%. 
   
  You may specify more than one side effect. If the 
  victim gets a single resistance roll against all of them, 
  treat them as a single Side Effect enhancement, total-
  ing their cost. If the victim must resist each effect indi-
  vidually, take a separate Side Effect enhancement for 
  each effect. 
   
  Stunning wears off normally, while other effects 
  last (20 - HT) minutes, minimum 1 minute. If Incapaci-
  tation is combined with other effects, the other effects 
  last for another (20 - HT) minutes after the Incapacita-
  tion wears off. 
   
  Underwater 
  +20% 
   
  Attacks are assumed to be usable in air or in vac-
  uum, but ineffective in liquid. This enhancement lets 
  an attack work underwater at 1/10 range. 
   
   
   
  Gorn Allosaurus Buck+ Battlecruiser 
   
   
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Page 115 
  LIMITATIONS 
   
  You can apply limitations to almost any trait (al-
  though as with enhancements, skills are normally off-
  limits). When you apply a limitation to a disadvantage, 
  you reduce its value as a disadvantage; e.g., a -10% 
  limitation on a -25-point disadvantage would make it a 
  -22.5-point trait, which rounds to -22 points. Limited 
  disadvantages are worth fewer points because they 
  affect you under more restricted circumstances. 
   
  Remember that no matter how many limitations 
  you take, you cannot reduce the cost of a trait by more 
  than 80%. That is, when totaling modifiers, treat net 
  modifiers below -80% as -80%. 
   
  Accessibility 
  Variable 
   
  Accessibility is a catch-all limitation you can use to 
  cover any restriction not specifically defined else-
  where. Accessibility limitations fall into two broad cate-
  gories: those that limit the targets your ability can af-
  fect and those that limit the situations in which it works. 
   
  If your ability can only affect certain targets, the 
  limitation depends on how common the target group is. 
  “Only on women,” “Only on men,” or anything else that 
  covers about half of the population is worth -20%. 
  “Only on Electrical” or “Only on machines” is 
  worth -20% in a technological setting. “Only on sea 
  creatures” is worth -30% – unless the campaign is set 
  on a world mostly covered with water, in which case it 
  isn’t worth more than -10%. “Only on aliens” is 
  worth -30% or -40%, depending on the world. “Only on 
  psis” is worth -50% in most settings. “Not on redheads” 
  is identical to “On everyone but redheads,” and is 
  worth -10%. 
   
  The same yardstick applies to limitations based on 
  the situation. “Only at day” or “Only at night” is 
  worth -20%. “Only in direct sunlight” is worth -30%. 
  “Only in water” is worth -30% on Earth – but more on a 
  desert planet and less on an ocean world. On Earth, 
  “Only during full moon” or “Only during new moon” is 
  worth -40%. And “Useless under stress” is a whopping 
  -60%, since it makes the ability worthless in most 
  adventuring situations! 
   
  You can also link situational Accessibility to your 
  actions. The more unusual, difficult, or obnoxious the 
  required action is, the greater the limitation value. 
  Some examples: 
   
   
  Only in altered body form (Invisible, Insubstantial, 
  etc.): -10%. 
   
  Only while playing trumpet: -20%. 
   
  Only while flying, Only while swimming, Only in 
  hypnotic trance: -30%. 
   
  Only by one side of split personality: -40%. 
   
   
  In all cases, if the ability is only weakened (half 
  power) instead of becoming useless, halve the value 
  of the limitation. 
   
  The GM shouldn’t allow meaningless Accessibility 
  limitations. For instance, buying a helpful ability with 
  the limitations “Only on friends” gives no cost break. 
  Buying it with “Only on enemies” would be interesting, 
  though! Likewise, the GM should reject any proposed 
  limitation that is already implicit in the ability. “Only 
  while flying” is not an acceptable limitation for En-
  hanced Move (Air). 
   
  Always On 
  Variable 
   
  You cannot switch your advantage off. You may 
  only add this to an ability that can normally be 
  switched off and that is inconvenient if you can’t turn it 
  off. It is worth -10% if the effects are social or cos-
  metic, -20% if they are physically inconvenient, 
  and -40% if they are dangerous (to you!). Always On 
  appears as a “special limitation” for most of the traits to 
  which it would apply. The GM can add new costs as 
  appropriate for other abilities. 
   
  Armor Divisor 
  Variable 
   
  Your attack can pierce less armor than its base 
  damage would indicate. “Divisor” is the factor by which 
  you divide. “DR Multiplier” is an equivalent calculation 
  – multiply your opponent’s DR by this number: 
   
  Divisor 
  DR Multiplier 
  Modifier 
  (0.5) 
  2 
  -30% 
  (0.2) 
  5 
  -50% 
  (0.1) 
  10 
  -70% 
   
   
  In addition, if you have any level of this limitation, tar-
  gets that have DR 0 (e.g., bare flesh) get DR 1 against 
  your attack.  
   
  Only Innate Attacks and Afflictions can have this 
  limitation. Armor Divisor is a “penetration modifier”; 
  you cannot combine it with other penetration modifiers, 
  such as Contact Agent and Follow-Up. 
   
  Blood Agent 
  -40% 
   
  Your attack must reach a mucous membrane 
  (eyes, open mouth, nose, etc.) or an open wound to 
  have any effect at all. DR always stops it.  
   
  This limitation is intended for Afflictions, and for 
  Innate Attacks that inflict fatigue or toxic damage. It is 
  especially appropriate for poisonous spit or spray. In 
  conjunction with Aura‡, it can also represent an attack 
  that is delivered via intimate physical contact. 
   
   
  Exception: If the attack also has Area Effect or 
  Cone, Blood Agent works as described above and also 
  when inhaled (like Respiratory Agent). This lets it ig-
  nore all DR. Only targets with the Sealed advantage – 
  or with one of Doesn’t Breathe or Filter Lungs and one 
  of Nictitating Membrane or Protected Vision‡ – are 
  immune. This powerful ability converts Blood Agent 
  
  Page 116  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  into a +100% enhancement when combined with Area 
  Effect or Cone!  
   
  This is a “penetration modifier”; you cannot com-
  bine it with other penetration modifiers, such as 
  Follow-Up. 
   
  Bombardment 
  Variable 
   
  You may only take this limitation in conjunction 
  with Area Effect or Cone. The attack does not auto-
  matically hit everyone in the area. Instead, it attacks 
  each potential target in the area at an effective skill, 
  which sets the value of the limitation. 
   
  Effective Skill 
  Modifier 
  14 
  -5% 
  12 
  -10% 
  10 
  -15% 
  8 
  -20% 
   
   
  Modify effective skill for target size only – not for 
  range or for any other factor. Determine hit location 
  randomly. If the target is under cover, the cover pro-
  tects normally against the damage. 
   
  This limitation is intended for attacks like electrical 
  or ice storms, which could affect some but not all indi-
  viduals within a given area. 
   
  Contact Agent 
  -30% 
   
  Your attack must touch bare skin or porous cloth-
  ing to have any effect at all. DR always stops it.  
   
  This enhancement is intended for Afflictions, and 
  for Innate Attacks that inflict fatigue or toxic damage. 
  Taken with Aura‡, it can represent a “contagious” at-
  tack that spreads via skin contact. 
   
   
  Exception: If the attack also has Area Effect or 
  Cone, Contact Agent lets it ignore all DR. Only targets 
  with the Sealed advantage are immune. This powerful 
  ability converts Contact Agent into a +150% en-
  hancement when combined with Area Effect or Cone! 
   
   
  This is a “penetration modifier”; you cannot com-
  bine it with other penetration modifiers, such as 
  Follow-Up. 
   
  Damage Limitations 
  Variable 
   
  You may add the following limitations to an Innate 
  Attack: 
   
  No Blunt Trauma (nbt)  
  -20% 
   
  An attack that inflicts crushing, cutting, impaling, or 
  piercing damage normally inflicts blunt trauma (see p. 
  214). Add this limitation if it does not. 
   
  No Knockback (nkb) 
  -10% 
   
  An attack that inflicts crushing or cutting damage 
  normally inflicts knockback (see p. 215). Add this limi-
  tation if it does not. 
   
  No Wounding (nw)  
  -50% 
   
  The attack inflicts basic damage, and may cause 
  knockback and blunt trauma, but its penetrating dam-
  age has no wounding effect (HP or FP loss). Apply this 
  limitation to a crushing attack to represent effects such 
  as a mighty gust of wind or jet of water. Use it with im-
  paling, piercing, or cutting attacks that are carriers for 
  Afflictions or Innate Attacks (usually those that inflict 
  fatigue or toxic damage) with the Follow-Up modifier; 
  this represents small poison darts, stings, etc. that can 
  slip through armor without inflicting grievous wounds. 
   
  Dissipation 
  -50% 
   
  You may only take this limitation in conjunction 
  with Area Effect or Cone. The further the victim is from 
  the center of the area or the apex of the cone, the less 
  effective your attack is. See Area-Effect Attacks (p. 
  221) for details. 
   
  Emanation 
  -20% 
   
  You may only take this limitation in conjunction 
  with Area Effect. It means the effect has no range or 
  Accuracy, but radiates from your body (without affect-
  ing you, if the effect is a bad one). This is incompatible 
  with Melee Attack and ranged attack modifiers. 
   
  Extra Recoil 
  -10% per +1 Recoil 
   
  By default, a ranged attack has Recoil 1, making it 
  virtually Recoilless (see p. 274). You may give an 
  attack with Rapid Fire a higher Recoil (Rcl) as a 
  limitation. 
   
  Recoil (Rcl) 
  Modifier 
  2 
  -10% 
  3 
  -20% 
  4 
  -30% 
  5+ 
  -40% 
   
  Limited Use 
  Variable 
   
  You can use your ability only a limited number of 
  times in a 24-hour period. For most advantages, each 
  “use” is 1 minute of activation. For an attack, each 
  “use” gives shots equal to your RoF, with a minimum 
  one shot per use; for instance, three uses of an attack 
  with RoF 2 would give six shots. The value depends 
  on the number of uses you get. 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Page 117 
  Uses Per Day 
  Modifier 
  1 
  -40% 
  2 
  -30% 
  3-4 
  -20% 
  5-10 
  -10% 
   
   
  More than 10 uses per day is not a significant 
  limitation.  
   
  Two special options are available for attacks (and 
  optionally, other abilities) that have this enhancement: 
   
   
  Fast Reload: You can replace all your uses in 3 to 
  5 seconds simply by replenishing ammunition. The GM 
  determines the weight and cost of the ammunition. 
  This halves the value of the limitation; e.g., three or 
  four uses would be worth only -10%. 
   
  Slow Reload: As above, except if you have two or 
  more shots (not uses!) you must reload each shot indi-
  vidually (taking 3 or more seconds per shot). If you 
  have only one shot, it must take at least 6 seconds to 
  reload – possibly longer, if using this limitation to rep-
  resent a very slow-firing weapon such as a flintlock. 
  This makes the limitation worth 5% less than usual; 
  e.g., three or four uses would be worth only -15%. 
   
  Melee Attack 
  Variable 
   
  Your attack functions as a melee weapon. It has 
  no range, but allows you to parry, use Rapid Strike, 
  Feint, etc. It lacks Malf., 1/2D, Max, Acc, RoF, Shots, 
  and Recoil statistics, and may not have any enhance-
  ment that modifies these statistics. Instead, it has a 
  Reach statistic. 
   
  Reach 
  Modifier 
  C 
  -30% 
  1 or 2 
  -25% 
  C, 1, or 1, 2 or 2,3 
  -20% 
  1-4 (like a whip) 
  -15% 
   
   
  If your attack cannot parry, it is worth an ex-
  tra -5%. 
   
  Mitigator 
  Variable 
   
  You may only apply this limitation to a disad-
  vantage. A particular item or substance – the mitigator 
  – temporarily negates your disadvantage. The more 
  effective the mitigator, the fewer points you get for the 
  disadvantage. Use the following guidelines: 
   
   
  Mitigator is vulnerable, and easily stolen, broken, 
  or misplaced (e.g., a pair of glasses). -60%. 
   
  Mitigator is a drug or other treatment that you must 
  take daily. -60%. 
   
  Mitigator is a weekly treatment. -65%. 
   
  Mitigator is a monthly treatment. -70%. 
   
   
  This assumes your treatments are available at 
  pharmacies. If you require a special (and possibly ex-
  pensive) prescription, add +5% to the values above; 
  e.g., -70% becomes -65%. If you can only get your 
  treatments from one specific source, such as an ex-
  perimental drug program, add +10%; e.g., -70% be-
  comes -60%. 
   
   
  Example 1: Bad Sight is worth -25 points. Glasses 
  cure Bad Sight while worn, but are breakable, for a -
  60% Mitigator limitation. This reduces Bad Sight to -10 
  points. 
   
  Example 2: Jan has AIDS, and would die in a 
  month without treatment. This level of Terminally Ill is 
  normally worth -100 points. Fortunately, Jan is on an 
  experimental drug plan that is holding him in remis-
  sion. The treatments are weekly (-65%) but impossible 
  to find outside his program (+10%), for a -55% Mitiga-
  tor limitation. This reduces Terminally Ill to -45 points. 
  As long as Jan stays with the program, his countdown 
  to death is halted. 
   
  Nuisance Effect 
  Variable 
   
  Your ability has a “side effect” that causes you 
  serious inconvenience. The GM must approve this lim-
  itation and determine its value in each case, and 
  should ruthlessly forbid effects that are abusive or that 
  do not genuinely limit the ability’s value. A few guide-
  lines (a given trait can have more than one of these 
  drawbacks): 
   
   
  Your ability earns a reaction penalty from those 
  around you. Perhaps it makes you look disgusting, or 
  requires you to perform some sort of distressing ritual. 
  -5% per -1 to reactions (maximum -4). 
   
  Your ability makes you obvious, limiting stealth 
  and attracting enemies. -5%. 
   
  Your ability physically inconveniences you – it at-
  tracts stinging insects, causes your armor to rust, 
  makes you ravenously hungry, etc. -5%. 
   
   
  You cannot take a valuable power as a Nuisance 
  Effect. For instance, “Kills everyone within a mile” is 
  not an acceptable Nuisance Effect! Neither can you 
  claim a limitation for a harmless nuisance. If your Ter-
  ror‡ advantage attracts gerbils instead of frightening 
  them, this is amusing, but not a limitation. 
   
  Onset 
  Variable 
   
  You must “stack” this limitation with one of Blood 
  Agent, Contact Agent, Follow-Up, Malediction, or Res-
  piratory Agent. It delays the damage or affliction 
  caused by the attack until some time after exposure. 
  The delay determines the value of the limitation. 
   
   
  
  Page 118  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Delay 
  Modifier 
  1 minute 
  -10% 
  1 hour 
  -20% 
  1 day 
  -30% 
  1 week (or more) 
  -40% 
   
   
  Delays that fall between two values use the 
  smaller limitation; e.g., 30 minutes is -10%. If you can 
  control the onset time, take Delay‡ instead. 
   
  A variant limitation is Exposure Time, which is only 
  available for attacks with Aura‡ or Persistent. Use it to 
  represent radioactivity, mildly toxic gases, etc. It works 
  just like Onset, except that the victim must be exposed 
  for the entire period to suffer the effect (or repeat it, if 
  you continue exposure). This is worth an extra -20%; 
  e.g., 1 minute is -30%. 
   
  Reduced Range 
  -10%/level 
   
  You may add this limitation to any advantage that 
  has a range; e.g., Innate Attack or Scanning Sense‡. It 
  comes in three levels, depending on the range divisor. 
   
  Range Divisor 
  Modifier 
  2 
  -10% 
  5 
  -20% 
  10 
  -30% 
   
   
  If applied to a ranged attack that has a 1/2D 
  range, each level reduces both 1/2D and Max. You 
  may reduce 1/2D only at half value (that is, “Reduced 
  1/2D” is -5%/level). You may not reduce Max 
  independently. 
   
  Resistible 
  Variable 
   
  This limitation is only available for Innate Attacks 
  that inflict fatigue or toxic damage. You must combine 
  it with one of Blood Agent, Contact Agent, Follow-Up, 
  Respiratory Agent, or Sense-Based. It represents poi-
  son, disease, or a similar effect that a sufficiently 
  healthy victim can resist or “shrug off.” 
   
  The victim gets a HT roll to avoid the effect. A re-
  sistance roll against HT-5 is worth -5%. Each +1 to the 
  roll is a worth another -5% (e.g., HT-4 is -10%, and 
  HT+4 is -50%). 
   
  If the attack is also Cyclic, the victim rolls before 
  each cycle (including the first). Success means the 
  attack ends without further injury; failure means the 
  target takes damage normally and the attack 
  continues. 
   
  Sense-Based 
  Variable 
   
  On an attack with Malediction or an ability that nor-
  mally ignores DR (e.g., Mind Control), this is a limita-
  tion. See the Sense-Based enhancement for details. 
  Temporary Disadvantage 
  Variable 
   
  You may add this limitation to any advantage that 
  can be switched off and on at will, and that takes at 
  least one second to switch. When you switch on the 
  advantage, you suffer one or more disabilities until you 
  switch it off again. This limitation is worth -1% per point 
  the temporary disadvantages are worth, to a maximum 
  of -80% 
   
   
  Example: You can use your feet as hands, but 
  can’t walk while doing so. This is Extra Arms 2 (20 
  points) with Temporary Disadvantage: Legless (-30%) 
  for 14 points. 
   
   
  The point break due to Temporary Disadvantage 
  cannot exceed 80% of the value of the original 
  disadvantage. 
   
   
  Example: You have Altered Time Rate‡ with 
  Temporary Disadvantage: Hemophilia‡ (-30%) – you 
  bleed faster, too! Since Hemophilia is worth -30 points 
  normally, the most it can be worth as a Nuisance Ef-
  fect is -24 points; therefore it reduces the cost of Al-
  tered Time Rate by 24 points (to 76 points) and not by 
  30 points (to 70 points). 
   
   
  You may only take Temporary Disadvantages that 
  could logically inconvenience you for the period of time 
  the advantage is normally on. In the case of mental 
  disadvantages (Berserk, Lecherousness, etc.), if a 
  failed self-control, roll indicates that you give in to the 
  disadvantage, you will suffer the disadvantage’s ef-
  fects until the GM rules you have regained your com-
  posure – which might be long after you deactivate the 
  advantage with this limitation! 
   
  You can also use this limitation to remove an ad-
  vantage temporarily. This is worth -1% per point the 
  negated advantage is worth, and the point break can-
  not exceed 80% of the deactivated advantage’s cost. 
  Only one of the involved advantages can take this lim-
  itation – you cannot take two advantages, both with 
  this limitation, each of which negates the other when 
  used. 
   
  Klingon C8 Dreadnought 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Page 119 
  DISADVANTAGES 
   
   
  A “disadvantage” is a problem or imperfection that 
  renders you less capable than your attributes, ad-
  vantages, and skills would indicate. In addition to the 
  traits in this chapter, this includes anything with a neg-
  ative point cost in Chapter 2: low Status, below-aver-
  age Wealth, etc. 
   
  You are probably wondering, “Why would I want to 
  give my character disadvantages?” There are two 
  good reasons: 
   
   
  1. Each disadvantage has a negative cost in char-
  acter points. Thus, disadvantages give you extra char-
  acter points, which let you improve your character in 
  other ways. But note that disadvantages limit you in 
  proportion to their cost. Be sure to read the disad-
  vantage description in full to know what you are getting 
  into!  
   
  2. An imperfection or two makes your character 
  more interesting and realistic, and adds to the fun of 
  roleplaying! 
   
  TYPES OF DISADVANTAGES 
   
  Like advantages, disadvantages are classified ac-
  cording to how they work in play and who can have 
  them. 
   
   
  Mental disadvantages originate from your mind or 
  soul. They stay with you if your mind ends up in a new 
  body. This category includes the vast majority of 
  “magical,” “psionic,” and “spiritual” traits. 
   
  Physical disadvantages are associated with your 
  body. You can escape them by moving to a new body! 
  If another mind occupies your body, the new owner 
  gains your physical disadvantages. 
   
  You can acquire a physical disadvantage during 
  play, most likely due to accident or combat. In this 
  case, you immediately suffer the bad effects of the 
  disadvantage. Unlike starting disadvantages, however, 
  physical handicaps acquired in play do not “give back” 
  points with which to buy abilities – they just lower your 
  point value! 
   
   
  Example: If you start out blind, you start with an 
  extra 50 points . . . but if an explosion blinds you dur-
  ing the game, you’re just blind and that’s that. Reduce 
  your point value by 50 points to reflect your new dis-
  advantage. You should not keep the same point total 
  and take 50 points of compensating advantages. 
   
   
  Social disadvantages are associated with your 
  identity. Should it become important to know whether 
  they go with mind or body, the GM’s word is final. Note 
  that this category includes below-average Status, 
  Wealth, and so forth from Chapter 2. 
   
  Exotic disadvantages are forbidden to normal hu-
  mans. Nonhumans may acquire such traits from their 
  Species Template, but they still need the GM’s per-
  mission to take additional exotic disadvantages. These 
  are noted in the text of the disadvantage. 
   
  Supernatural disadvantages are the result of di-
  vine intervention, magic, psionics, etc. With the GM’s 
  permission, anyone might be cursed in this way – but 
  only if supernatural powers exist in the game world. 
   
  Mundane disadvantages are everything else. They 
  are inborn, acquired, or self-imposed handicaps that 
  anyone might have.  
   
  Screening disadvantages are those disadvantages 
  which normally prevent you from taking an Academy 
  Template; for example, Blindness. This does not apply 
  if this disadvantage came to your character via a Spe-
  cies Template. These are listed before the Academy 
  Templates (p. 76). 
   
   
  The GM is the final judge of which category a 
  disadvantage belongs in. It is possible to interpret 
  certain disadvantages in more than one way! 
   
  SELF-CONTROL FOR MENTAL 
  DISADVANTAGES 
   
  Many mental disadvantages do not affect you con-
  stantly – you may attempt to control your urges. An 
  asterisk (*) appears next to the point cost of any dis-
  advantage that offers a chance to resist. For each dis-
  advantage like this, you must choose a self-control 
  number: the number you must roll on 3d to avoid giv-
  ing in. This modifies point value as follows: 
   
   
  You resist quite rarely (roll of 6 or less): 2 × listed 
  cost. 
   
  You resist fairly often (roll of 9 or less): 1.5 × listed 
  cost. 
   
  You resist quite often (roll of 12 or less): listed 
  cost. 
   
  You resist almost all the time (roll of 15 or less): 
  0.5 × listed cost. 
   
   
  Drop all fractions (e.g., -22.5 points becomes -22 
  points). 
   
  The “default” self-control number is 12: you must 
  roll 12 or less on 3d to avoid giving in to your problem. 
  This lets you use disadvantage costs as written. 
  Choose a self-control number of 15 if you wish to have 
  a tendency toward a disadvantage instead of a full-
  blown case. A self-control number of 9 will regularly 
  limit your options. A self-control number of 6 can be 
  crippling 
  (especially 
  with 
  genuine 
  psychiatric 
  problems). 
   
  Note your self-control number in parentheses after 
  the name of the disadvantage on your character sheet. 
  For instance, if you can resist Berserk on a roll of 9 or 
  less, write this as “Berserk (9).” 
   
   
   
  
  Page 120  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Self-Control Rolls 
   
  In circumstances that are likely to trigger your 
  problem, you may opt to roll 3d against your self-con-
  trol number to see whether your disadvantage actually 
  affects you. If you roll less than or equal to this num-
  ber, you resist your disadvantage – this time. Other-
  wise, you suffer the listed effects. This is called a self-
  control roll. 
   
  Like all success rolls, self-control rolls are subject 
  to modifiers. Exceptionally mild or severe stimuli can 
  give bonuses or penalties. Drugs and afflictions can 
  make you more or less likely to give in. Other disad-
  vantages can make you irritable, reducing your odds of 
  resisting. See the disadvantage descriptions for 
  details. 
   
  You never have to try a self-control roll – you can 
  always give in willingly, and it is good roleplaying to do 
  so. However, there will be times when you really need 
  to resist your urges, and that is what the roll is for. Be 
  aware that if you attempt self-control rolls too often, 
  the GM may penalize you for bad roleplaying by 
  awarding you fewer earned points. 
   
  Note that high Will helps you make Fright Checks 
  and resist supernatural emotion control, but it does not 
  improve self-control rolls – not even for disadvantages 
  with effects identical to these things. Mental disad-
  vantages represent an aspect of your personality that 
  you cannot simply will (or reason) away. This is part of 
  what makes them disadvantages! 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  “BUYING OFF” DISADVANTAGES 
   
  You may use bonus points to “buy off” many 
  disadvantages – whether you started with them or ac-
  quired them in play. This costs as many points as the 
  disadvantage originally gave you. If the GM permits, 
  you may buy off leveled disadvantages one level at a 
  time. Likewise, you can buy off those with self-control 
  numbers gradually, by raising the self-control number. 
  In both cases, the point cost is the difference between 
  your former level and your current one. 
   
   
  DISADVANTAGE LIST 
   
  Absent-Mindedness 
  -15 points 
   
  You have trouble focusing on anything not of 
  immediate interest. You have -5 on all IQ and IQ-
  based skill rolls, save those for the task you are cur-
  rently concentrating on. If no engaging task or topic 
  presents itself, your attention will drift to more inter-
  esting matters in five minutes, and you will ignore your 
  immediate surroundings until something catches your 
  attention and brings you back. Once adrift in your own 
  thoughts, you must roll against Perception-5 in order to 
  notice any event short of personal physical injury. 
   
  You may attempt to rivet your attention on a boring 
  topic through sheer strength of will. To do so, make a 
  Will-5 roll once every five minutes. “Boring topics” in-
  clude small talk, repetitive manual tasks, guard duty, 
  driving on an empty highway . . . 
   
  Absent-minded individuals also tend to forget triv-
  ial tasks (like paying the docking fee for the ship) and 
  items (like communicators or universal translators). 
  When it becomes important that you have performed 
  such a task or brought such an item, the GM should 
  call for a roll against IQ-2. On a failure, this detail 
  slipped your attention. 
   
  This is the classic disadvantage for eccentric 
  geniuses. 
   
  Addiction 
  Variable 
   
  You are addicted to a drug, which you must use 
  daily or suffer withdrawal. The value of this disad-
  vantage depends on the cost, effects, and legality of 
  the drug: 
   
  Cost (per day)  
   
  Cheap (up to 0.1% of average starting wealth): -5 
  points.  
   
  Expensive (up to 0.5% of average starting wealth): 
  -10 points.  
   
  Very expensive (more than 0.5% of average start-
  ing wealth): -20 points. 
   
  Effects 
   
  Incapacitating or hallucinogenic: -10 points.  
   
  Highly addictive (-5 on withdrawal roll): -5 points.  
   
  Totally addictive (-10 on withdrawal roll): -10 
  points. 
   
  Legality 
   
  Illegal: This is a screening disadvantage. +0 
  points.  
   
  Legal: +5 points. 
   
  Self-Imposed Mental Disadvantages 
   
  Certain mental disadvantages – Code of 
  Honor, Disciplines of Faith‡, Fanaticism, 
  Honesty, Intolerance, Sense of Duty, 
  Trademark‡, and Vow – are not psychiatric 
  problems, but beliefs or codes of conduct. Such 
  “self-imposed mental disadvantages” share two 
  features in the SFU that distinguish them from 
  other mental disadvantages: 
   
   
  They can be “bought off” with earned points 
  at any time. People really do wake up in the 
  morning and resolve to live their lives differently 
  for no apparent reason! 
   
  They cannot be caused by Afflictions, 
  drugs, brain surgery, and similar “quick and 
  dirty” behavior alteration. Such techniques can 
  create a pacifist or a maniac, but you need Mind 
  Control or prolonged Brainwashing to impose 
  anything as complex as a code of conduct. 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Page 121 
   
  Examples: Tobacco is cheap, highly addictive, and 
  legal; a chain-smoker has a -5-point Addiction. Heroin 
  is very expensive, incapacitating, totally addictive, and 
  illegal; a heroin addict has a -40-point Addiction. 
   
   
  Non-Chemical Addictions: You can take Addiction 
  to an activity instead of a drug – for instance, tele-
  pathic contact or spending time in virtual reality. If this 
  costs money, price the Addiction based on its daily 
  cost. If it is free (e.g., telepathic contact), treat it as 
  “Cheap” if it you can do it almost anywhere (telepathic 
  contact with anyone) or as “Expensive” if restrictive 
  conditions apply (telepathic contact with one specific 
  person). Such Addictions almost always cause psy-
  chological dependency (see Withdrawal, below). 
   
  Effects of Drugs 
   
  A stimulating drug leaves you feeling energized. . . 
  until it wears off. Then you are depressed and irritable. 
  An incapacitating drug renders you unconscious (or 
  just blissfully, uselessly drowsy) for about two hours. A 
  hallucinogenic drug renders you useless for work or 
  combat, though you might be active and talkative. 
  Some drugs (e.g., tobacco) have none of these 
  effects, while others have unique effects. Side effects 
  are also possible. For detailed rules, see Addictive 
  Drugs‡ (GURPS Basic Set, p. 440). 
   
  Withdrawal 
   
  Sometimes, voluntarily or otherwise, you must try 
  to give up your Addiction. Addiction to a drug that 
  causes psychological dependency is a mental disad-
  vantage; withdrawal from such a drug requires a series 
  of Will rolls, and may result in mental problems. Addic-
  tion to a drug that induces physiological dependency is 
  a physical disadvantage; withdrawal is a function of 
  your HT, and may cause physical injury. For details, 
  see Drug Withdrawal. Should you successfully with-
  draw from an Addiction, you must immediately buy off 
  this disadvantage. 
   
  Minor Addictions 
   
  For an Addiction worth only -5 points, the GM may 
  rule that the expense, stigma, and detrimental long-
  term effects of use are the whole of the disadvantage, 
  and waive the usual withdrawal rules. This is appropri-
  ate for such drugs as tobacco and caffeine. If forced to 
  go without, you must make a Will or HT roll as usual, 
  but the only effects on a failure are general anxiety, 
  irritability, or restlessness. This manifests as a tempo-
  rary -1 to DX, IQ, self-control rolls, or reaction rolls 
  (GM’s choice) – not as insanity or injury. Successive 
  failures prolong the duration of the effects; they do not 
  increase the size of the penalty. If you can make 14 
  successful rolls in succession, you must buy off your 
  Addiction. 
   
  It is also possible to create a 0-point Addiction us-
  ing these rules. Such Addictions are always Minor Ad-
  dictions, and you may take them as -1-point quirks 
  (see Quirks). 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Drug Withdrawal 
   
  Use these rules when you try to give 
  up an Addiction, either voluntarily or 
  because you are broke, imprisoned, or in a 
  place where your drug just isn’t available. 
   
  Withdrawal is a painful process that 
  requires a series of daily withdrawal rolls. It 
  normally takes 14 successful rolls to shake 
  the habit (thus, it always takes at least two 
  weeks), but the GM is free to vary this. 
  Should you manage to withdraw, you must 
  “buy off” your Addiction disadvantage 
  immediately. 
   
  The effects of withdrawal rolls depend 
  on whether the drug is physiologically or 
  psychologically addictive. 
   
   
  Physiological Dependency: Your body 
  has come to rely on the drug! Make daily 
  withdrawal rolls against HT (maximum 13). 
  Each success puts you a day closer to 
  shaking off your Addiction. The results of 
  failure depend on whether the drug is 
  available. If it is, you must give in and take 
  a dose; if you still want to try to withdraw, 
  you must restart the process from day one. 
  If the drug is not available, you take 1 HP 
  of injury and may continue the process  . . .  
  but that day doesn’t count toward the 14 
  successful rolls needed to withdraw. You 
  cannot naturally recover HP lost to 
  withdrawal until you either succeed or 
  abandon the attempt. Note that competent 
  medical care (Physician skill 12+) can heal 
  the lost HP.  
   
  Psychological Dependency: You’ve 
  convinced yourself that you cannot function 
  without the drug. Make withdrawal rolls 
  against Will (maximum 13). Use the 
  physiological dependency rules, except 
  that if you fail a rill and the drug is 
  unavailable, you don’t take injury. Instead 
  you gain -1 point of drug-related quirks, 
  chosen by the GM. These vanish if you 
  give in and take a dose of the drug (but 
  then you must restart the process). If you 
  don’t give in, these quirks grow into 
  progressively more severe mental 
  disadvantages. If you make 14 successful 
  Will rolls, you withdraw – but you must 
  make one final Will roll. On a failure, you 
  keep any quirks or disadvantages incurred 
  along the way. 
   
  
  Page 122  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Appearance 
  see p. 31 
   
  Below-average appearance is a disadvantage, 
  and should be noted as such on your character sheet. 
   
  Bad Grip 
  -5 points/level 
   
  You have a penalty on tasks that require a firm 
  grip. Each level (maximum three levels) gives -2 with 
  such tasks. This penalty is overall – not per hand. Af-
  fected tasks include melee weapon use, climbing, 
  catching things, and anything else the GM deems re-
  quires a firm grip (e.g., an Acrobatics roll to catch a 
  trapeze). 
   
  This disadvantage is mutually exclusive with No 
  Fine Manipulators. 
   
  Bad Sight 
  -25 points 
   
  You have poor vision. This applies to all your vis-
  ual senses: regular vision, Infravision, Ultravision‡, etc. 
  You may be nearsighted or farsighted – your choice. 
   
   
  Nearsighted: You cannot read small print, com-
  puter displays, etc., at more than about 10 yards. You 
  are at -6 to Vision rolls to spot items more than one 
  yard away. When making a melee attack, you are at -2 
  to skill. When making a ranged attack, double the ac-
  tual distance to the target when calculating the range 
  modifier. -25 points. 
   
  Farsighted: You cannot read text except with great 
  difficulty (triple normal time). You are at -6 Vision rolls 
  to spot items within one yard, and you have -3 to DX 
  on any close manual task, including close combat. -25 
  points. 
   
  Special Limitations 
   
  Mitigator: At TL5+, you can acquire glasses that 
  compensate totally for Bad Sight while they are worn. 
  At TL7+, contact lenses are available. In both cases, 
  remember that accidents can happen . . . and that en-
  emies can deprive you of these items. In the SFU, if 
  you take Bad Sight, you must take this limita-
  tion. -60%. 
   
  Bad Temper 
  -10 points* 
   
  You are not in full control of your emotions. Make 
  a self-control roll in any stressful situation. If you fail, 
  you lose your temper and must insult, attack, or other-
  wise act against the cause of the stress. 
   
  Berserk 
  -10 points* 
   
  You tend to rampage out of control when you or a 
  loved one is harmed, making frenzied attacks against 
  whoever or whatever you see as the cause of the 
  trouble. If you also suffer from Bad Temper (above), 
  any stress may trigger Berserk. This is a screening 
  disadvantage. 
   
  Make a self-control roll any time you suffer dam-
  age over 1/4 your HP in the space of one second, and 
  whenever you witness equivalent harm to a loved one. 
  If you fail, you go berserk. You go berserk automati-
  cally if you fail a self-control roll for Bad Temper! You 
  may deliberately go berserk by taking the Concentrate 
  maneuver and making a successful Will roll. Once you 
  are berserk, the following rules apply: 
   
   
  If armed with a hand weapon, you must make an 
  All-Out Attack each turn a foe is in range. If no foe is in 
  range, you must use a Move maneuver to get as close 
  as possible to a foe – and if you can Move and Attack, 
  or end your Move with a slam, you will. 
   
  If the enemy is more than 20 yards away, you may 
  attack with a ranged weapon if you have one, but you 
  may not take the Aim maneuver. If using a phaser (or 
  other beam weapon), you fire at your maximum rate of 
  fire until your phaser is drained or your foe is no more. 
  (For any weapon, you cannot reload or change bat-
  teries unless your weapon – and your Fast-Draw skill – 
  lets you reload without thought, meaning it can take no 
  more than one second.) Once the phaser is drained, 
  you must either draw another phaser or charge into 
  melee combat. 
   
  You are immune to stun and shock, and your inju-
  ries cause no penalty to your Move score. You make 
  all rolls to remain conscious or alive at +4 to HT. If you 
  don’t fail any rolls, you remain alive and madly attack-
  ing until you reach -5xHP. Then you fall – dead! 
   
  When you down a foe, you may (if you wish) at-
  tempt another self-control roll to see if you snap out of 
  the berserk state. If you fail (or do not roll), you remain 
  berserk and attack the next foe. Treat any friend who 
  attempts to restrain you as a foe! You get to roll again 
  each time you down a foe, and you get one extra roll 
  when no more foes remain. If you are still berserk, you 
  start to attack your friends … 
   
   
  Once you snap out of the berserk state, all your 
  wounds immediately affect you. Roll at normal HT to 
  see whether you remain conscious and alive. 
   
  Special Enhancements 
   
  Battle Rage: You go berserk in any combat situa-
  tion, regardless of whether you have been injured. To 
  avoid this, you must make a self-control roll when you 
  first enter combat (even a barroom brawl or a boxing 
  match). +50%. 
   
  Blindness 
  -50 points 
   
  You cannot see at all. In unfamiliar territory, you 
  must travel slowly and carefully, or have a companion 
  or guide animal lead you. Many actions are impossible 
  for you; the GM should use common sense. Note that 
  without some form of technological mitigation, this is a 
  screening disadvantage. 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Page 123 
   
  You are at -6 to all combat skills. You can use 
  hand weapons, but you cannot target a particular hit 
  location. If using a ranged weapon, you can only at-
  tack randomly, or engage targets so close that you can 
  hear them. All this assumes you are accustomed to 
  blindness. If you suddenly lose your eyesight, you fight 
  at -10, just as if you were in total darkness. In either 
  case, you suffer no extra penalties for operating in the 
  dark. 
   
  If you have Blindness, you cannot purchase super-
  human vision abilities. If you see in a spectrum other 
  than the visible one, you have the 0-point version of 
  Infravision or Ultravision‡ – not Blindness and the 10-
  point version of one of those advantages. Note that 
  Scanning Sense‡ and Vibration Sense are not vision; 
  you may take either of these traits in conjunction with 
  Blindness at the usual point costs. 
   
  Bloodlust 
  -10 points* 
   
  You want to see your foes dead. In battle, you 
  must go for killing blows, and put in an extra shot to 
  make sure of a downed foe. You must make a self-
  control roll whenever you need to accept a surrender, 
  evade a sentry, take a prisoner, etc. If you fail, you 
  attempt to kill your foe instead – even if that means 
  breaking the law, compromising stealth, wasting 
  ammo, or violating orders. Out of combat, you never 
  forget that a foe is a foe. This is a screening 
  disadvantage. 
   
  This may seem a truly evil trait, but many fictional 
  heroes suffer from it. The hero is not a fiend or sadist; 
  his animosity is limited to “legitimate” enemies, be they 
  criminals, enemy soldiers, of feuding clansmen. He 
  often has a good reason for feeling as he does. On the 
  other hand, a policeman would soon be up on 
  charges, and a crew member on a starship would risk 
  a court-martial. 
   
  Bully 
  -10 points* 
   
  You like to push people around whenever you can 
  get away with it. Depending on your personality and 
  position, this might take the form of physical attacks, 
  intellectual harassment, or social “cutting.” Make a 
  self-control roll to avoid gross bullying when you know 
  you shouldn’t – but to roleplay your character properly, 
  you should bully anybody you can. Since nobody likes 
  a bully, others react to you at -2. 
   
  Callous 
  -5 points 
   
  You are merciless, if not cruel. You can decipher 
  others’ emotions, but you do so only to manipulate 
  them – you don’t care about their feelings or pain. This 
  gives you -3 on all Teaching rolls, on Psychology rolls 
  made to help others (as opposed to deduce weak-
  nesses or conduct scientific research), and on any skill 
  roll made to interact with those who have suffered the 
  consequences of your callousness in the past (GM’s 
  decision). As well, past victims, and anyone with Em-
  pathy, react to you at -1. But ruthlessness has its 
  perks: you get an extra +1 to Interrogation and Intimi-
  dation rolls when you use threats or torture. 
   
  Cannot Speak 
  -15 or -25 points 
   
  You have a limited capacity for speech. This trait 
  comes in two levels: 
   
   
  Cannot Speak: You can make vocal sounds (bark, 
  growl, trill, etc., as appropriate), but your speech or-
  gans are incapable of the subtle modulations required 
  for language. You may still have the Mimicry‡ or Voice 
  advantage, or the Disturbing Voice‡ disadvantage (but 
  not Stuttering‡). Most animals have this trait. -15 
  points. 
   
  Mute: You cannot vocalize at all. All communica-
  tions with others must be nonverbal: writing, sign lan-
  guage, Morse code, telepathy, etc. Time spent com-
  municating this way counts at full value for study of the 
  related skills. No roll is required (or allowed!) when you 
  try to communicate with PCs who don’t know your sign 
  language – roleplay this on your own! You cannot 
  have any other voice-related traits. This is a screening 
  disadvantage if it cannot be mitigated in some way that 
  the GM approves. -25 points. 
   
  Chummy 
  -5 or -10 points 
   
  You work well with others and seek out company. 
  This trait comes in two levels: 
   
   
  Chummy: You react to others at +2 most of the 
  time. When alone, you are unhappy and distracted, 
  and suffer a -1 penalty to IQ-based skills. -5 points. 
   
  Gregarious: You usually react to others at +4. You 
  are miserable when alone, and use IQ-based skills at -
  2, or at -1 if in a group of four or less. -10 points. 
   
  Code of Honor 
  -5 to -15 points 
   
  You take pride in a set of principles that you follow 
  at all times. The specifics can vary, but they always 
  involve “honorable” behavior. You will do nearly any-
  thing – perhaps even risk death – to avoid the label 
  “dishonorable” (whatever that means).  
   
  You must do more than pay lip service to a set of 
  principles to get points for a Code of Honor. You must 
  be a true follower of the Code! This is a disadvantage 
  because it often requires dangerous – if not reckless – 
  behavior. Furthermore, you can often be forced into 
  unfair situations, because your foes know you are 
  honorable. 
   
  Code of Honor is not the same as Duty or Sense 
  of Duty. A samurai or British grenadier marches into 
  battle against fearful odds out of duty, not for his per-
  sonal honor (though of course he would lose honor by 
  fleeing). The risks you take for your honor are solely 
  on your own account. 
  
  Page 124  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
   
  The point value of a particular Code of Honor de-
  pends on how much trouble it is liable to get you into 
  and how arbitrary and irrational its requirements are. 
  An informal Code that applies only among your peers 
  is worth -5 points. A formal Code that applies only 
  among peers, or an informal one that applies all the 
  time, is worth -10 points. A formal Code that applies all 
  the time, or that requires suicide if broken, is worth -15 
  points. The GM has the final say! Some examples: 
   
   
  Code of Honor (Professional): Adhere to the ethics 
  of your profession; always do your job to the best of 
  your ability; support your professional association. This 
  is most suitable for lawyers and physicians (Hippo-
  cratic Oath), but dedicated tradesmen, merchants, and 
  so forth may have a similar Code. -5 points. 
   
  Code of Honor (Obey the Prime Directive): You 
  follow the Prime Directive (p. 302), but if you discover 
  a problem with someone else breaking it, you can 
  pass the word on to Star Fleet. -5 points. 
   
  Code of Honor (Soldier’s): An officer should be 
  tough but fair, lead from the front, and look out for his 
  men; an enlisted man should look out for his buddies 
  and take care of his kit. Every soldier should be willing 
  to fight and die for the honor of his unit, service, and 
  country; follow orders; obey the “rules of war”: treat an 
  honorable enemy with respect (a dishonorable enemy 
  deserves to be shot); and wear the uniform with pride. 
  -10 points. 
   
  Code of Honor (Uphold the Prime Directive): You 
  actively uphold the Prime Directive (p. 302). You will 
  fight to defend those under its protection. -10 points 
   
  Cold-Blooded 
  -5 or -10 points 
   
  Your body temperature fluctuates with the temper-
  ature of the environment. You are less susceptible to 
  damage from high or low body temperature (+2 HT to 
  resist the effects of temperature), and require only 1/3 
  the food needed by a warm-blooded being of equal 
  mass, but you tend to “stiffen up” in cold weather. This 
  is an exotic disadvantage that requires the GM’s per-
  mission to add. 
   
  After 30 minutes in cold conditions (or one hour if 
  you have any level of Temperature Tolerance), you get 
  -1 to Basic Speed and DX per 10below your “thresh-
  old temperature” (see below). At temperatures below 
  32, you must roll vs. HT or take 1 HP of damage. 
  Warm clothing gives +2 to this roll.  
   
  You regain lost Basic Speed and DX at the rate of 
  one point of each per hour once you return to a warm 
  climate. Double this rate in an exceptionally warm 
  environment.  
   
  Point 
  value 
  depends 
  on 
  your 
  “threshold 
  temperature”: 
   
   
  You “stiffen up” below 50: -5 points. 
   
  You “stiffen up” below 65: -10 points. 
   
   
  Combat Paralysis 
  -15 points 
   
  You tend to “freeze up” in combat situations, and 
  receive -2 to all Fright Checks. This has nothing to do 
  with Cowardice – you may be brave, but your body 
  betrays you. 
   
  In any situation in which personal harm seems 
  imminent, make a HT roll. Do not roll until the instant 
  you need to fight, run, pull the trigger, or whatever. 
  Any roll over 13 is a failure, even if you have HT 14+. 
  On a success, you can act normally. On a failure, you 
  are mentally stunned (p. 215). Make another HT roll 
  every second, at a cumulative +1 per turn after the 
  first, to break the freeze. A quick slap from a friend 
  gives +1 to your cumulative roll. 
   
  Once you unfreeze, you will not freeze again until 
  the immediate danger is over. Then, in the next dan-
  gerous situation, you may freeze once again. 
   
  This trait is the opposite of Combat Reflexes. You 
  cannot have both. 
   
  Compulsive Behavior 
  -5 to -15 points* 
   
  You have a habit – often a vice – that wastes a 
  good deal of your time or money. You must indulge at 
  least once per day, if at all possible, and do so any 
  time you have the opportunity unless you can make a 
  self-control roll. You seek to avoid any situation where 
  you know you will be unable to indulge for more than a 
  day. You must make a self-control roll to enter into 
  such a situation; if you succeed (or are forced into the 
  situation), you suffer from Bad Temper the whole time, 
  with the same self-control roll as your Compulsive Be-
  havior. It’s bad roleplaying to try to avoid your compul-
  sion regularly!  
   
  The point value of this disadvantage depends on 
  how much your habit costs and how much trouble it is 
  likely to get you into. The GM is the final judge. For 
  example, Compulsive Gambling and Compulsive Gen-
  erosity are -5-point disadvantages, but Compulsive 
  Lying is a -15-point disadvantage. 
   
  Compulsive Behaviors can be a screening disad-
  vantage. If your compulsion is minor, you can usually 
  convince the board that you can function in one of the 
  services. If your compulsion is major (-10 points), only 
  rarely will the board rule in your favor. Severe compul-
  sions (-15 points) will keep you out of the academies. 
   
  Cowardice 
  -10 points 
   
  You are extremely careful about your physical 
  well-being. Make a self-control roll any time you are 
  called on to risk physical danger. Roll at -5 if you must 
  risk death. If you fail, you must refuse to endanger 
  yourself unless threatened with greater danger! This is 
  a screening disadvantage. 
   
  Cowardice gives a penalty to Fright Checks when-
  ever physical danger is involved: 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Page 125 
  Self-Control 
  Number 
  Fright Check 
  Penalty 
  6 
  -4 
  9 
  -3 
  12 
  -2 
  15 
  -1 
   
   
  In some times and places, soldiers, police, etc. 
  react to you at a similar penalty if they know you are a 
  coward. 
   
  Curious 
  -5 points* 
   
  You are naturally very inquisitive. This is not the 
  curiosity that affects all PCs (“What’s in that cave? 
  Where did the flying saucer come from?”), but the real 
  thing (“What happens if I push this button?”). 
   
  Make a self-control roll when presented with an 
  interesting item or situation. If you fail, you examine it 
  – push buttons, pull levers, open doors, unwrap pre-
  sents, etc. – even if you know it could be dangerous. 
  Good roleplayers won’t try to make this roll very often  
  . . . 
   
  In general, you do everything in your power to in-
  vestigate any situation with which you aren’t 100% 
  familiar. When faced with a real mystery, you simply 
  cannot turn your back on it. You try to rationalize your 
  curiosity to others who try to talk you out of it. Com-
  mon Sense doesn’t help – you know you are taking a 
  risk, but you’re curious anyway! 
   
  Deafness 
  -20 points 
   
  You cannot hear anything. You must receive infor-
  mation in writing (if you are literate) or sign language. 
  Note that without some form of technological mitiga-
  tion, this is a screening disadvantage. However, time 
  you spend communicating this way counts at full value 
  for study of the skills used (Gesture‡, Lip-Reading‡, 
  etc). 
   
  Delusions 
  -5 to -15 points 
   
  You believe something that simply is not true. This 
  may cause others to consider you insane. And they 
  may be right! If you suffer from a Delusion, you must 
  roleplay your belief at all times. The point value of the 
  Delusion depends on its nature. 
   
   
  A Minor Delusion affects your behavior, and any-
  one around you will soon notice it (and react at -1), but 
  it does not keep you from functioning more-or-less 
  normally. -5 points. 
   
  A Major Delusion strongly affects your behavior, 
  but does not keep you from living a fairly normal life. 
  Others will react to you at -2. -10 points. 
   
  A Severe Delusion affects your behavior so much 
  that it may keep you from functioning in the everyday 
  world. Others react to you at -3, but they are more 
  likely to fear or pity you than to attack. -15 points. 
   
   
  Delusions can be a screening disadvantage. If 
  your delusion is minor, you can usually convince the 
  board that you can function in one of the services. If 
  your delusion is major, only rarely will the board rule in 
  your favor. Severe delusions will keep you out of the 
  academies. 
   
  Dependency 
  Variable 
   
  You must regularly ingest a substance (e.g., a 
  drug or magic potion), touch or carry an object (e.g., a 
  holy shrine or magical amulet), or spend time in an 
  environment (e.g., your coffin or your home country, 
  planet, or plane) in order to survive. If you fail to do so, 
  you start to lose HP and will eventually die. This is an 
  exotic disadvantage that requires the GM’s permission 
  to add. Furthermore, this is a screening disadvantage. 
  Point value depends on the rarity of the item you de-
  pend on: 
   
   
  Rare (cannot be bought; must be found or made): 
  -30 points. 
   
  Occasional (very expensive or hard to find): -20 
  points. 
   
  Common (expensive, somewhat hard to find): -10 
  points. 
   
  Very Common (available almost anywhere): -5 
  points. 
   
   
  Add -5 points to these values for items that are 
  illegal in your game world. Apply a multiplier based on 
  the frequency with which you must receive the item: 
   
   
  Constantly: You must carry and use the substance 
  at all times – for example, an exotic atmosphere. Lose 
  1 HP per minute without the substance. ×5. 
   
  Hourly: Lose 1 HP per 10 minutes after missing an 
  hourly dose. ×4. 
   
  Daily: Lose 1 HP per hour after missing a daily 
  dose. ×3. 
   
  Weekly: Lose 1 HP per six hours after missing a 
  weekly dose. ×2. 
   
  Monthly: Lose 1 HP per day after missing a 
  monthly dose. ×1. 
   
  Seasonally: Lose 1 HP per three days after miss-
  ing a seasonal dose (a “season” is three months for 
  this purpose). ×1/3 (drop all fractions). 
   
  Yearly: Lose 1 HP per two weeks after missing a 
  yearly dose. ×1/10 (drop all fractions). 
   
   
  If you need to touch an object or spend time in an 
  environment, you must do so for time equal to your 
  damage interval in order to avoid damage. For in-
  stance, to avoid losing 1 HP per hour to a daily De-
  pendency on rest in your coffin, you must spend at 
  least one hour per day in your coffin. To avoid losing 1 
  HP every two weeks to a yearly Dependency on 
  
  Page 126  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  visiting your home planet, you must visit your home 
  planet for at least two weeks per year. 
   
  With the GM’s permission, normal humans may 
  take this disadvantage to represent the special re-
  quirements of certain chronic illnesses. 
   
  Special Enhancements 
   
  Aging: You age unnaturally without the item you 
  depend on. For each HP lost, you also age two years 
  (even if you are normally Unaging‡). +30%. 
   
  Dependents 
  Variable 
   
  A “Dependent” is an NPC for whom you are 
  responsible; e.g., your child, kid brother, or spouse. 
  You must take care of your Dependents. Furthermore, 
  your foes can strike at you through them. (If you have 
  both an Enemy and a Dependent, and the dice indi-
  cate that both appear, then the GM can build an entire 
  adventure around this theme!) 
   
  If your Dependent ends up kidnapped or otherwise 
  in danger during play, you must go to the rescue as 
  soon as possible. If you don’t go to his aid immedi-
  ately, the GM can deny you bonus character points for 
  “acting out of character.” Furthermore, you never earn 
  any character points for a game session in which your 
  Dependent is killed or badly hurt. 
   
  Three factors determine the disadvantage value of 
  a Dependent: his competence, his importance (to 
  you!), and his frequency of appearance. 
   
  Competence 
   
  Specify the number of points your Dependent is 
  built on. The more points you use to “build” your De-
  pendent, the more competent he will be, and the fewer 
  points he will be worth as a disadvantage. “Point Total” 
  is the Dependent’s point total as a fraction of the PC’s, 
  except for the last line, which is absolute; “Cost” is the 
  number of character points the disadvantage is worth. 
   
  Point Total 
  Cost 
  No more than 100% 
  -1 point 
  Mo more than 75% 
  -2 points 
  No more than 50% 
  -5 points 
  No more than 25% 
  -10 points 
  0 or fewer points 
  -15 points 
   
   
  The same person can be both a Dependent and 
  an Ally (p. 82)! Add the cost of Ally and Dependent 
  together, and treat the combination as a single trait: an 
  advantage if the total point cost is positive, a disad-
  vantage if it is negative. You must use the same point 
  total for him in both cases, but frequency of appear-
  ance can differ. Roll separately for his appearance as 
  a Dependent and as an Ally. If he appears as a De-
  pendent, he shows up in a way that causes you trou-
  ble (e.g., he’s captured). If he appears as an Ally, he 
  manages to be helpful and take care of himself. If he 
  appears as both, he is helpful and troublesome at the 
  same time; for instance, he uses his skills to assist 
  you, but also wanders off, is singled out by the enemy, 
  or otherwise causes problems equal to the assistance 
  he offers. 
   
  Importance 
   
  The more important your Dependent is to you, the 
  more you multiply his intrinsic “nuisance value” and 
  worth in points. 
   
   
  Employer or acquaintance: You feel a responsibil-
  ity toward this person, but you may weigh risks to him 
  in a rational fashion. ×1/2. 
   
  Friend: You must always try to protect this person. 
  You may only risk harm to him if something very im-
  portant (such as the safety of many other people) is at 
  stake. ×1. 
   
  Loved one: The Dependent is a relative or a lover. 
  You may not put anything before his safety! ×2. 
   
  Frequency of Appearance 
   
  Choose a frequency of appearance, as explained 
  under Frequency of Appearance (p. 83). This should fit 
  the “story” behind the Dependent. If the Dependent 
  were your infant child, for instance, it would be odd for 
  him to appear “quite rarely”! 
   
  Multiple Dependents 
   
  You cannot earn points for more than two Depend-
  ents. However, if you have a group of Dependents, 
  you may count the entire group as your two Depend-
  ents. Work out the value of an average member of the 
  group as a Dependent, and then claim twice this point 
  value. 
   
   
  Example: A vigilante who is a schoolteacher by 
  day could have “generic dependents”: all pupils. They 
  are young (-10 points), around “quite often” (×2), and 
  count as “friends” (×1), for -20 points each. However, 
  the two-Dependent limit lets the hero claim -40 points’ 
  worth of Dependents. (And if one gets hurt, there are 
  always others.) 
   
  Dependents in Play 
   
  As you earn points, the GM will scale your 
  Dependent’s abilities proportionally to keep his point 
  total a fixed percentage of your own. Thus, his value 
  as a disadvantage will not change. Children grow up, 
  adults earn money, and everyone learns new skills. 
  Dependents who spend a lot of time around you might 
  become adventurers in their own right. You are free to 
  suggest reasonable improvements for your Depend-
  ents, but the GM’s word is final. 
   
  If your Dependent is killed, or so seriously injured 
  that the GM decides he is effectively out of the cam-
  paign, you must make up the bonus points you got for 
  him. You have three options: buy off the amount by 
  spending earned character points, take a new disad-
  vantage (e.g., Chronic Depression‡), or get a new De-
  pendent. New Dependents are usually inappropriate, 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Page 127 
  but a mental disability brought on by the loss is a good 
  solution. (Ever since the octopus got Amy, you’ve 
  been afraid of the ocean . . .) 
   
  Examples of Dependents 
   
  For anyone: elderly relatives, teachers, friends, 
  children, younger brothers or sisters, lovers, husbands 
  or wives. 
   
  For crimefighters: young sidekicks, reporters, or 
  wards. 
   
  For ship captains (ocean- or space-going): en-
  signs or cabin boys. 
   
  For soldiers: orphans or new recruits. 
   
  For criminals or mad scientists: incompetent 
  henchmen. 
   
  Duty 
  Variable 
   
  If your occupation and social situation saddle you 
  with a significant personal obligation toward others, 
  and occasionally require you to obey hazardous or-
  ders, you have a “Duty.” Duty most often accompanies 
  Rank (p. 37), a Patron (p. 98) or one of the traits dis-
  cussed under Privilege (p. 38). 
   
  A particularly arduous job might qualify as a Duty, 
  but most ordinary jobs would not. A wholly self-im-
  posed feeling of duty is not a Duty, either (but it can 
  still be a disadvantage; see Sense of Duty). Finally, 
  you cannot claim points for a Duty toward Dependents; 
  the points you get for Dependents already reflect your 
  obligations in the regard. 
   
  The GM may restrict the Duties allowed in a cam-
  paign, or even forbid them entirely, if he feels they 
  would unduly disrupt the flow of the adventure. 
   
  If you have a Duty, the GM rolls at the beginning 
  of each adventure to see whether it comes into play. 
  Being “called to duty” could delay your plans . . . or be 
  the reason for the adventure! Alternatively, your mas-
  ter might give you a secret agenda to pursue, or his 
  associates might harass you while you are officially 
  “on leave.” If you try to avoid your Duty, your GM is 
  within his rights to penalize you for bad roleplaying. 
   
  The basic point cost of a Duty depends on the fre-
  quency with which comes up in play: 
   
   
  Almost all the time (roll of 15 or less): -15 points. 
  At this level, the GM may rule that you are always on 
  duty. 
   
  Quite often (roll of 12 or less): -10 points. 
   
  Fairly often (roll of 9 or less): -5 points. 
   
  Quite rarely (roll of 6 or less): -2 points. 
   
   
  These costs are for an occasionally hazardous 
  Duty imposed through normal social means. If this 
  does not describe your Duty, you should modify the 
  cost: 
   
   
  Extremely Hazardous: You are always at risk of 
  death or serious injury when your Duty comes up. 
  There are significant penalties if you refuse to take 
  these risks: dismissal in disgrace, imprisonment, per-
  haps even death. The GM has the final say as to 
  whether a given Duty is “extremely hazardous” in his 
  campaign. -5 points. 
   
  Involuntary: Your Duty is enforced by threats to 
  you or your loved ones, or is imposed by exotic mind 
  control, a curse, etc. This is unrelated to how hazard-
  ous the Duty is when you carry it out – the danger here 
  lies in what will happen if you don’t carry it out! A Duty 
  can be Involuntary and either Extremely Hazardous or 
  Nonhazardous. -5 points. 
   
  Nonhazardous: Your Duty never requires you to 
  risk your life. This option is mutually exclusive with Ex-
  tremely Hazardous. +5 points. (If this raises the cost of 
  your Duty to 0 points or more, the obligation is too 
  trivial to qualify as a Duty.) 
   
  Examples 
   
   
  Example 1: A governor is indebted to the Orion 
  Pirate crimelord who got him elected. His benefactor 
  rarely calls on him for favors (-2 points), but since the 
  governor faces blackmail or violence if he refuses to 
  comply, his Duty is Involuntary. Duty (Crimelord, 6 or 
  less; Involuntary) is worth -7 points. 
   
  Example 2: A Prime Team member is always on 
  duty (-15 points). He might see only a handful of com-
  bat missions in his whole career, but these will be 
  deadly. And his daily routine calls for him to do haz-
  ardous training. A Prime Team member has Duty (Star 
  Fleet, 15 or less; Extremely Hazardous), for -20 points. 
   
  Enemies 
  Variable 
   
  An “Enemy” is an NPC, group of NPCs, or 
  organization that actively works against you, person-
  ally, on your adventures. Some Enemies want to kill 
  you . . . others have more devious goals. 
   
  Determine the nature of your Enemy when you 
  create your character, and explain to the GM why the 
  Enemy is after you. The GM is free to fill in additional 
  details as he sees fit. 
   
  Three factors determine the disadvantage value of 
  an Enemy: its power, its intent, and its frequency of 
  appearance. 
   
  Power 
   
  The more powerful the Enemy, the more points it 
  is worth as a disadvantage. The GM sets this value. 
  Note that when your Enemy is an organization, the 
  point value is based on the number of individuals who 
  are after you – not on the total size of the group! 
   
   
  One person, less powerful than the PC (built on 
  about 50% of the PC’s starting points). -5 points. 
   
  One person, equal in power to the PC (built on 
  about 100% of the PC’s starting points), or a small 
  group of less-powerful people (3 to 5 people). 
  Examples: A mad scientist, or the four brothers of the 
  man you killed in a duel. -10 points. 
  
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
   
  One person, more powerful than the PC (built on 
  at least 150% of the PC’s starting points), or a me-
  dium-sized group of less-powerful people (6 to 20 
  people). Examples: a single superhuman or a city po-
  lice department (which numbers in the hundreds, but 
  they’re not all after you at once). -20 points. 
   
  A large group of less-powerful people (21 to 1,000 
  people), or a medium-sized group that includes some 
  formidable or superhuman individuals. Examples: the 
  FBI or the Mafia. -30 points. 
   
  An entire government, most of the Orion Pirate 
  cartels, or some other utterly formidable group. -40 
  points. 
   
  Special Cases 
   
  There are two special cases for which you should 
  adjust the costs given above before multiplying for in-
  tent and frequency of appearance: 
   
   
  Evil Twin: Your Enemy looks and sounds like you, 
  and perhaps even uses your name, but acts com-
  pletely opposite. Often, others will think you suffer from 
  Split Personality‡, and react appropriately (-3 to reac-
  tions). You might never meet your Evil Twin, but you 
  will hear about him – usually when you’re taking the 
  blame for something you didn’t do. Normally, an Evil 
  Twin has exactly the same skills and abilities as you, 
  but his mental disadvantages are opposite or skewed. 
  This makes him an even match: a -10-point Enemy. If 
  he is more capable than you, he is worth extra points, 
  because he is better equipped to make you look in-
  sane, and you are less able to predict and thwart his 
  actions. 
   
   
  Evil Twin is more skilled than you or possesses 
  abilities that you do not (GM decides): -5 points. 
   
  Evil Twin is more skilled than you and possesses 
  abilities that you do not (GM decides): -10 points. 
   
   
  Unknown: You know you have an Enemy, but you 
  have no idea who it is. Tell the GM the power level of 
  your Enemy. He will create the Enemy in secret and 
  give you no details whatsoever! The advantage of sur-
  prise increases your Enemy’s effective power level, 
  and hence its disadvantage value. -5 points. 
   
  Intent 
   
  The more unpleasant the Enemy’s intentions, the 
  more you multiply its worth in points. 
   
   
  Watcher: Your Enemy stalks you or spies on you. 
  This is annoying, and makes it hard to keep secrets, 
  but it is rarely more than a minor inconvenience. Ex-
  amples: an aggressive journalist dogging a politician, 
  detectives shadowing a suspected criminal. ×1/4. 
   
  Rival: Your Enemy wishes to upstage or inconven-
  ience you, or plays cruel practical jokes on you (this is 
  typical of most Evil Twins), but stops short of anything 
  that would do lasting harm. Examples: a politician’s 
  bitter political rival, detectives harassing a suspected 
  criminal. ×1/2. 
   
  Hunter: The Enemy intends to arrest, bankrupt, 
  injure, or otherwise harm you in some lasting way – or 
  simply wants to kill you. Examples: an assassin gun-
  ning for a politician, detectives out to arrest a sus-
  pected criminal. ×1. 
   
  Frequency of Appearance 
   
  Choose a frequency of appearance, as explained 
  under Frequency of Appearance (p. 83). Roll at the 
  beginning of each adventure, or at the start of each 
  session of a continuing adventure. 
   
  Limits on Enemies 
   
  You may not take more than two Enemies, or 
  claim more than -60 points in Enemies. (If the whole 
  U.S. government is out to get you, the fact that your 
  old college professor has lost his mind, and is also 
  after you, pales to insignificance.) 
   
  Enemies in Play 
   
  If the dice indicate that an Enemy should show up, 
  the GM must decide how and where the Enemy be-
  comes involved. If an Enemy is very powerful, or if a 
  number of different Enemies show up at the same 
  time, this may influence the whole adventure. 
   
  If you take an extremely powerful Enemy, you are 
  likely to be jailed or killed before long. So it goes. You 
  can get a 60-point bonus by taking Enemy (FBI, 12 or 
  less; Hunter), but your every adventure will be that of a 
  hunted criminal. Even with an extra 60 points, your 
  career may be short. 
   
  If you start with a weak Enemy, or play cleverly, 
  you might manage to eliminate your foe or perma-
  nently change his attitude toward you. But as the say-
  ing goes, “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.” If 
  you get rid of an Enemy, you have three choices: 
   
   
  1. Pay enough character points to buy off the origi-
  nal bonus you got for that Enemy. 
   
  2. Take a disadvantage to make up for the point 
  bonus. For instance, you might have been kicked in 
  the head during the final battle, leaving you partially 
  deaf. Or a giant spider-like alien might have attacked 
  you, leaving you with arachnophobia. The new disad-
  vantage should have the same point cost as your for-
  mer Enemy (or less, if you want to buy off part of the 
  disadvantage). If you cannot think of a good substitute 
  disadvantage, the GM will be more than happy to sup-
  ply one! 
   
  3. Take a new Enemy of equal value. You might 
  have destroyed the fiendish Pirate Diablo – but his 
  brother is continuing his evil work. 
   
  Extra Sleep 
  -2 points/level 
   
  You need more sleep than most people. A normal 
  human requires 8 hours of sleep per night. Each level 
  (maximum of four levels; four levels is a screening 
  disadvantage) means you need one additional hour of 
  sleep. Thus, you must go to bed early or sleep in for a 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Page 129 
  few hours each day. This gives you less time each day 
  in which to study or work on other projects. 
   
  Fanaticism 
  -15 points 
   
  You believe so strongly in a country, organization, 
  philosophy, or religion that you put it ahead of every-
  thing else. You might even be willing to die for it! If the 
  object of your Fanaticism demands obedience to a 
  code of behavior or loyalty to a leader, you oblige will-
  ingly and unquestioningly. You must roleplay your un-
  wavering dedication. 
   
  Fanaticism does not make you mindless or evil. A 
  glaring priest of Set, brandishing his bloody dagger, is 
  a fanatic. But so is a kamikaze pilot, exchanging him-
  self for an aircraft carrier. And so is a patriot who says, 
  “Give me liberty or give me death!” Fanaticism is a 
  state of mind; it is what you are fanatic about that 
  makes the difference. 
   
   
  Extreme Fanaticism: This is an advanced case of 
  Fanaticism. You get +3 on Will rolls to resist Brain-
  washing, Interrogation, and supernatural mind control 
  in any situation where failure to resist would lead to 
  betrayal of your cult or organization. On the other 
  hand, you will not hesitate to die for your cause, and 
  will undertake suicide missions “matter-of-factly.” This 
  is still worth -15 points. Your willingness to die is offset 
  by the significant bonus to Will (which will apply a good 
  deal of the time, if you are roleplaying properly). 
   
  Fat 
  see p. 29 
   
  Fearfulness 
  -2 points/level 
   
  You are nervous and timid. Subtract your Fearful-
  ness from your Will whenever you make a Fright 
  Check, and whenever you must resist the Intimidation 
  skill or any power that causes fear. As well, add your 
  Fearfulness level to all Intimidation rolls made against 
  you.  
   
  You may not reduce your Will roll below 3. For in-
  stance, if you have Will 11, you are limited to Fearful-
  ness 8. 
   
  This trait is the opposite of Fearlessness; you can-
  not have both. 
   
  Fragile 
  Variable 
   
  You are susceptible to wounding effects that do 
  not apply to normal humans. Attacks do not injure you 
  any more than usual (that’s Vulnerability), but enough 
  penetrating damage can trigger results more cata-
  strophic than stunning, unconsciousness, or bleeding. 
  This is an exotic disadvantage that requires the GM’s 
  permission to add. In addition, if the fragility is to 
  commonly encountered situations or items, it can be a 
  screening disadvantage. Possibilities include: 
   
  Brittle: You are brittle (like a creature of ice or 
  crystal) or rotten (like a decaying undead monster). 
  Whenever an injury cripples one of your limbs or ex-
  tremities, it breaks off. If you can make a HT roll, it falls 
  off in one piece; otherwise, it shatters or liquefies 
  irrecoverably. Furthermore, should you fail any HT roll 
  to avoid death, you are instantly destroyed – you 
  shatter, melt, decay to goo, etc., and instantly go 
  to  -10×HP. -15 points. 
   
  Combustible: Your body burns more easily than 
  flesh. Perhaps it is dry, resinous, or made of wood. 
  Make a HT roll to avoid catching fire whenever you 
  receive a major wound from a burning or explosive 
  attack. You catch fire automatically if such an attack 
  inflicts 10+ HP of injury. Once aflame, you suffer 1d-1 
  injury per second until you extinguish the fire by im-
  mersion in water, rolling on the ground (takes 3 sec-
  onds), etc. -5 points. 
   
  Explosive: Your body contains explosives, com-
  pressed gas, or something else unstable. On any criti-
  cal failure on the HT roll for a major wound, you ex-
  plode! You also explode if you fail any HT roll to avoid 
  death by 3+. Treat this as a 6d×(HP/10) crushing ex-
  plosion. The blast instantly reduces you to -10×HP, 
  regardless of the damage it inflicts. -15 points. 
   
  Flammable: Your body contains something highly 
  flammable: gasoline, hydrogen gas, etc. Make a HT 
  roll to avoid catching fire, with effects as per Combus-
  tible, after a major wound from any kind of attack. Roll 
  at -3 for a burning or explosive attack, -3 if the attack 
  struck the vitals, and -6 if both. Once you are burning, 
  a critical failure on any HT roll to avoid death means 
  you explode as described for Explosive. You may be 
  Combustible as well. If so, any burning or explosive 
  attack that inflicts either a major wound or 10+ HP of 
  injury automatically sets you ablaze. -10 points. 
   
  Unnatural: You are summoned, conjured, or a 
  magical or weird-science “construct” (e.g., demon, 
  golem, or undead). You automatically fail the HT roll to 
  stay alive if reduced to –HP or below, as that much 
  damage severs your ties with the force that animates 
  you. -50 points. 
   
   
  It sometimes makes sense to take more than one 
  of the above (in particular, Explosive and Flammable 
  often occur together). The GM must personally ap-
  prove any combination of Fragile with Injury Tolerance, 
  as these traits are in many ways opposites. 
   
  Gigantism 
  see p. 31 
   
  Gluttony 
  -5 points* 
   
  You are overly fond of good food and drink. Given 
  the chance, you must always burden yourself with ex-
  tra provisions. You should never willingly miss a meal. 
  Make a self-control roll when presented with a tempt-
  ing morsel or good wine that, for some reason, you 
  
  Page 130  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  should resist. If you fail, you partake – regardless of 
  the consequences. This is a screening disadvantage. 
   
  Greed 
  -15 points* 
   
  You lust for wealth. Make a self-control roll any 
  time riches are offered – as payment for fair work, 
  gains from adventure, spoils of crime, or just bait. If 
  you fail, you do whatever it takes to get the payoff. The 
  GM may modify this roll if the money involved is small 
  relative to your own wealth. Small sums do not tempt 
  you much if you are rich, but if you are poor, you get -5 
  or more on your self-control roll if a rich prize is in the 
  offing. If you have Honesty, your self-control roll is at 
  +5 for a shady deal and +10 for outright crime. How-
  ever, it is almost a foregone conclusion that you will 
  eventually do something illegal. This is a screening 
  disadvantage. 
   
  Gregarious 
  see Chummy 
   
  Hard of Hearing 
  -10 points 
   
  You are not deaf, but you have some hearing loss. 
  You are at -4 on any Hearing roll, and on any skill roll 
  where it is important that you understand someone (if 
  you are the one talking, this disadvantage doesn’t af-
  fect you). 
   
  Special Limitations 
   
  Mitigator: In the SFU you can acquire aids that 
  compensate totally for Hard of Hearing while they are 
  worn. Remember that accidents can happen . . . and 
  that enemies can deprive you of these items. In the 
  SFU, if you take Hard of Hearing, you must take this 
  limitation. -60% 
   
  Hidebound 
  -5 points 
   
  You find it difficult to come up with an original 
  thought. You have a -2 penalty on any task that re-
  quires creativity or invention, including most rolls 
  against Artist‡ skill, all Engineer rolls for new inven-
  tions, and all skill rolls made to use the Gadgeteer‡ 
  advantage. 
   
  Honesty 
  -10 points* 
   
  You must obey the law, and do your best to get 
  others to do so as well. In an area with little or no law, 
  you do not “go wild” – you act as though the laws of 
  your own home were in force. You also assume that 
  others are honest unless you know otherwise (make 
  an IQ roll to realize someone might be dishonest if you 
  haven’t seen proof). 
   
  This is a disadvantage, because if often limits your 
  options. Make a self-control roll when faced with the 
  “need” to break unreasonable laws; if you fail, you 
  must obey the law, whatever the consequences. If you 
  manage to resist your urges and break the law, make 
  a second self-control roll afterward. If you fail, you 
  must turn yourself in to the authorities! 
   
  You may fight (or even start a fight, if you do it in a 
  legal way). You may even kill in a legal duel or in self-
  defense – but you may never murder. You may steal if 
  there is great need, but only as a last resort, and you 
  must attempt to pay your victims back later. If you are 
  jailed for a crime you did not commit, but treated fairly 
  and assured of a trial, you will not try to escape. 
   
  You always keep your word. (In a war, you may 
  act “dishonestly” against the enemy, but you will not be 
  happy about it!) However, you are allowed to lie if it 
  does not involve breaking the law. 
   
  Honesty has its rewards, of course. If you stay 
  alive and in one place long enough for your honesty to 
  become known, the GM should give you +1 on any 
  noncombat reaction roll – or +3 if a question of trust or 
  honor is involved. This is essentially a free Reputation 
  (p. 36). 
   
  Horizontal 
  -10 points 
   
  You have a horizontal posture, like a cat. You can 
  stand on your hind legs for short periods, but find this 
  very uncomfortable. You can use one hand (if you 
  have hands) while standing on your other limbs, or two 
  hands while sitting on your haunches; in both cases, 
  your ground Move is 0 while doing so. You can carry 
  but not use an object in one hand if moving at half 
  Move. If you are human-sized, you take up two hexes 
  on a battle map. This is an exotic disadvantage that 
  requires the GM’s permission to add. 
   
  A horizontal build does not let you put your full 
  weight behind a kick. As a result, your thrusting dam-
  age is at -1 per die when you kick. Ignore this penalty 
  if you have Claws – that trait includes the necessary 
  adaptations to strike at full power. The penalty does 
  apply if you have Hooves, however. 
   
  Do not take this disadvantage if you are Aerial or 
  Aquatic (see No Legs). If you are fully adapted to a 
  three-dimensional 
  environment, 
  body 
  posture 
  is 
  irrelevant. 
   
  Impulsiveness 
  -10 points* 
   
  You hate talk and debate. You prefer action! When 
  you are alone, you act first and think later. In a group, 
  when your friends want to stop and discuss something, 
  you should put in your two cents’ worth quickly – if at 
  all – and then do something. Roleplay it! Make a self-
  control roll whenever it would be wise to wait and pon-
  der. If you fail, you must act. 
   
   
   
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Page 131 
  Increased Consumption 
  -10 points/level 
   
  One “meal” keeps you going for a much shorter 
  period of time than it would a normal human. This is 
  suitable for small creatures that must eat often. 
   
   
  Increased Consumption 1: You must eat six meals 
  a day. 
   
  Increased Consumption 2: You must eat 12 meals 
  a day. 
   
  Increased Consumption 3: You must eat 24 meals 
  a day. 
   
   
  . . . and so on, doubling consumption and halving 
  endurance for each additional level. A single level of 
  this trait is appropriate for normal humans who have a 
  build of Overweight or heavier (see Build, p. 29) or the 
  Gluttony disadvantage. 
   
  Increased Life Support 
  Variable 
   
  Your environmental requirements in a life-support 
  situation are greater than those of a normal human. 
  This is an exotic disadvantage that requires the GM’s 
  permission to add. Some examples: 
   
   
  Extreme Heat/Cold: You require a temperature 
  above 200or below 0. -10 points. 
   
  Massive: You require more than a ton of additional 
  weight in order to survive aboard a spacecraft or a 
  submarine, or in any other setting where resources 
  and space are limited. If you can wear an environment 
  suit, this always weighs at least a ton. -10 points. 
   
  Pressurized: You require a separate pressurized 
  compartment to survive. -10 points. 
   
  Radioactive: You are radioactive or require a 
  radioactive environment. -10 points. 
   
   
  The GM may allow other kinds of Increased Life 
  Support. These should be worth no more than -10 
  points apiece unless they are extremely exotic. Add 
  together the value of multiple special requirements, but 
  note that the total disadvantage value cannot ex-
  ceed -40 points. 
   
  Increased Life Support represents the logistical 
  inconvenience of special life-support requirements, 
  while Dependency, Maintenance‡, and Restricted Diet‡ 
  all reflect the health effects of doing without such re-
  quirements. The same requirement can qualify in both 
  categories if it has consequences for both health and 
  logistics. But note that a Dependency you can satisfy 
  with a one-ounce inhaler of a drug does not let you 
  claim Increased Life Support for a pressurized cabin 
  full of the stuff! The GM’s word is final. 
   
  With the GM’s permission, normal humans may 
  take this disadvantage to represent the special re-
  quirements of certain chronic illnesses. 
   
   
   
  Incurious 
  -5 points* 
   
  You hardly ever notice things unrelated to the 
  business at hand. Make a self-control roll when con-
  fronted with something strange. If you fail, you ignore 
  it! You react at -1 to new things. 
   
  Intolerance 
  Variable 
   
  You dislike and distrust some (or all) people who 
  are different from you. You may be prejudiced on the 
  basis of class, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sex, or 
  species. Victims of your Intolerance will react to you at 
  -1 to -5 (GM’s decision). Point value depends on the 
  scope of your Intolerance.  
   
  If you are thoroughly intolerant, you react at -3 to-
  ward anyone not of your own class, ethnicity, national-
  ity, religion, or species (pick one). On a “Good” reac-
  tion, you tolerate the person and are as civil as possi-
  ble (but are stiff and cold toward him). On a “Neutral” 
  reaction, you still tolerate him, but make it plain in 
  words and deeds that you don’t care to be around him 
  and consider him inferior or offensive. On any worse 
  reaction, you attack or refuse to associate with the vic-
  tim. Total Intolerance of this kind is worth -10 points. 
   
  Intolerance directed at only one specific class, 
  ethnicity, nationality, religion, sex, or species is worth 
  from -5 points for a commonly encountered victim to -1 
  point (a nasty quirk) for a rare victim. 
   
  Invertebrate 
  -20 points 
   
  You have no spine, exoskeleton, or other natural 
  body support. This is an exotic disadvantage that re-
  quires the GM’s permission to add. Use your full Basic 
  Lift for the purpose of pushing, but only 1/4 your BL to 
  calculate the weight you can lift, carry, or pull. This trait 
  has a small side benefit, however: you can squeeze 
  through much smaller openings than your size might 
  suggest! 
   
  Note that this trait differs somewhat from the bio-
  logical term “invertebrate.” 
   
  Jealousy 
  -10 points 
   
  You react poorly toward those who seem smarter, 
  more attractive, or better off than you! You resist any 
  plan proposed by a “rival,” and hate it if someone else 
  is in the limelight. (Jealousy goes well with Megaloma-
  nia‡.) If an NPC is jealous, the GM will apply a -2 to -4 
  reaction penalty toward the victim(s) of his jealousy. 
   
  Lame 
  -10 to -30 points 
   
  This disadvantage assumes that you are a mem-
  ber of a species with legs. If your entire species is 
  legless, 
  see 
  No 
  Legs. 
  This 
  is 
  a 
  screening 
  disadvantage. 
   
  
  Page 132  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
   
  You have some degree of impaired mobility: 
   
   
  Crippled Legs: You have all of your legs, but some 
  of them are damaged. For a human, this means one 
  bad leg. You are at -3 to use any skill that requires the 
  use of your legs, including all Melee Weapon and un-
  armed combat skills (but not ranged combat skills). 
  You must reduce your Basic Move to half your Basic 
  Speed (round down), but you get full points for this 
  (see Basic Move, p. 28). -10 points. 
   
  Missing Legs: You have lost some, but not all, of 
  your legs. For a human, this means you have one leg. 
  You are at -6 to use any skill that requires the use of 
  your legs. Using crutches or a peg leg, you can stand 
  up and walk slowly. You must reduce Basic Move to 2, 
  but you get full points for this. You can still kick, but 
  between the standard -2 for a kick and the -6 for this 
  disadvantage, you do so at DX-8! Without your 
  crutches or peg leg, you cannot stand, walk, or 
  kick. -20 points. 
   
  Legless: You are missing all of your legs, no mat-
  ter how many you started out with. You are at -6 to use 
  any skill that requires the use of your legs, and you 
  cannot stand, kick, or walk at all. You must reduce 
  Basic Move to 0, but you get full points for this. -30 
  points. 
   
  Paraplegic: You have all of your legs, but they are 
  paralyzed. The effects and point value are identical to 
  Legless. Unlike a Legless character, you can be struck 
  in the legs for damage. This is balanced by the fact 
  that it isn’t inconceivable that you could regain the use 
  of your legs (a Legless character is out of luck). -30 
  points. 
   
  Technological Assistance 
   
  A muscle-powered wheelchair or wheeled platform 
  has ground Move equal to 1/4 your ST (round down), 
  but cannot pass through narrow doorways, negotiate 
  staircases or steep curbs, enter most vehicles, etc. 
   
  If you have advanced prosthetics that cancel this 
  disadvantage while worn, apply a Mitigator limitation to 
  Lame and any reduced Basic Move. If surgery or ultra-
  tech replacement parts eliminate this disadvantage 
  completely, you must pay back the points you received 
  for Lame and reduced Basic Move. 
   
  Laziness 
  -10 points 
   
  You are violently averse to labor. Your chances of 
  getting a raise or promotion in any job are halved. If 
  you are self-employed, halve your monthly pay (see 
  Jobs, p. 516). You must avoid work – especially hard 
  work – at all costs. Roleplay it! This is a screening 
  disadvantage. 
   
  Lecherousness 
  -15 points* 
   
  You have an unusually strong desire for romance. 
  Make a self-control roll whenever you have more than 
  the briefest contact with an appealing member of the 
  sex you find attractive – at -5 if this person is Hand-
  some/Beautiful, or at -10 if Very Handsome/Very 
  Beautiful. If you fail, you must make a “pass,” using 
  whatever wiles and skills you can bring to bear. You 
  must then suffer the consequences of your actions, 
  successful or not: physical retribution, jail, communi-
  cable disease, or (possibly) an adoring new friend. 
  This is a screening disadvantage. 
   
  Unless the object of your affection is Very Hand-
  some/Very Beautiful, you need not roll more than once 
  a day to avoid making a pass. If someone turns you 
  down very firmly (e.g., a black eye, or an arrest for 
  sexual harassment) the GM may give you a bonus to 
  future self-control rolls regarding that individual . . . 
   
  Note that you are likely to change your standards 
  of attractiveness if no truly attractive members of the 
  appropriate sex are available! 
   
  Legless 
  see Lame 
   
  Light Sleeper 
  -5 points 
   
  You do not sleep as soundly or as easily as most 
  people. Whenever you must sleep in an uncomfortable 
  place, or whenever there is more than the slightest 
  noise, you must make a HT roll in order to fall asleep. 
  On a failure, you can try again after one hour, but you 
  will suffer all the usual effects of one hour of missed 
  sleep (see Missed Sleep, p. 228). 
   
  You usually wake up if there is activity going on 
  around you (but you are stunned unless you have 
  Combat Reflexes). If you wish to continue sleeping, 
  you must fail a Sense roll. If you wake up, you must 
  make HT rolls to get back to asleep, as above. This 
  can occasionally be to your advantage, but the most 
  likely effect is that you miss sleep whenever inconsid-
  erate companions trade watches or return from a night 
  on the town. 
   
  Loner 
  -5 points* 
  You require a great deal of “personal space.” Make a 
  self-control roll whenever anyone lingers nearby, 
  watches over your shoulder, etc. If you fail, you lash 
  out at that person just as if you had Bad Temper. 
  Loner NPCs always react to others at a penalty. 
   
  Self-Control 
  Number 
  Reaction 
  Penalty 
  6 
  -4 
  9 
  -3 
  12 
  -2 
  15 
  -1 
   
   
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Page 133 
  Low Pain Threshold 
  -10 points 
   
  You are very sensitive to pain of all kinds. Double 
  the shock from any injury; e.g., if you take 2 HP of 
  damage, you are at -4 to DX on your next turn. You roll 
  at -4 to resist knockdown, stunning, and physical tor-
  ture. Whenever you take a wound that does more than 
  1 HP of damage, you must make a Will roll to avoid 
  crying out. This can give away your presence, and 
  may earn you a -1 reaction from “macho” individuals. 
   
  Low TL 
  see p. 33 
   
  Miserliness 
  -10 points* 
   
  You are preoccupied with conserving your wealth. 
  You must always hunt for the best deal possible. Make 
  a self-control roll any time you are called on to spend 
  money. If the expenditure is large, this roll may be 
  at -5 or worse (GM’s decision). If you fail, you refuse to 
  spend the money. If you absolutely must spend the 
  money, you should haggle and complain interminably. 
  Note that you may have both Greed and Miserliness! 
   
  Mistaken Identity 
  see p. 32 
   
  Mute 
  see Cannot Speak 
   
  No Fine Manipulators 
  -30 or -50 points 
   
  Your body lacks hands and possibly limbs. This is 
  an exotic disadvantage that requires the GM’s permis-
  sion to add. Point value depends on the extent of your 
  limitation: 
   
   
  No Fine Manipulators: You have no body part 
  more agile than paws or hooves. You cannot use your 
  limbs to make repairs, pick locks, tie knots, wield 
  weapons, etc., or even to grasp firmly. You may only 
  select this trait if you have nothing approaching the 
  human hand in terms of overall versatility. If you have 
  a beak, tongue, prehensile tail, etc. that is as good as 
  a hand, you do not have No Fine Manipulators! -30 
  points. 
   
  No Manipulators: You have no limbs. The only 
  way for you to manipulate objects is to push them 
  around with your body or head. You can still move, 
  and are capable of rolling, wriggling, bouncing, etc. at 
  your Basic Move unless you buy it down to 0. -50 
  points. 
   
  Note that this trait is limited to nonhumans. Either 
  level qualifies you to buy ST and DX with the -40% No 
  Fine Manipulators limitation. 
   
   
   
  No Legs 
  Variable 
   
  This disadvantage assumes that your species 
  lacks legs. If your species has legs, but you are miss-
  ing yours, see Lame. 
   
   
  You are a member of a legless species. There are 
  several different forms of this trait, but in all cases, you 
  cannot kick, cannot be struck in the legs in combat, 
  and need not wear leg armor. The point costs below 
  assume that the benefit of having no legs for foes to 
  target in combat balances the drawback of being una-
  ble to kick. 
   
   
  Aerial: You cannot move on land, but you can 
  hover, glide, or fly. You must purchase the Flight ad-
  vantage. Calculate Basic Speed as usual and use 
  twice this value to determine your basic air Move, as 
  described for Flight. Your ground Move is 0. 0 points. 
   
  Aquatic: You cannot move on land, but you are 
  adapted to movement on or in water, like a ship or a 
  fish. Calculate Basic Move and use this as your basic 
  water Move. Your ground Move is 0. You suffer no skill 
  penalties for working in or under water. 0 points. If 
  your mobility depends on fins, masts, paddles, or sails 
  that you can’t armor, or you can’t dive: -5 points. If 
  both: -10 points. 
   
  Bounces, Rolls, or Slithers: You move on land 
  without using legs, like a snake or a wheel-form robot. 
  Work out Basic Move and use it as your ground Move, 
  just as a legged character would. 0 points. 
   
  Semi-Aquatic: You “walk” on flippers, like a seal. 
  Use Basic Move as your basic water Move and 1/5 this 
  as your ground Move – that is, reverse the normal re-
  lationship between ground and water Move. You suffer 
  standard skill penalties in the water. 0 points. 
   
  Sessile: Your base is anchored where you sit, like 
  a tree or a building. You can’t move under your own 
  power in any environment, and lack the option of using 
  a moving platform (although you can be moved, with 
  considerable effort). Your Basic Move is automatically 
  0, and you get no extra points for this. You can still 
  have manipulators. If so, you wield weapons at no DX 
  penalty, because unlike those with the Lame disad-
  vantage, you have a very stable base! -50 points. 
   
  Tracked or Wheeled: You have tracks or wheels 
  instead of legs. Specify how many – one to four, or 
  any higher even number. If using hit locations, treat 
  each track or wheel as if it were a leg. You can neither 
  jump nor negotiate obstacles that require arms and 
  legs working together (e.g., a ladder or rope). You al-
  ways leave a visible trail (giving others a Tracking bo-
  nus: +1 for Wheeled, +2 for Tracked). Tracks are also 
  noisy (+2 to all Hearing rolls to detect you), but let you 
  handle rough terrain more easily. Tracked and 
  Wheeled do not reduce Move; in fact, you may buy up 
  to three levels of Enhanced Move (Ground). This 
  disadvantage usually accompanies the Machine meta-
  trait‡. -20 points. 
   
  
  Page 134  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  No Manipulators 
  see No Fine Manipulators 
   
  No Sense of Humor 
  -10 points 
   
  You never get any jokes; you think everyone is 
  earnestly serious at all times. Likewise, you never 
  joke, and you are earnestly serious at all times. Others 
  react at -2 to you in any situation where this disad-
  vantage becomes evident. 
   
  Obsession 
  -5 or -10 points* 
   
  Your entire life revolves around a single goal. Un-
  like Compulsive Behavior‡, this is not a daily habit, but 
  an overpowering fixation that motivates all of your ac-
  tions. And unlike Fanaticism, this does not necessarily 
  imply a set of philosophical beliefs. 
   
  You must rationalize all of your actions as an at-
  tempt to reach your goal. Make a self-control roll 
  whenever it would be wise to deviate from your goal. If 
  you fail, you continue to pursue your Obsession, re-
  gardless of the consequences. 
   
  Point cost depends on the time needed to realize 
  your goal. A short-term goal (e.g., assassinating 
  someone) is worth -5 points, while a long-term goal 
  (e.g., becoming President) is worth -10 points. In both 
  cases, modify the base cost to reflect your self-control 
  number. If your Obsession causes others to react 
  badly, take Odious Personal Habit (p. 32) or Delusions 
  as well. 
   
  Should you ever reach your goal, you must either 
  substitute a new goal or buy off your Obsession. 
   
  Odious Personal Habit 
  see p. 32 
   
  One Arm 
  -20 points 
   
  You have only one arm. You cannot use two-
  handed weapons, wield two weapons at once (or a 
  weapon and a shield), or perform any task that re-
  quires two arms. You get -4 on tasks that are possible 
  with one arm but that are usually executed with two 
  (e.g., most Climbing and Wrestling rolls). You have no 
  penalty on tasks that require only one arm. In all 
  cases, the GM’s ruling is final. When in doubt, try a 
  quick reality check if possible! 
   
  If you originally had two arms, assume that you 
  lost the left arm if you were right-handed, or vice 
  versa. 
   
  If you are a nonhuman who only had one arm to 
  begin with, your “arm” need not be an arm at all – it 
  can be any appendage capable of fine manipulation. 
  For instance, a parrot that used its beak and tongue 
  would have One Arm (and not No Fine Manipulators). 
   
  If you have advanced prosthetics that cancel One 
  Arm while worn, apply a Mitigator limitation. 
  Should you ever eliminate One Arm completely 
  through surgery or an ultra-tech replacement limb, you 
  must pay back the points you received for it. 
   
  Overconfidence 
  -5 points* 
   
  You believe that you are far more powerful, intelli-
  gent, or competent than you really are. You may be 
  proud and boastful or just quietly determined, but you 
  must roleplay this trait. 
   
  You must make a self-control roll any time the GM 
  feels you show an unreasonable degree of caution. If 
  you fail, you must go ahead as though you were able 
  to handle the situation! Caution is not an option. 
   
  You receive +2 on all reaction rolls from young or 
  naive individuals (who believe you are as good as you 
  say you are), but -2 on reactions from experienced 
  NPCs. 
   
  Overconfidence is like Megalomania‡ on a smaller 
  scale. Robin Hood was overconfident – he challenged 
  strangers to quarterstaff duels. Hitler was a megalo-
  maniac – he invaded Russia! Heroes are rarely meg-
  alomaniacal but often overconfident. 
   
  Overweight 
  see p. 29 
   
  Pacifism 
  Variable 
   
  You are opposed to violence. This can take sev-
  eral forms. Choose one of the following: 
   
   
  Reluctant Killer: You are psychologically unpre-
  pared to kill people. Whenever you make a deadly at-
  tack (e.g., with a knife or a gun) against an obvious 
  person whose face is visible to you, you are at -4 to hit 
  and may not Aim. If you cannot see the foe’s face (due 
  to a mask, darkness, or distance, or because you at-
  tacked from behind), the penalty is only -2, save in 
  close combat. You have no penalty to attack a vehicle 
  (even an occupied one), an opponent you do not be-
  lieve is a person (including things with Horrific or Mon-
  strous appearance), or a target you can’t actually see 
  (e.g., a set of map coordinates or a blip on a radar 
  screen). If you kill a recognizable person, the effect on 
  you is the same as for Cannot Kill (see below). You 
  have no problem with your allies killing; you may even 
  supply ammo, loaded weapons, and encouragement! 
  You just can’t do the killing yourself. -5 points. 
   
  Cannot Harm Innocents: You may fight – you may 
  even start fights – but you may only use deadly force 
  on a foe that is attempting to do you serious harm. 
  Capture is not “serious harm” unless you are already 
  under penalty of death or have a Code of Honor that 
  would require suicide if captured. You never intention-
  ally do anything that causes, or even threatens to 
  cause, injury to the uninvolved – particularly if they are 
  “ordinary folks.” This trait is especially appropriate for 
  crimefighters, etc. -10 points. 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Page 135 
   
  Cannot Kill: You may fight – you may even start 
  fights – but you may never do anything that seems 
  likely to kill another. This includes abandoning a 
  wounded foe to die “on his own”! You must do your 
  best to keep your companions from killing, too. If you 
  do kill someone (or feel responsible for a death), you 
  immediately suffer a nervous breakdown. Roll 3d and 
  be totally morose and useless (roleplay it!) for that 
  many days. During this time, you must make a Will roll 
  to offer any sort of violence toward anyone, for any 
  reason. -15 points.  
   
  Self-Defense Only: You only fight to defend your-
  self or those in your care, using only as much force as 
  necessary (no preemptive strikes allowed!). You must 
  do your best to discourage others from starting 
  fights. -15 points. 
   
  Total Nonviolence: You will not lift a hand against 
  another intelligent creature, for any reason. You must 
  do your nonviolent best to discourage violent behavior 
  in others, too. You are free to defend yourself against 
  attacks by animals, mosquitoes, etc. -30 points. 
   
  Phobias 
  Variable* 
   
  You are afraid of a specific item, creature, or cir-
  cumstance. Many fears are reasonable, but a Phobia 
  is an unreasonable, unreasoning, morbid fear. The 
  point value depends on how common the object of 
  your fear is – fear of darkness is far more troublesome 
  than fear of left-handed plumbers. Phobias regarding 
  commonly encountered items, creatures, and circum-
  stances in the service are screening disadvantages. 
   
  Make a self-control roll whenever you are exposed 
  to the object of your Phobia. If you fail, roll 3d, add the 
  amount by which you failed your self-control roll, and 
  look up the result on the Fright Check Table (p. 201). 
  For instance, if your self-control number is 9 but you 
  rolled a 13, roll 3d+4 on the table. The result from the 
  table affects you immediately! 
   
  If you succeed, you have successfully mastered 
  your Phobia (for now), but you are still shaken, and 
  have a penalty to all DX, IQ, and skill rolls while the 
  cause of your fear persists. The penalty depends on 
  your self-control number: 
   
  Self-Control Number 
  Penalty 
  6 
  -4 
  9 
  -3 
  12 
  -2 
  15 
  -1 
   
   
  You must roll again every 10 minutes to see if the 
  fear overcomes you.  
   
  Even the mere threat of the feared object requires 
  a self-control roll, although this is at +4. If your ene-
  mies actually inflict the feared object on you, you must 
  make an unmodified self-control roll, as described 
  above. If you fail, you might break down, depending on 
  the Fright Check results, but you won’t necessarily 
  talk. Some people can panic and fall apart, but still 
  refuse to talk – just as some people do not talk under 
  torture. 
   
  A phobic situation is by definition stressful. If you 
  have other mental disadvantages that are triggered by 
  stress, you are likely to have these reactions if you fail 
  to resist a Phobia. 
   
  Some common phobias: 
   
   
  Being Alone (Autophobia): You cannot stand to be 
  alone, and do anything in your power to avoid it. -15 
  points.* 
   
  Blood (Hemophobia): The sight of blood gives you 
  the screaming willies! You need to make a self-control 
  roll during most combats . . . -10 points.* 
   
  Cats (Ailurophobia): -5 points.* 
   
  Crowds (Demophobia): Any group of over a dozen 
  people sets off this fear unless they are all well known 
  to you. The self-control roll is at -1 for over 25 peo-
  ple, -2 for a crowd of 100 or more, -3 for 1,000, -4 for 
  10,000, and so on. -15 points.* 
   
  Darkness (Scotophobia): A common fear, but crip-
  pling. You should avoid being underground if possible; 
  if something happens to your flashlight or torch, you 
  might well lose your mind before you can relight it. -15 
  points.* 
   
  Death and the Dead (Necrophobia): You are terri-
  fied by the idea of death. Make a self-control roll in the 
  presence of any dead body (animals don’t count, but 
  portions of human bodies do). Roll at -4 if the body is 
  that of someone you know, or -6 if the body is unnatu-
  rally animated in some way. A ghost (or apparent 
  ghost) also requires a roll at -6. -10 points.* 
   
  Dirt (Mysophobia): You are deathly afraid of infec-
  tion, or just of dirt and filth. Make a self-control roll 
  when you must do something that might get you dirty. 
  Roll at -5 to eat any unaccustomed food. You should 
  act as “finicky” as possible. -10 points.* 
   
  Dogs (Cynophobia): This includes all canines: 
  foxes, wolves, coyotes, wild dogs, etc. -5 points.* 
   
  Enclosed Spaces (Claustrophobia): A common, 
  crippling fear. You are uncomfortable any time you 
  can’t see the sky – or at least a very high ceiling. In a 
  small room or vehicle, you feel the walls closing in on 
  you . . . You need air! This is a dangerous fear for 
  someone who plans to go underground. -15 points.* 
   
  Fire (Pyrophobia): Even a burning cigarette both-
  ers you if it comes within five yards. -5 points.* 
   
  Heights (Acrophobia): You may not voluntarily go 
  more than 15 feet above ground, unless you are inside 
  a building and away from windows. If there is some 
  chance of an actual fall, self-control rolls are at -5. -10 
  points.* 
   
  Insects (Entomophobia): You are afraid of all 
  “bugs.” Large or poisonous ones give -3 to self-control 
  rolls. Very large ones, or large numbers, give -6. Avoid 
  hills of giant ants. -10 points.* 
   
  Loud Noises (Brontophobia): You avoid any situa-
  tion where loud noises are likely. A sudden loud noise 
  requires an immediate self-control roll. A thunderstorm 
  is a traumatic experience for you! -10 points.* 
  
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
   
  Machinery (Technophobia): You can never learn 
  to repair any sort of machine and refuse to learn to use 
  anything more complicated than a crossbow or bicycle. 
  Any highly technological environment calls for a self-
  control roll; dealings with robots or computers require 
  a roll at -3, and hostility from intelligent machines re-
  quires a roll at -6. -5 points at TL4 or below, -15 points 
  at TL5 or above.* 
   
  Monsters (Teratophobia): Any “unnatural” creature 
  sets off this fear. You have -1 to -4 on the self-control 
  roll if the monster seems very large or dangerous, or if 
  there are a lot of them. Note that the definition of 
  “monster” depends on experience. An American Indian 
  would consider an elephant monstrous, while an Afri-
  can pygmy would not! -15 points.* 
   
  Number 13 (Triskaidekaphobia): You must make a 
  self-control roll whenever you have to deal with the 
  number 13 – visit the 13th floor, buy something for 
  $13.00, etc. Roll at -5 if Friday the 13th is involved! -5 
  points.* 
   
  Oceans (Thalassophobia): You are afraid of any 
  large body of water. Ocean travel, or even air travel 
  over the ocean, is basically impossible for you, and 
  encounters with aquatic monsters are also upset-
  ting. -10 points.* 
   
  Open Spaces (Agoraphobia): You are uncomforta-
  ble whenever you are outside, and actually become 
  frightened when there are no walls within 50 feet. -10 
  points.* 
   
  Psionic Powers (Psionophobia): You are afraid of 
  those with known psionic powers. An actual exhibition 
  of power in your presence requires a self-control roll. 
  You do not voluntarily allow anyone to use a psionic 
  power on you. The power does not have to be real – 
  all that matters is that you believe it is! In the SFU this 
  is worth -15 points.* 
   
  Reptiles (Herpetophobia): You come unglued at 
  the thought of reptiles, amphibians, and similar scaly 
  slimies. A very large reptile, or a poisonous one, gives 
  -2 to self-control rolls; a horde of reptiles (such as a 
  snake pit) gives -4. -10 points.* 
   
  Sharp Things (Aichmophobia): You are afraid of 
  anything pointed. Swords, spears, knives, and hypo-
  dermic needles all give you fits. Trying to use a sharp 
  weapon, or being threatened with one, requires a self-
  control roll at -2. -15 points at TL5 or below,-10 at TL6 
  or above.* 
   
  Spiders (Arachnophobia): -5 points.* 
   
  Strange and Unknown Things (Xenophobia): You 
  are upset by any sort of strange circumstances, and in 
  particular by strange people. Make a self-control roll 
  when surrounded by people of another race or nation-
  ality; roll at -3 if the people are not of your species. If 
  you lose control, you might well attack strangers out of 
  fear. -15 points.* 
   
  Sun (Heliophobia): -15 points.* 
   
  Weapons (Hoplophobia): The presence of any sort 
  of weaponry is stressful. Trying to use a weapon, or 
  being threatened with one, requires a self-control roll 
  at -2. -20 points.* 
   
  Post-Combat Shakes 
  -5 points* 
   
  You are shaken and sickened by combat, but only 
  after it’s over. Make a self-control roll at the end of any 
  battle. It is up to the GM to determine when a battle 
  has truly ended, and he may apply a penalty if the 
  combat was particularly dangerous or gruesome. If 
  you fail, roll 3d, add the amount by which you failed 
  your self-control roll, and look up the result on the 
  Fright Check Table (p. 201). For instance, if your self-
  control number is 12 but you rolled a 14, roll 3d+2 on 
  the table. The result from the table affects you 
  immediately! 
   
  Reputation 
  see p. 36 
   
  A negative reputation counts as a disadvantage. 
  Note it as such on your character sheet! 
   
  Sadism 
  -15 points* 
   
  You delight in cruelty . . . mental, physical, or both. 
  Make a self-control roll whenever you have an oppor-
  tunity to indulge your desires and know you shouldn’t 
  (e.g., because the prisoner is one who should be re-
  leased unharmed). If you fail, you cannot restrain 
  yourself. Those who become aware of your problem 
  react at -3 unless they are from a culture that holds life 
  in little esteem. 
   
  This is a particularly “evil” trait, more appropriate 
  to villainous NPCs than to heroic PCs. This is a 
  screening disadvantage. The GM may completely pro-
  hibit Sadism if he does not want anyone roleplaying it 
  in his campaign. It is possible, though despicable, to 
  possess both Bully and Sadism. 
   
  Secret 
  -5 to -30 points 
   
  A Secret is an aspect of your life or your past that 
  you must keep hidden. Revelation would result in 
  lasting negative consequences. The point value de-
  pends on the severity of those consequences: 
   
   
  Serious Embarrassment: If this information gets 
  around, you can forget about ever getting a promotion, 
  getting elected, or marrying well. Alternatively, revela-
  tion of your Secret might simply attract unwelcome 
  public attention. -5 points. 
   
  Utter Rejection: If your Secret is revealed, it will 
  change your whole life. Perhaps you will lose your job 
  and be rejected by friends and loved ones. Perhaps 
  admirers, cultists, long-lost relatives, or the press will 
  harass you. -10 points. 
   
  Imprisonment or Exile: If the authorities uncover 
  your Secret, you’ll have to flee, or be imprisoned for a 
  long time (GM’s discretion). -20 points. 
   
  Possible Death: Your Secret is so terrible that you 
  might be executed by the authorities, lynched by a 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Page 137 
  mob, or assassinated (by the Mafia, CIA, etc.) were it 
  revealed. You would be a hunted man. -30 points. 
   
  Frequency of Appearance 
   
  In general, a Secret appears in a particular game 
  session if the GM rolls a 6 or less on 3d before the 
  adventure begins. However, as for all other disad-
  vantages of this type, the GM need not feel con-
  strained by the appearance roll. If he thinks that the 
  Secret should come into play, it does! 
   
  When a Secret appears in play, it is not automati-
  cally made public. The GM will give you a chance to 
  prevent your Secret from being revealed. This might 
  require you to cave in to blackmail or extortion, steal 
  incriminating documents, or even silence the person 
  who knows the Secret. Regardless of the solution, 
  however, it’s only temporary – the Secret will appear 
  again and again until either you buy it off with earned 
  character points or it is finally revealed. 
   
  Effects of Revelation 
   
  If a Secret is made public, there is an immediate 
  negative effect ranging from serious embarrassment to 
  possible death, depending on the severity of the Se-
  cret (see above). There is also a lasting effect: you 
  suddenly acquire new, permanent disadvantages – or 
  lose advantages – worth points equal to twice what the 
  Secret was worth! These new disadvantages replace 
  the Secret on your character sheet, and reduce your 
  point value accordingly. 
   
  The GM chooses the new disadvantages and lost 
  advantages, which should always be appropriate to 
  the Secret. Most Secrets turn into Enemies, negative 
  Reputations (p. 36), and Social Stigmas, or reduce or 
  remove advantages described under Wealth and Influ-
  ence (pp. 35-38). Some could even turn into mental or 
  physical disadvantages. 
   
   
  Example: A low-level Federation police officer has 
  a -20-point Secret: on the sly, he is on the payroll of 
  Orion Pirates. When he is finally caught and brought to 
  justice, his Secret is revealed and immediately re-
  placed with -40 points in disadvantages and lost ad-
  vantages! The GM rules that he is stripped of his 5-
  point Legal Enforcement Powers (-5 points), gains 
  Social Stigma (Criminal Record) (-5 points), and is 
  punished by  being forced to pay reparations that re-
  duce his Wealth from Average to Struggling (-10 
  points) In addition, the Orion Pirate captain he ratted 
  out is now an Enemy (-20 points). 
   
  Self-Destruct 
  -10 points 
   
  As soon as you reach your aging threshold (age 
  50 for a normal human), your organs and immune 
  system begin to fail. You start to age rapidly, making 
  aging rolls every day at -3 to HT. This is an exotic dis-
  advantage that requires the GM’s permission to add. 
   
   
  Selfish 
  -5 points* 
   
  You are self-important and status-conscious, and 
  spend much of your time striving for social dominance. 
  Make a self-control roll whenever you experience a 
  clear social slight or “snub.” On a failure, you lash out 
  at the offending party just as if you had Bad Temper – 
  likely resulting in a bad reaction (-3 to the target’s re-
  actions toward you) and putting you in an awkward 
  social situation. 
   
  Selfish NPCs react to perceived slights at a 
  penalty: 
   
  Self-Control Number 
  Penalty 
  6 
  -5 
  9 
  -4 
  12 
  -3 
  15 
  -2 
   
  Selfless 
  -5 points* 
   
  You are altruistic and self-sacrificing, and put little 
  importance on personal fame and wealth. You must 
  make a self-control roll to put your needs – even sur-
  vival – before those of someone else. A Selfless spe-
  cies will have a “hive mentality.” 
   
  Semi-Upright 
  -5 points 
   
  You have a semi-upright posture, like a chimpan-
  zee. You can stand up more-or-less comfortably, al-
  lowing you to use your forelimbs to bash enemies, 
  hold babies, or even manipulate objects. You can 
  manage a clumsy gait while upright (-40% to Move), 
  but you must use all of your limbs to run at full Move. If 
  you have DX 12 or more, you can carry a small object 
  or two while walking. This is an exotic disadvantage 
  that requires the GM’s permission to add. 
   
  Sense of Duty 
  -2 to -20 points 
   
  You feel a strong sense of commitment toward a 
  particular class of people. You will never betray them, 
  abandon them when they’re in trouble, or let them 
  suffer or go hungry if you can help. This is different 
  from a Duty, which is imposed upon you. A Sense of 
  Duty always comes from within. 
   
  If you are known to have a Sense of Duty, the GM 
  will adjust the reactions of others by +2 when rolling to 
  see whether they trust you in a dangerous situation. 
  However, if you go against your Sense of Duty by act-
  ing against the interests of those you are supposed to 
  be looking out for, the GM will penalize you for bad 
  roleplaying.  
   
  The GM will assign a point value to your Sense of 
  Duty based on the size of the group you feel com-
  pelled to aid: 
   
  
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
   
  Individual (the President, your wingman, etc.): -2 
  points. 
   
  Small Group (e.g., your close friends, crewmates, 
  or squad): -5 points. 
   
  Large Group (e.g., a nation or religion, or every-
  one you know personally): -10 points. 
   
  Entire 
  Species 
  (all 
  humanity, 
  all 
  Klingons, 
  etc.): -15 points. 
   
  Every Living Being: -20 points. 
   
   
  You cannot claim points for a Sense of Duty to-
  ward Allies, Dependents, or Patrons. The point costs 
  of these traits already take such a bond into account. 
   
  You can take a Sense of Duty toward adventuring 
  companions. If you do, you must share equipment with 
  and render aid to the other members of your adven-
  turing party, and go along with majority decisions. The 
  GM might make this mandatory in games where the 
  party needs to get along. This gives everyone a “free” 
  5 points to spend ... but if you start backstabbing, run-
  ning off on your own, etc., the GM is free to overrule 
  your actions and point to these bonus points as the 
  reason why. 
   
  Short Attention Span 
  -10 points* 
   
  You find it difficult to concentrate on a single task 
  for longer than a few minutes. Make a self-control roll 
  whenever you must maintain interest in something for 
  an extended period of time, or whenever a distraction 
  is offered. If you fail, you automatically fail at the task 
  at hand. The GM might give you a small bonus to the 
  self-control roll in situations where concentration is 
  crucial, such as when your survival is at stake. 
   
  Short Lifespan 
  -10 points/level 
   
  Your lifespan is much shorter than the human 
  norm. Each level of this disadvantage halves your 
  lifespan (round down). This affects the age at which 
  you reach maturity, the ages at which aging rolls begin 
  and increase in frequency, and the interval between 
  aging rolls; see the table (below). No more than four 
  levels are possible. This is an exotic disadvantage that 
  requires the GM’s permission to add. If the level is 
  such that you cannot serve at least five years, it be-
  comes a screening disadvantage. Short Lifespan is 
  often found in conjunction with Self-Destruct. 
  Shyness 
  -5, -10, or -20 points 
   
  You are uncomfortable around strangers. Roleplay 
  it! This disadvantage comes in three levels; you can 
  buy it off one level at a time. 
   
   
  Mild: You are uneasy with strangers, especially 
  assertive or attractive ones. You have -1 on skills that 
  require you to deal with people, including Acting, Ca-
  rousing, Diplomacy, Fast-Talk, Intimidation, Leader-
  ship, Merchant, Panhandling‡, Performance‡, Politics, 
  Public Speaking, Savoir-Faire, Sex Appeal, Street-
  wise, and Teaching. -5 points. 
   
  Severe: You are very uncomfortable around 
  strangers, and tend to be quiet even among friends. -2 
  the skills listed above. -10 points. 
   
  Crippling: You avoid strangers whenever possible. 
  You may not learn the skills listed above at all, and are 
  at -4 on default rolls on such skills. -20 points. 
   
  Sleepy 
  Variable 
   
  This is a species trait. Members of the species 
  need to sleep more than the human norm of 1/3 of the 
  time. Point value depends on the fraction of the time 
  they must spend asleep: 
   
  Time Spent Asleep 
  Cost 
  1/2 of the time 
  -8 points 
  2/3 of the time 
  -16 points 
  3/4 of the time 
  -20 points 
  7/8 of the time 
  -26 points 
   
   
  The species’ precise schedule is a “special effect.” 
  For instance, a species that sleeps 3/4 of the time 
  might be awake and active for three days straight and 
  then sleep for a full nine days. 
   
  This trait can also represent hibernation. For in-
  stance, if a species is awake and active on a human 
  schedule for six months and then hibernates for two 
  months straight, then on the average, that’s equivalent 
  to sleeping half the time. 
   
   
   
   
   
  Level 
  Maturity 
  Aging [Frequency of Aging Rolls] 
  0 (Human) 
  18 years 
  50 years [ 1 year] 
  70 years [6 months] 
  90 years [3 months] 
  1 
  9 years 
  25 years [6 months] 
  35 years [3 months] 
  45 years [45 days] 
  2 
  4 years 
  12 years [3 months] 
  17 years [45 days] 
  22 years [22 days] 
  3 
  2 years 
  6 years [45 days] 
  8 years [22 days] 
  11 years [11 days] 
  4 
  1 year 
  3 years [22 days] 
  4 years [11 days] 
  5 years [5 days] 
   
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Page 139 
  Social Stigma 
  -5 to -20 points 
   
  You belong to a race, class, sex, species, or other 
  group that your society deems inferior. To be worth 
  points, this must be obvious from your physical ap-
  pearance (a visible brand, tattoo, or magical mark 
  counts), dress, manner, or speech; or easily learned 
  by anyone who cares to check up on you (only valid in 
  societies with free and easy access to information); or 
  the result of public denouncement (e.g., by a powerful 
  leader or media figure) that ensures that everyone you 
  meet knows that you, personally, belong to the dis-
  dained group. 
   
  A Social Stigma gives you a reaction penalty (-1 
  per -5 points of Social Stigma), restricts your social 
  mobility, or both. Examples include: 
   
   
  Criminal Record: You have been convicted of a 
  crime that your society considers serious. You may be 
  prohibited from legally acquiring certain items (e.g., 
  weapons), taking certain kinds of employment, receiv-
  ing security clearances, or even traveling outside your 
  country. Many noncriminals who learn of your past 
  react at -1; police, judges, vigilantes, and other law-
  and-order types usually react at -2. If you are also 
  wanted, take an appropriate Enemy. -5 points. 
   
  Disowned: Your family has publicly snubbed you. 
  This is only worth points in settings where family ties 
  play a significant social role, and never applies to 
  those who voluntarily part ways with their family. This 
  Social Stigma comes in two levels: 
   
   
  You would normally be an heir in your culture, but 
  someone else has been named in your stead. This is 
  embarrassing, but you may still count yourself as part 
  of the family. This gives -1 on reaction rolls. -5 points. 
   
  The head of your family – or your entire clan – has 
  wholly and publicly disowned you. This gives -2 on 
  reaction rolls. -10 points. 
   
   
  Ignorant: You have not learned a skill required of 
  all responsible adults in your society (that is, you have 
  no points in the skill). Others look down upon you as a 
  slacker or a fool. This gives -1 on reactions for each 
  “expected” skill you lack, up to a maximum of four 
  skills. This is only worth points in highly structured so-
  cieties, or in primitive ones where individuals depend 
  on one another for survival. -5 points/skill. 
   
  Minor: You are underage by your culture’s stand-
  ards. You suffer -2 on reaction rolls whenever you try 
  to deal with others as an adult; they might like you, but 
  they do not fully respect you. You might also be barred 
  from nightclubs, vehicle operation, war parties, guild 
  membership, etc., depending on the culture and set-
  ting. You must buy off this trait when you reach “legal 
  age” (usually 18) for your time and place. -5 points. 
   
  Minority Group: You are a member of a minority 
  that the dominant culture around you regards as “bar-
  barians” or “inferior.” You get -2 on all reaction rolls 
  made by anyone except your own kind. In an area, 
  profession, or situation where your minority is espe-
  cially rare, you get +2 on reaction rolls made by your 
  own kind. -10 points. 
   
  Monster: You are a large carnivore, abomination, 
  or other being that is hated or feared regardless of 
  actual appearance or disposition. This gives you -3 on 
  all reaction rolls, and you are liable to be hunted on 
  sight. However, you get +3 to Intimidation rolls in situ-
  ations where you have the upper hand (GM’s opinion). 
  Examples: a bear or a vampire. -15 points. 
   
  Second-Class Citizen: You belong to a group that 
  receives fewer rights and privileges than “full citizens.” 
  This gives -1 on all reaction rolls except from others of 
  your own kind. Examples: a woman in 19th-century 
  America, or members of some religions. -5 points. 
   
  Subjugated: You are a member of a slave nation, 
  race, or species. Within the overlords’ culture, you 
  have no rights, and suffer the negative effects of Sec-
  ond-Class Citizen and Valuable Property. If you man-
  age to escape to freedom, you acquire the entire 
  overlord nation or species as an Enemy. -20 points. 
   
  Uneducated: You are from a class, race, subcul-
  ture, or species that lacks a cultural repository of wis-
  dom, eschews formal schooling, and takes a dim view 
  of activities that do not relate directly to survival or 
  procreation. You receive -1 to reactions from more 
  sophisticated folk in any situation where your lack of 
  schooling would be apparent, and you may not start 
  with any “book learned” skills (GM’s discretion; most 
  IQ/Hard skills qualify). You may buy off this trait once 
  you have lived in “civilized” parts for long enough 
  (GM’s decision). -5 points. 
   
  Valuable Property: Your society regards you as 
  somebody’s property rather than as a “legal person.” 
  This takes the form of limited freedom or lack of intel-
  lectual respect more than as a reaction modifier. Ex-
  amples: a woman in 18th-century America or 16th-
  century Japan. -10 points. 
   
   
  Social Stigmas must bind those who take them. 
  For example, a medieval Japanese lady must pay for 
  her 10-point bonus by giving up her freedom of move-
  ment in many cases, and must defer to older male rel-
  atives when they are present. A black slave in 19th-
  century America is allowed to learn very little and own 
  almost no property, and has little freedom of any kind 
  unless he manages to escape. (If he does escape, he 
  has traded his Social Stigma for a powerful Enemy!) 
   
  It is possible to have multiple Social Stigmas, pro-
  vided they do not significantly overlap (GM’s decision). 
  For instance, a teenager who drops out of school and 
  joins a street gang could believably end up with Minor, 
  Uneducated, and Criminal Record. 
   
  Space Sickness 
  -10 points 
   
  You are miserable in free fall. You can never learn 
  Free Fall skill; you must always roll at default. In addi-
  tion, you are at -4 on your HT roll to avoid “space ad-
  aptation syndrome” (see p. 233) – and if you fail the 
  
  Page 140  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  first HT roll, the only way for you to recover is to return 
  to normal gravity. This is a screening disadvantage. 
   
  Squeamish 
  -10 points* 
   
  You dislike “yucky stuff”: little bugs and crawly 
  things, blood and dead bodies, slime, etc. When ex-
  posed to such things, you react just as if you had a 
  Phobia. Note that you do not suffer from the standard 
  fears of insects, reptiles, dirt, and the dead! What 
  bothers you isn’t huge bugs or reptiles, ordinary 
  “clean” dirt, and ghosts; it’s nasty creepy things, filth, 
  and bits of grue. 
   
  Status 
  see p. 36 
   
  Status below 0 is a disadvantage. Almost every-
  one reacts negatively to you! 
   
  Stubbornness 
  -5 points 
   
  You always want your own way. Make yourself 
  generally hard to get along with – roleplay it! Your 
  friends may have to make a lot of Fast-Talk rolls to get 
  you to go along with perfectly reasonable plans. Oth-
  ers react to you at -1. 
   
  Susceptible 
  Variable 
   
  You are extremely sensitive to a particular class of 
  noxious items or substances; e.g., disease or poison. 
  You have a penalty to all HT rolls to resist the negative 
  effects of these things. You do not suffer extra dam-
  age, however; for that, see Vulnerability.  
   
  If you are exposed to trace quantities of an item to 
  which you are Susceptible – a dose so tiny that it 
  would not affect most people – you must roll against 
  HT+1, modified by your usual penalty for this disad-
  vantage. If you fail, you suffer half the effects (fatigue, 
  injury, attribute loss, period of incapacitation, etc.) you 
  would suffer from a full dose. For instance, Susceptible 
  to Poison would require a roll if you ingested highly 
  diluted industrial waste in drinking water, while Sus-
  ceptible to Disease would require a roll if you received 
  a “live” vaccine (one that contains weakened mi-
  crobes). Should there be any doubt as to exposure or 
  effects, the GM’s decision is final. 
   
  Point cost depends on the item’s rarity in the 
  environment: 
   
   
  Very Common (e.g., Disease, Poison): -4 points/-1 
  to HT rolls. 
   
  Common (e.g., Bacteria, Gases): -2 points/-1 to 
  HT rolls. 
   
  Occasional (e.g., Intestinal Disease, Ingested Poi-
  son): -1 point/-1 to HT rolls. 
   
   
  You may not take more than five levels of 
  Susceptible to a given item, or more than two separate 
  Susceptible disadvantages, without the GM’s permis-
  sion. You cannot take more levels of Susceptible than 
  would reduce your effective HT to 3. For instance, if 
  your HT is 7, you are limited to four levels of Suscepti-
  ble. If you have any form of Resistant that protects 
  against a given item, you cannot also be Susceptible 
  to that item. 
   
  This trait can simulate many common health prob-
  lems. Use Susceptible to Disease for a weak immune 
  system, Susceptible to Ingested Poison for a tendency 
  not to vomit up noxious substances (a “weak vomit 
  reflex”), etc. 
   
  Truthfulness 
  -5 points* 
   
  You hate to tell a lie – or you are just very bad at 
  it. Make a self-control roll whenever you must keep 
  silent about an uncomfortable truth (lying by omission). 
  Roll at -5 if you actually have to tell a falsehood! If you 
  fail, you blurt out the truth, or stumble so much that 
  your lie is obvious. You have a permanent -5 to Fast 
  Talk skill, and your Acting skill is at -5 when your pur-
  pose is to deceive. 
   
  Unfit 
  -5 or -15 points 
   
  You have worse cardiovascular health than your 
  HT alone would indicate. This is a screening disad-
  vantage. This comes in two levels: 
   
   
  Unfit: You get -1 to all HT rolls to remain con-
  scious, avoid death, resist disease or poison, etc. This 
  does not reduce your HT attribute or HT-based skills! 
  As well, you lose FP at twice the normal rate. -5 
  points. 
   
  Very Unfit: As above, but the penalty to HT rolls is 
  -2. In addition, you recover FP at only half the normal 
  rate. You may not purchase any level of Resistant. -15 
  points. 
   
   
  In both cases, this disadvantage applies only to 
  FP lost to exertion, heat, etc. It has no effect on FP 
  “spent” to power psi. 
   
  Unnatural Features 
  see p. 32 
   
  Unusual Biochemistry 
  -5 points 
   
  You can subsist on human food, but your 
  biochemistry is sufficiently different from that of hu-
  mans that drugs intended for humans don’t work or 
  have unpredictable effects. Drugs that are specific to 
  your biochemistry work normally, but cost 10 times as 
  much as usual. This is an exotic disadvantage that 
  requires the GM’s permission to add.  
   
  When you receive a drug intended for humans, roll 
  1d: 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Page 141 
   
  1-3 – Normal effect. 
   
  4-5 – Normal effect, plus an additional harmful ef-
  fect of the GM’s choosing: lose 1d FP (sickness and 
  nausea), suffer an amplified version of the drug’s usual 
  negative side effects, etc. 
   
  6 – No effect at all. 
   
  Very Fat 
  see p. 29 
   
  Very Unfit 
  see Unfit 
   
  Vow 
  -5 to -15 points 
   
  You have sworn an oath to do (or not to do) some-
  thing. Whatever the oath, you take it seriously; if you 
  didn’t, it would not be a disadvantage. This trait is es-
  pecially appropriate for knights, holy men, and 
  fanatics. 
   
  The point value of a Vow should be directly related 
  to the inconvenience it causes you. The GM is the final 
  judge. Some examples: 
   
   
  Minor 
  Vow: 
  Silence 
  during 
  daylight 
  hours; 
  vegetarianism; chastity (yes, for game purposes, this 
  is minor). -5 points. 
   
  Major Vow: Use no edged weapons; keep silence 
  at all times; never sleep indoors; own no more than 
  your horse can carry. -10 points. 
   
  Great Vow: Never refuse any request for aid; al-
  ways fight with the wrong hand; hunt a given foe until 
  you destroy him; challenge every knight you meet to 
  combat. -15 points. 
   
   
  Note that if you could represent your Vow using 
  another disadvantage, you only get points for one of 
  the two disadvantages (your choice). No one may get 
  points for Vow (Poverty) and Wealth (Dead Broke), 
  Vow (Never kill) and Pacifism (Cannot Kill), etc. 
   
  Many Vows end after a specified period of time. 
  You must buy off such a Vow when it ends. Vows for a 
  period of less than a year are frivolous! If you want to 
  end a Vow before its stated time, the GM may exact a 
  penalty; for instance, in a medieval world, you might 
  have to undertake a quest by way of penance. 
   
  Vulnerability 
  Variable 
   
  You take extra damage from a particular attack 
  form. Whenever this type of attack hits you, the GM 
  applies a special wounding multiplier to damage that 
  penetrates your DR. Regular wounding multipliers (for 
  cutting, impaling, etc.) further multiply the damage. 
  This is an exotic disadvantage that requires the GM’s 
  permission to add. 
   
  Point value depends on the wounding multiplier 
  and the rarity of the attack: 
   
  Vulnerability Table 
  Rarity of 
  Attack 
  Wounding Multiplier 
  ×2 
  ×3 
  ×4 
  Rare 
  -10 points 
  -15 points 
  -20 points 
  Occasional 
  -20 points 
  -30 points 
  -40 points 
  Common 
  -30 points 
  -45 points 
  -60 points 
  Very Common 
  -40 points 
  -60 points 
  -80 points 
   
   
  Use the categories under Limited Defenses (p. 87) 
  to assess rarity. The GM has the final say on the rarity 
  of a given attack form. You may not take more than 
  two types of Vulnerability without GM permission. 
   
  You cannot have Vulnerability to anything against 
  which you have a specific defense: Resistant, Damage 
  Resistance limited to work only against that attack 
  form, etc. You can have both Vulnerability and Super-
  natural Durability‡, but this reduces the utility of Su-
  pernatural Durability. 
   
  Special Limitations 
   
  Fatigue Only: You are vulnerable to an attack that 
  drains FP instead of HP, or to some form of mundane 
  fatigue loss (e.g., ×2 FP from hot weather). -50%. 
   
  Weakness 
  Variable 
   
  You suffer injury merely by being in the presence 
  of a particular substance or condition (which cannot be 
  a food item or something equally easy to avoid). This 
  injury comes off your HP directly, regardless of your 
  DR or defensive advantages. This is an exotic disad-
  vantage that requires the GM’s permission to add. If 
  the Weakness is to something commonly encountered 
  in the service, it becomes a screening disadvantage. 
  The more quickly you take damage, the more points 
  your Weakness is worth: 
   
  Frequency of Damage 
  Value 
  1d per minute 
  -20 points 
  1d per 5 minutes 
  -10 points 
  1d per 30 minutes 
  -5 points 
   
   
  Multiply the base value to reflect the rarity of the 
  damaging substance or condition: 
   
   
  Rare (e.g., exotic radiation or minerals): ×1/2. 
   
  Occasional (e.g., microwave radiation, intense 
  normal cold, airborne pollen): ×1. 
   
  Common (e.g., smoke, nearby magic, horses, loud 
  noises): ×2. 
   
  Very Common (e.g., sunlight, living plants): ×3. 
   
   
  Example: An anaerobic organism takes 1d per 
  minute from oxygen. The base value of a Weakness 
  that inflicts 1d per minute is -20 points. Since oxygen 
  is “Very Common,” final cost is -60 points. 
   
  
  Page 142  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
   
  You may not take more than two types of Weak-
  ness without GM permission. 
   
  Special Limitations 
   
  Fatigue Only: Your Weakness drains FP instead of 
  HP. -50%. 
   
  Variable: Your Weakness is sensitive to received 
  intensity. You may specify one relatively common 
  class of barriers that halves the rate at which you take 
  damage (e.g., heavy clothing or sunscreen, for sun-
  light). On the other hand, intense sources (GM’s deci-
  sion) double the rate at which you suffer harm! -40%. 
   
  Wealth 
  see p. 35 
   
  Below-average levels of Wealth are a disad-
  vantage: be sure to note them on your character 
  sheet. 
   
  Workaholic 
  -5 points 
   
  You tend to drive yourself past your limits, and find 
  it hard to relax and turn away from your work. You al-
  ways work at least half again as long as a normal 
  working day. This often results in missed sleep (see 
  Missed Sleep, p. 228). Most people regard you with 
  respect at first (+1 to reaction rolls), but you eventually 
  suffer -1 or -2 to reactions – especially from friends 
  and loved ones who rarely get to spend time with you. 
   
  Xenophilia 
  -10 points* 
   
  You are instinctively fascinated and attracted by 
  strangers and aliens, no matter how dangerous or 
  frightening they appear to be. Make a self-control roll 
  whenever you meet someone (or something) like this. 
  If you fail, you assume that this person is interested in 
  interacting with you socially. A xenophile finds himself 
  offering drinks to glaring foreign soldiers, making 
  passes at cute vampires, and shaking tentacles with 
  Things Man Was Not Meant To Know while his 
  companions are pointing weapons or running the other 
  way . . . As partial compensation, you get a bonus to 
  Fright Checks when meeting strange creatures 
   
  Self-Control Number 
  Bonus 
  6 
  +4 
  9 
  +3 
  12 
  +2 
  15 
  +1 
   
   
  NPCs with this trait will react to exotic PCs at a 
  similar bonus. 
   
   
   
   
   
  QUIRKS 
   
  A “quirk” is a minor feature that sets you aside 
  from others. It has a negative point value, but it is not 
  necessarily a disadvantage. For instance, a major trait 
  like Greed is a disadvantage. But if you insist on being 
  paid in gold, that’s a quirk. 
   
  You may take up to five quirks at -1 point apiece ... 
  and if you do, you will have five more points to spend. 
  You can also “buy off” a quirk later on by paying 1 
  point, but as a rule, you shouldn’t do that. Quirks might 
  have a small cost, but they are a big part of what 
  makes a character seem “real”! 
   
  Players are encouraged to invent new Quirks . . .  
  which must be approved by their GM, of course. 
   
  MENTAL QUIRKS 
   
  Mental quirks are minor personality traits. They 
  are a contract between you and the GM: “I agree to 
  roleplay these character foibles. In return, you agree to 
  give me a few extra points to spend.” However, you 
  must roleplay them. If you take the quirk “Dislikes 
  heights,” but blithely climb trees and cliffs whenever 
  you need to, the GM will penalize you for bad 
  roleplaying. The points you lose this way will cost you 
  much more than you earned for taking the quirk. So 
  don’t choose a quirk you aren’t willing to roleplay! 
   
  This doesn’t mean the GM should be inflexible 
  about mental quirks. A player should be allowed to 
  change a quirk if something happens during play to 
  justify a noticeable change in his character’s personal-
  ity. The GM should also allow players to leave a few of 
  their five “quirk slots” open during character creation 
  and fill them in after the first couple of play sessions. 
  The most interesting quirks often emerge as the result 
  of roleplaying! 
   
  To qualify as a mental quirk, a personality trait 
  must meet one of two criteria: 
   
  It requires a specific action, behavior, or choice on 
  your part from time to time. This need not take hours, 
  or be especially inconvenient, but it must be something 
  that you can act out in the course of the game; it can-
  not be totally passive. 
   
  It gives you a small penalty very occasionally, or to 
  a narrow set of actions. Negotiate the game effects 
  with the GM. You may take almost any mundane 
  mental disadvantage at quirk level, in which case the 
  rules for that disadvantage are used as guidelines, 
  although the effects will be much less severe. 
   
   
  Example: “Wears black when off duty” is not a 
  valid quirk – it is completely passive, and there are no 
  negative side effects. “Dresses like an Orion Slave 
  Girl” is a permissible quirk if the player and GM agree 
  that it brings too many negative reactions or unwanted 
  attention. 
   
  Attentive 
   
  You tend to stick to one task until it’s done. You 
  get a +1 bonus when working on lengthy tasks, but -3 
  to notice any important interruption! 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  Page 143 
   
  Broad-Minded 
   
  A trivial form of Xenophilia. You get along well with 
  other races and species, and strange looks rarely 
  bother you. 
   
  Careful 
   
  A quirk-level version of Cowardice. You are natu-
  rally cautious, always on the lookout for danger. You 
  dedicate extra time and money to preparations before 
  venturing into a dangerous situation. 
   
  Chauvinistic 
   
  An extremely low level of Intolerance. You are al-
  ways aware of differences in sex, skin color, etc. even 
  if you do not actually react poorly to others. Thin-
  skinned individuals might occasionally react to you at -
  1 as a result. 
   
  Code of Honor 
   
  You may take a minor Code of Honor as a quirk. 
  For instance, you might insist on exhibiting “gentle-
  manly” behavior toward all females, or spurning “chau-
  vinistic” behavior from all males. 
   
  Congenial 
   
  This is a milder version of Chummy. You like com-
  pany and you work well with others. You always 
  choose group action over individual action. 
   
  Delusions 
   
  You may take a completely trivial Delusion as a 
  quirk. This does not affect your everyday behavior, 
  and is unlikely to be noticed by casual acquaintances, 
  but you must believe it! Examples: “The Hydrans have 
  spies on Earth disguised as trashcans.” “Star Fleet 
  controls the Youth Scouts.” “Socks cause diseases of 
  the feet.” 
   
  Dislikes 
   
  You can have any the listed Phobias at the level of 
  a mere “dislike.” If you dislike something, you must 
  avoid it whenever possible, but it does not actually 
  harm you as a Phobia would. Dislikes don’t have to be 
  watered-down Phobias. There is a whole world full of 
  things to dislike: carrots, cats, neckties, violence, 
  communicators, transporters, income tax . . . 
   
  Distractible 
   
  Quirk-level Short Attention Span. You are easily 
  distracted, and don’t do well on long-term projects. 
  You are at -1 when rolling to accomplish long tasks. 
   
  Dreamer 
   
  You have a -1 on any long task, because you tend 
  to spend time thinking of better ways to do it, rather 
  than working. 
   
  Dull 
   
  You are not quite Hidebound, but you tend to stick 
  with tried and true methods. 
   
  Habits or Expressions 
   
  Saying “Jehoshaphat!” or “Bless my collar-button” 
  constantly. .. or carrying a silver piece that you flip into 
  the air ... or never sitting with your back to the door. 
   
  Humble 
   
  A weak form of Selfless. You tend to put the con-
  cerns of others, or of the group, before your own. 
   
  Imaginative 
   
  You are a font of ideas, and are more than willing 
  to share them with others! They may or may not be 
  good ideas, of course . . . 
   
  Incompetence 
   
  You are inept at one specific skill. You cannot 
  learn that skill, and your default is at an extra -4. You 
  cannot be incompetent in a single specialty of a skill; if 
  you are incompetent with Guns, for instance, you are 
  incompetent with all guns. The GM may disallow In-
  competence if the skill would be irrelevant to a given 
  character, or is unlikely to play a role in the campaign. 
   
  Likes 
   
  If you like something, you will seek it out whenever 
  possible. Gadgets, kittens, shiny knives, ceramic owls, 
  fine art . . . whatever. This is not a compulsion – just a 
  preference. 
   
  Minor Addiction 
   
  You may take Addiction as a quirk, if you are ad-
  dicted to a drug that causes psychological dependency 
  and works out to 0 points under the Addiction rules. 
   
  Nosy 
   
  A lesser version of Curious. You are always pok-
  ing your nose into corners and everyone else’s busi-
  ness (which is likely to result in a small reaction pen-
  alty once in a while). 
   
  Proud 
   
  This is Selfish at quirk level. Individual success, 
  wealth, or social standing concerns you greatly. NPCs 
  with this quirk react at -1 to orders, insults, or social 
  slights. 
   
  Staid 
   
  You may take this very low level of Incurious as a 
  quirk. You are likely to ignore matters that don’t imme-
  diately affect you. 
   
  Uncongenial 
   
  A lesser version of Loner. You prefer to be alone. 
  You always choose individual action over group action. 
   
  Vow 
   
  A trivial Vow – e.g., never drink alcohol, treat all 
  ladies with courtesy, or pay 10% of your income to 
  your church – is a quirk. 
   
  
  Page 144  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Advantages and Disadvantages 
  PHYSICAL QUIRKS 
   
  Physical quirks are physical disadvantages that 
  are only mildly or rarely limiting. They do not require 
  roleplaying, but they give specific, minor penalties in 
  play.  
   
  Unlike mental quirks, you cannot normally change 
  physical quirks – that would make no more sense than 
  exchanging One Eye for One Hand, under most cir-
  cumstances. Also, you must define physical quirks 
  when you create your character; you cannot use them 
  to fill open “quirk slots” once the campaign begins. 
   
  Acceleration Weakness 
   
  You are susceptible to the bad effects of extreme 
  acceleration, and get -3 to HT rolls to avoid them. 
   
  Cannot Float 
   
  You always sink in water. 
   
  Distinctive Features 
   
  You have a physical feature – e.g., “Brilliant blue 
  hair” – that makes you stand out in a crowd. This gives 
  -1 to your Disguise and Shadowing skills, and +1 to 
  others’ attempts to identify or follow you. Some Dis-
  tinctive Features may stem from full-blown disad-
  vantages. For instance, an albino (someone with no 
  natural body pigment, resulting in pink eyes and pink-
  white hair and skin) would also have Weakness 
  (Sunlight). 
   
  Minor Addiction 
   
  You may take Addiction as a quirk, if you are ad-
  dicted to a drug that causes physiological dependency 
  and works out to 0 points under the Addiction rules. 
   
  Minor Handicaps 
   
  You may take most mundane physical disad-
  vantages at quirk level; for instance, you could use a 
  watered-down version of Lame for a “bum knee.” Diffi-
  culties rarely crop up, but are genuinely inconvenient 
  when they do. If you have this kind of handicap, the 
  GM may give you -1 to attribute, skill, or reaction rolls, 
  as appropriate, in situations where it would logically 
  interfere. 
   
  Nervous Stomach 
   
  You have -3 to HT rolls to avoid illness (typically in 
  the form of attribute penalties or vomiting) brought on 
  by rich or spicy food, strong drink, etc. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Join us on Facebook and Twitter  
   
   
  ADB, Inc.’s page on Facebook is up 
  and running, and we’re finding a lot of new 
  faces who haven’t been around the BBS or 
  Forum. We have pictures up of ADB, Inc. 
  staff, links to many of our videos, snippets 
  of information, and interaction with our 
  fans. Jean Sexton is the main voice you 
  will hear on our page on Facebook. If she 
  doesn’t know an answer, she’ll ask one of 
  the Steves and ferry the answer back. 
   
  All that is left is for you to "like" the 
  page for Amarillo Design Bureau, Inc. if 
  you haven’t done so already. Here’s the 
  link:  
   
  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Amarillo-
  Design-Bureau-Inc/231728653279?ref=mf. 
   
   
  Many people on our page on Facebook 
  have not been on our BBS, so perhaps our 
  new outpost on Facebook will become the 
  place for those who want to keep up with 
  current events without the intense 
  atmosphere (and flood of information) 
  found on the BBS. If you are very busy on 
  a given day, checking our page on 
  Facebook would tell you quickly if 
  something important has been announced. 
  The page also has its own art galleries, 
  plus a place where you can post a review 
  of our products. It also has discussions 
  where you can link up with fellow gamers. 
   
  We've also added a Twitter feed which 
  you can follow at  
   
  https://twitter.com/ADBInc_Amarillo. 
   
  Be sure to follow us for a quick look at what 
  is going on! 
   
  We hope to see you there! For 
  Facebook users, be sure to add us to an 
  interest group to see all of our posts. 
   
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
  Page 145 
   
   
   
   
  A “skill” is a particular kind of knowledge; for in-
  stance, judo, physics, or auto mechanics. Every skill is 
  separate, though some skills help you to learn others. 
  Just as in real life, you start your career with some 
  skills and can learn more if you spend time training. 
   
  A number called “skill level” measures your ability 
  with each of your skills: the higher the number, the 
  greater your skill. For instance, “Shortsword-17” 
  means a skill level of 17 with the shortsword. When 
  you try to do something, you (or the GM) roll 3d 
  against the appropriate skill, modified for that particular 
  situation. If the number you roll is less than or equal to 
  your modified score for that skill, you succeed! But a 
  roll of 17 or 18 is an automatic failure. For more on 
  skill rolls, see Chapter 5. 
   
  Each skill is qualified in several ways to indicate 
  what basic attribute represents talent with that skill, 
  how easy the skill is to learn, any special restrictions 
  on who can learn the skill, and whether the skill is 
  broad or narrow in focus. 
   
  NOTE TO PLAYERS 
   
  The selection of skills in this chapter is taken from 
  GURPS 4th Edition. We have chosen the ones we 
  feel are best suited for the Star Fleet Universe and 
  think you can play with just these; however, more are 
  included in GURPS Basic Set Characters. When we 
  reference one of these skills, it will be marked with a ‡ 
  symbol. Most references to magic and the super-
  natural have been omitted as not germane to the Star 
  Fleet Universe. 
   
  CONTROLLING ATTRIBUTE 
   
  Each skill is based on one of the four basic attrib-
  utes or, more rarely, on Perception or Will. Your skill 
  level is calculated directly from this “controlling attrib-
  ute”: the higher your attribute score, the more effective 
  you are with every skill based on it! If your character 
  concept calls for many skills based on a given attrib-
  ute, you should consider starting with a high level in 
  that attribute, as this will be most cost-effective in the 
  long run. 
   
  ST-based skills depend wholly on brawn, and are 
  very rare. ST determines the power you can bring to 
  bear with DX-based skills far more often than it affects 
  skill levels directly. 
   
  DX-based skills rely on coordination, reflexes, and 
  steady hands. This is representative of athletic and 
  combat skills, and most vehicle operation skills. 
   
  IQ-based skills require knowledge, creativity, and 
  reasoning ability. This includes all artistic, scientific, 
  and social skills. 
   
  HT-based skills are governed by physical fitness. 
  This includes any activity influenced by hygiene, pos-
  ture, or lung capacity. 
   
  Perception-based skills involve spotting subtle dif-
  ferences. This is typical of skills used to detect clues 
  and hidden objects. 
   
  Will-based skills hinge on mental focus and clarity 
  of thought. Most allow one to resist mental attacks, 
  bring about an altered mental state, or focus “inner 
  strength.” 
   
  DIFFICULTY LEVEL 
   
  Some fields demand more study and practice than 
  others. GURPS uses four “difficulty levels” to rate the 
  effort required to learn and improve a skill. The more 
  difficult the skill, the more points you must spend to 
  buy it at a given skill level. 
   
  Easy skills are things that anyone could do 
  reasonably well after a short learning period – whether 
  because they are second nature to most people or 
  because there isn’t a whole lot to learn. 
   
  Average skills include most combat skills, mun-
  dane job skills, and the practical social and survival 
  skills that ordinary people use daily. This is the most 
  common difficulty level. 
   
  Hard skills require intensive formal study. This is 
  typical of most “academic” skills, and complex athletic 
  and combat skills that require years of training. 
   
  Very Hard skills have prodigious scope, or are al-
  ien, counterintuitive, or deliberately shrouded in se-
  crecy. The most fundamental of sciences are Very 
  Hard. 
   
  TECHNOLOGICAL SKILLS 
   
  Certain skills are different at each tech level (see 
  Technology Level, p. 33). These “technological skills” 
  are designated by “/TL.” This means that when you 
  learn the skill, you must learn it at a specific tech level 
  (TL). Always note the TL when you write down such a 
  skill; e.g., “Surgery/TL4” for the TL4 version of Surgery 
  
  Page 146  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
  skill. Surgery/TL4 (cut his arm off with an axe) is noth-
  ing like Surgery/TL9 (graft on a cloned replacement 
  arm)! 
   
  You learn technological skills at your personal TL. 
  You may also choose skills from a lower TL. You can 
  only learn skills from a higher TL in play – and only if 
  you have a teacher and the skill is not based on IQ. To 
  learn IQ-based technological skills from a higher TL, 
  you must first raise your personal TL. 
   
  Technological skills rely on language, tool use, or 
  both. This means that only sapient characters – those 
  with IQ 6 or higher – may learn them.  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  PREREQUISITES 
   
  Some skills have other skills as prerequisites. This 
  is the case when an advanced skill is based on, and in 
  some ways an outgrowth of, a basic one. To study the 
  advanced skill, you must have at least one point in the 
  prerequisite skill. 
   
  Certain skills also require that you know a 
  prerequisite skill at a minimum skill level. Where this is 
  the case, you must spend the points required to learn 
  the prerequisite skill at the specified level before you 
  can learn the advanced skill. 
   
  A few skills have advantages as prerequisites. In 
  order to learn such a skill, you must possess the re-
  quired advantage. If you do not have the advantage, 
  and cannot acquire it in play, you can never learn that 
  skill. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  SPECIALTIES 
   
  An entry on the skill list may represent an entire 
  category of closely related skills that share a single 
  skill name. Examples include Armoury and Survival. 
  Skills like this are marked with a dagger (†). The skills 
  within such a category are called “specialties.” When 
  you buy a general skill of this kind, you must specify 
  which specialty you are learning. On your character 
  sheet, note the name of the specialty in parentheses 
  after the general skill name; e.g., “Armoury (Small 
  Arms)” or “Survival (Arctic).” 
   
  You may learn skills like this any number of times, 
  with a different specialty each time, because each 
  specialty is a different skill. There is usually a favora-
  ble “default” between specialties (see Skill Defaults, p. 
  150) which may let you purchase additional specialties 
  more cheaply. 
   
  Optional Specialties 
   
  Many IQ-based skills – notably “academic” skills 
  such as Literature‡ and Physics – have countless sub-
  fields but do not require you to select a specialty. As 
  written, if you learn a skill like this, you are a general-
  ist, knowledgeable about every aspect of the skill. 
  Tech-Level Modifiers 
   
   
  Technological skills work best with the specific 
  artifacts and techniques of their own TL. When you 
  work with equipment or concepts of a TL different 
  from that of your skill, you suffer a penalty to your 
  skill roll. 
   
  IQ-Based Technological Skills 
   
  IQ-based technological skills represent a studied 
  technical understanding of the specific methods and 
  tools common at a particular TL. There is a penalty 
  to your skill roll when you use these skills with the 
  equipment of a higher TL (which relies on scientific 
  and engineering principles unknown to you) or a 
  lower TL (which depends on principles that were, at 
  best, a “historical footnote” during your training. 
   
  Equipment's TL 
  Skill Penalty 
  Skill's TL +4 or more 
  Impossible! 
  Skill's TL +3 
  -15 
  Skill's TL +2 
  -10 
  Skill's TL +1 
  -5 
  Skill's TL 
  0 
  Skill's TL -1 
  -1 
  Skill's TL -2 
  -3 
  Skill's TL -3 
  -5 
  Skill's TL -4 
  -7 
  Per extra -1 to TL 
  -2 
   
  Other Technological Skills 
   
  Technological skills based on attributes other 
  than IQ let you use technology; they do not assume 
  any real understanding of the science or engineering 
  behind the tools. For instance, a TL5 gunslinger 
  accustomed to firing a Colt Peacemaker might find a 
  TL7 Colt Python a bit strange, but he would have 
  little difficulty shooting it. 
   
  For skills like this, apply a flat penalty of -1 per 
  TL of difference between the skill and the 
  equipment. For instance, a TL5 gunman would be at 
  -2 to shoot a TL7 revolver. It is irrelevant whether 
  the equipment is more or less advanced – a TL7 
  policeman would be at -2 to fire a TL5 revolver, too. 
  Grouped Skills 
   
  A set of distantly related skills that use 
  identical rules may appear under a single 
  heading to avoid repetition. If a skill 
  description does not say that you must 
  specialize, and indicates that it represents 
  a collection of skills, then the subentries 
  represent stand-alone skills – not 
  specialties. Use only the name of the 
  relevant subentry when you refer to such 
  skills. 
   
   
  Example: Hand-to-hand weapon skills 
  are grouped under Melee Weapon, but if 
  you learn to use a shortsword, write 
  “Shortsword,” not “Melee Weapon 
  (Shortsword).” 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
  Page 147 
  However, you may opt to specialize in a single, narrow 
  area. You may only do this with an Average or harder 
  IQ-based skill, and only if the GM agrees that the cho-
  sen subfield is logical given the skill and your TL. 
   
  When you choose an optional specialty, write 
  down the skill and its specialty just as if you were se-
  lecting a required specialty. You learn the specialized 
  skill as if it were one level easier. Unless otherwise 
  noted, prerequisites are unchanged. The general skill 
  defaults to the specialized one at -2; roll against this 
  whenever you must answer questions outside your 
  field. Any skill that defaults to the general skill also 
  defaults to all of its optional specialties, but at an addi-
  tional -2. 
   
   
  Example: Chemistry is IQ/Hard and does not re-
  quire a specialty. You could learn the optional spe-
  cialty Chemistry (Analytical) as if it were one level 
  easier, or IQ/Average. Your general Chemistry skill 
  would default to Chemistry (Analytical)-2. Metallurgy, 
  which normally defaults to Chemistry-5, would default 
  to Chemistry (Analytical)-7. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  BUYING SKILLS 
   
   
  In order to learn or improve a skill, you must spend 
  character points. When you spend points on a skill, 
  you are getting training to bring that skill up to a useful 
  level. Skills are easy to learn at first – a little training 
  goes a long way! But added improvement costs more.  
   
  The point cost of a skill depends on two things: its 
  difficulty and the final skill level you wish to attain. Use 
  the Skill Cost Table (on the next page) to calculate a 
  skill’s point cost.  
   
  The first column shows the skill level you are try-
  ing to attain, relative to the skill’s controlling attribute – 
  DX for DX-based skills, IQ for IQ-based skills, and so 
  forth. For instance, if your DX were 12, a level of “At-
  tribute-1” would be DX-1, or 11; “Attribute+0” would be 
  DX, or 12; and “Attribute+1” would be DX+1, or 13. 
   
   
   
   
  The next four columns show the character point 
  costs to learn skills of different difficulties – Easy, Av-
  erage, Hard, and Very Hard – at the desired skill level. 
  Harder skills cost more points to learn! 
   
   
  Example: A Klingon warrior with DX 14 wishes to 
  learn Shortsword (DX/Average) at level 17. Since skill 
  17 is equal to his DX+3, he goes to the “Attribute+3” 
  row. Then he reads along the row to the “Average” 
  column to find the point cost: 12 points. 
   
   
  There is no limit (except lifespan) to the amount of 
  improvement possible with any skill. However, the 
  useful maximum for most skills is between 20 and 30. 
  Problems to challenge a greater skill are rare! 
   
   
  Familiarity 
   
  Any skill used to operate equipment – e.g., Beam Weapons/TL11 (Pistol) or Driving/TL7 
  (Automobile) – takes a penalty when you are faced with an unfamiliar type of item. For instance, if you 
  were trained on a phaser pistol, a disruptor pistol would be “unfamiliar.” Assume that an unfamiliar 
  piece of equipment gives -2 to skill except where an individual skill description specifies otherwise. 
   
  In general, if you have the skill to use a piece of equipment, you are considered familiar with a new 
  make or model after you have had eight hours of practice with it. Some skills require more or less 
  practice than this, so be sure to read the skill description. 
   
  There is no limit to the number of types of gun, car, plane, etc. you can become familiar with. Each 
  of these items is called a “familiarity.” If you have at least six familiarities for a given skill, the GM may 
  roll against your skill when you pick up a new piece of equipment. On a success, you are already 
  familiar with something similar and may use the new device at no penalty. The GM may also rule that a 
  new item is so similar to a known one that it is familiar – for instance, two similar models of Colt revolver 
  should be considered identical. 
   
  Equipment from another tech level will usually be unfamiliar. This gives both TL and familiarity 
  modifiers. Practice can eliminate unfamiliarity penalties, but to shed TL penalties, you must relearn the 
  operation skill at the equipment’s TL. Exception: Improved or obsolete versions of items with which you 
  are already familiar do not give unfamiliarity penalties. 
   
  Familiarity for Beginning Characters 
   
  Starting characters may specify two familiarities per point spent on a skill. For instance, if you have 
  four points in Guns (Pistol), you can be familiar with up to eight handguns.  
   
  Both specialization and familiarity come into play with many skills, but they are not the same thing. 
  Driving (Automobile) is a specialty of Driving: it is a separate skill from Driving (Locomotive), and to 
  know both, you must pay points for both. “Volkswagen Bug” is a familiarity of Driving (Automobile): you 
  can select it for free as one of your starting familiarities. 
   
  
  Page 148  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
  Skill Cost Table 
  Your Final 
  -------------- Difficulty of Skill ------------- 
  Skill Level 
  Easy 
  Average 
  Hard 
  Very Hard 
  Attribute-3 
  – 
  – 
  – 
  1 
  Attribute-2 
  – 
  – 
  1 
  2 
  Attribute-1 
  – 
  1 
  2 
  4 
  Attribute+0 
  1 
  2 
  4 
  8 
  Attribute+1 
  2 
  4 
  8 
  12 
  Attribute+2 
  4 
  8 
  12 
  16 
  Attribute+3 
  8 
  12 
  16 
  20 
  Attribute+4 
  12 
  16 
  20 
  24 
  Attribute+5 
  16 
  20 
  24 
  28 
  Extra -1 
  +4 
  +4 
  +4 
  +4 
   
  IMPROVING YOUR SKILLS 
   
  There are two direct ways to increase your skills in 
  play: spend the bonus points you earn for successful 
  adventuring on new or better skills, or dedicate game 
  time to study, which gives you points you can use to 
  add or improve the skills you studied. In either case, 
  the cost to improve a skill is the difference between 
  the cost of the desired skill level and the cost of your 
  current skill level. For more information, see Chapter 
  6. 
   
  Free Increases in Skills 
   
  There is one way to increase many skills at once: 
  pay the points to improve an attribute (see Chapter 6). 
  If you do this, all your skills based on that attribute go 
  up by the same amount, at no extra cost. For instance, 
  if you raise DX by one level, all of your DX-based skills 
  also go up by one level. Further improvements are 
  based on the new DX value.  
   
  You can also base skills on “defaults” from other 
  skills; see Skill Defaults (p. 150). Any skill bought up 
  from such a default is likely to enjoy a free increase 
  when you raise the skill to which it defaults. 
   
  MEANING OF SKILL LEVELS 
   
   
  So you have Astronomy-9, Savoir-Faire-22, and 
  Shortsword-13. What does that mean? What is good, 
  bad, and average? That’s very important when you 
  create a character. It’s also important if you’re con-
  verting characters from another system into GURPS, 
  or vice versa. There are two equally valid – but differ-
  ent – ways to make skill-level comparisons. 
   
  PROBABILITY OF SUCCESS 
   
  The easiest way to get a feel for your skill levels is 
  to look at your odds of success. To use a skill, you 
  must roll 3d against your skill level. This is called a 
  “success roll” (see Chapter 5). For instance, if your 
  skill is 13, you must roll 13 or less on 3d to succeed. 
  The table below shows the probability of success at 
  each skill level – that is, your chance of rolling less 
  than or equal to a given number on 3d. Note that skill 
  levels can be over 18, but a roll of 17 or 18 is auto-
  matically a failure. Nobody succeeds 100% of the time! 
   
  Skill 
  Level 
  Probability 
  of Success 
   
  Skill 
  Level 
  Probability 
  of Success 
  3 
  0.5% 
   
  10 
  50% 
  4 
  1.9% 
   
  11 
  62.5% 
  5 
  4.6% 
   
  12 
  74.1% 
  6 
  9.3% 
   
  13 
  83.8% 
  7 
  16.2% 
   
  14 
  90.7% 
  8 
  25.9% 
   
  15 
  95.4% 
  9 
  37.5% 
   
  16+ 
  98.1% 
   
  Base Skill vs. Effective Skill 
   
  Your unmodified skill level is called your base skill. 
  It measures your odds of success at an “average” task 
  under adventuring conditions – in other words, in a 
  stressful situation where the consequences of failure 
  are significant. Some examples:  
   
   
  Battles and chase scenes. 
   
  Races against the clock. 
   
  Situations where your health, freedom, finances, 
  or equipment is at risk. 
   
   
  The GM may modify your skill level to reflect the 
  difficulty of a task. Your final skill level, after applying 
  all modifiers for the task at hand, is your effective skill 
  for that task. 
   
  In nonadventuring situations when you have lots of 
  time to prepare and face minimal risk, the GM may 
  give you +4 or more to skill. (The GM might even de-
  clare such actions successful instead of wasting time 
  on a skill roll; see When to Roll, p. 183). Ordinary peo-
  ple almost always receive this bonus at mundane 
  tasks, even if they are working from default skill! 
   
   
  Example: A shuttlecraft pilot has Piloting-12 – nor-
  mally a 74% chance of success. For day-to-day flying, 
  however, he rolls at +4. This makes his effective skill 
  16, for a 98% chance of success. 
   
   
  On the other hand, especially tough adventuring 
  situations can result in penalties. See Culture (p. 33), 
  Language (p. 33), Tech-Level Modifiers (p. 146), Fa-
  miliarity (p. 147), Equipment Modifiers (p. 186), and 
  Task Difficulty (p. 184) for some common modifiers. 
  Be sure to take these factors into account when buying 
  your skills. 
   
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
  Page 149 
  RELATIVE SKILL LEVEL 
   
  Skill level reflects a combination of talent and 
  training. For instance, a DX 17 warrior has a lot of raw 
  talent. He could quickly learn Shortsword-17, as this is 
  only DX level for him. A DX 10 fighter would need con-
  siderably more practice to become that skilled, as 
  Shortsword-17 is DX+7 level for him. 
   
  Such details are often unimportant; two warriors 
  with Shortsword-17 are equally good at smiting foes, 
  regardless of whether their skill is due to talent or 
  training. However, there are times when you need (or 
  want) to know the difference. 
   
  It is easy to compare talent – just look at the 
  controlling attribute for the skill. In the example above, 
  the DX 17 swordsman is clearly more talented than the 
  DX 10 fighter. 
   
  To compare training, you must look at relative skill 
  level. You can calculate it quickly by subtracting con-
  trolling attribute from skill level. In our example, the DX 
  17 warrior has a relative skill level of 0, while the DX 
  10 fighter has a relative skill level of +7, and is better 
  trained. 
   
  Relative skill level becomes important when using 
  the next two rules; therefore, you might opt to note it in 
  parentheses after your skill level; e.g., “Shortsword-17 
  (+7).” 
   
  Using Skills with Other Attributes 
   
  The GM will sometimes find it useful to ask for a 
  skill roll based on an attribute other than the controlling 
  one for a skill. This is realistic; few skills really depend 
  just on brains, just on agility, etc. To make a roll like 
  this, simply add the relative skill level to the attribute 
  you wish to use and make a success roll against the 
  total. 
   
   
  Example: A warrior with DX 10, IQ 14, and Short-
  sword-17 has a relative skill level of +7 in Shortsword. 
  If the GM asked for an IQ-based Shortsword roll, the 
  swordsman would roll against 14 + 7 = 21 instead of 
  his Shortsword skill of 17. 
   
   
  Some skill descriptions present situations where 
  skill rolls using other attributes would be appropriate. 
  The GM is encouraged to dream up more! A few 
  examples: 
   
   
  DX-based rolls against IQ-based repair skills to 
  reach into tight corners; ST-based rolls against these 
  skills to manhandle engine blocks and other heavy 
  parts into place. 
   
  IQ-based rolls against DX-based combat skills to 
  feint an opponent, formulate tactics, or perform minor 
  maintenance on weapons; ST-based rolls against 
  these skills to disarm someone using brute strength 
  rather than finesse. 
   
  IQ-based rolls against DX-based vehicle-operation 
  skills to recall traffic regulations, remember to change 
  the oil, or identify the make and model of a vehicle; 
  HT-based rolls against these skills to stay awake at 
  the wheel. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Choosing Your Skill Levels 
   
  Gauging what skill levels you need to survive 
  is no easy task. Determining how much skill is 
  realistic can be tricky as well. When creating a PC 
  (or an NPC), bear the following guidelines in 
  mind. 
   
  Ordinary Folks 
   
  For an “average” person, it is reasonable to 
  assume attributes between 9 and 11, and from 20 
  to 40 points in “life skills” (varying with education 
  and dedication). Most people spread these points 
  fairly evenly over roughly a dozen skills. This will 
  result in skill levels between 8 and 13. Skills used 
  to earn a living tend toward the upper end of this 
  range (12 or 13), while little-used skills and those 
  originating from long-forgotten college courses 
  are at the lower end (8 or 9). 
   
  Experts 
   
  Once your skill level reaches 14, additional 
  levels of skill don’t improve your odds of success 
  much. Furthermore, it can cost a lot of points to 
  acquire higher skill levels. If you are an 
  adventurer, though, the investment is worthwhile, 
  to help you overcome the penalties for difficult 
  tasks. For instance, if you have Lockpicking-23, 
  ordinary locks are no easier for you – you fail on a 
  17 or 18, no matter what. But when you run into a 
  hard lock that gives -6 to skill, your effective skill 
  is 17 and you still only fail on a 17 or 18! Most 
  prime team members are experts at two or more 
  skills. 
   
  Masters 
   
  If you are a “master” in your field, you might 
  be tempted to increase your skill levels ad 
  infinitum. However, a true master has a detailed 
  understanding of every aspect of his calling, best 
  represented by stopping at a masterful level (20 
  to 25) in the “main” skill and branching out into 
  several “subsidiary” skills. An extreme level 
  (anything over 25) in one skill tends to be 
  excessive and unbelievable – and is frequently 
  less useful than a lesser level combined with one 
  or more subsidiary skills. 
   
  Masters should also consider putting some 
  points into advantages that negate skill penalties 
  for adverse conditions. For instance, a prime 
  team member who is a master in a combat skill 
  might buy Combat Reflexes (improving his 
  chances of defending himself), extending his 
  capabilities in ways that high skill alone cannot. 
   
  To encourage players to develop their 
  characters laterally instead of sinking all their 
  points into just one or two skills, the GM might 
  wish to consider limiting PCs to skill levels 
  somewhere in the 20-25 range. 
   
  
  Page 150  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
   
   
   
  Your relative skill level will sometimes modify ST 
  for a specific task (e.g., kicking in doors). Only modify 
  ST if your relative skill level is positive – you get a bo-
  nus for high skill, but you never get a penalty for low 
  skill. 
   
  Using Skills without Attributes 
   
  The GM might occasionally want two people with 
  identical training to have similar odds of success re-
  gardless of their attributes, in a situation where training 
  really does matter more than innate talent. In this 
  case, just add relative skill level to a flat number – 
  usually 10 – and roll against the result. 
   
   
  Example: Two accountants are vying for a promo-
  tion. One is talented, with IQ 14 and Accounting-18 
  (+4). The other is dull but experienced, with IQ 8 and 
  Accounting-15 (+7). The GM decides to handle this as 
  a Quick Contest: each accountant must attempt his 
  Accounting roll, and the one who succeeds by the 
  most will get the promotion. However, the boss cares 
  about seniority above all, so the GM applies relative 
  skill level – which reflects experience – to a flat base of 
  10. This leaves IQ out of the picture! The talented ac-
  countant rolls against 10 + 4 = 14, while his rival rolls 
  against 10 + 7 = 17. Sometimes, life isn’t fair . . . 
   
  SKILL DEFAULTS: USING 
  SKILLS YOU DON’T KNOW 
   
   
  Most skills have a “default level”: the level at which 
  you use the skill if you have no training. A skill has a 
  default level if it is something that everybody can do . . 
  . a little bit. As a general rule, a skill defaults to its 
  controlling attribute at -4 if Easy, -5 if Average, or -6 if 
  Hard. There are exceptions to this, but not many. 
   
   
  Example: 
  The 
  “default” 
  for 
  Broadsword 
  (DX/Average) is DX-5. If your DX is 11, and you have 
  to swing a broadsword without training, then your “de-
  fault” skill at Broadsword is 11 - 5 = 6. You need a roll 
  of 6 or less to hit. 
   
   
  Some skills have no default level. For instance, 
  Alchemy‡, Hypnotism‡, and Karate are complex 
  enough that you cannot use them at all without 
  training.  
   
  Regardless of your default skill level, you do not 
  get the special benefits of a skill – especially combat 
  bonuses such as improved damage, special defenses, 
  and unpenalized off-hand use – when you use a skill 
  at default. To enjoy these benefits, you must spend at 
  least one point on the skill. 
   
  The Rule of 20 
   
  If a skill defaults to a basic attribute that is higher 
  than 20, treat that attribute as 20 when figuring default 
  skill. 
   
   
  Who Gets a Default?  
   
  Only individuals from a society where a skill is 
  known may attempt a default roll against that skill. For 
  instance, the default for Scuba skill assumes you are 
  from a world where scuba gear exists and where most 
  people would have some idea – if only from TV – of 
  how to use it. A medieval knight transported to the 
  21st century would not get a default roll to use scuba 
  gear the first time he saw it! 
   
  Defaulting to Other Skills 
   
  Some skills default to another skill instead of or as 
  well as an attribute.  
   
   
  Example: Broadsword defaults to Shortsword-2, 
  because the two skills are very similar. A Shortsword 
  skill of 13 gives you a “default” Broadsword skill of 11. 
   
  Double Defaults 
   
  A skill can’t default to another skill known only by 
  default. If Skill A defaults to Skill B-5, and Skill B de-
  faults to IQ-5, does Skill A default to IQ-10? No. 
   
  Improving Skills from Default 
   
  If your default level in a skill is high enough that 
  you would normally have to pay points for that level, 
  you may improve the skill past its default level by pay-
  ing only the difference in point costs between your new 
  level and your default level. 
   
   
  Example: Suppose you have DX 12 and Short-
  sword at 13. Since Broadsword defaults to Short-
  sword-2, your default Broadsword skill is 11. Skill 11 is 
  equal to DX-1 for you. This would have cost 1 point 
  had you bought it directly. The next level (DX) costs 2 
  points. The difference is 1 point; to raise your Broad-
  sword skill from its default level of 11 (DX-1) to 12 
  (DX), you need only pay 1 character point. You do not 
  have to pay the full 2 points for DX level! 
   
   
  If you increase a skill, skills that default to it go up 
  as well. However, if you have spent points to improve 
  these defaults, you may not see an increase when you 
  raise the skill to which they default. This is best illus-
  trated with our running example: 
   
   
  Example: Suppose you spend the point to raise 
  Broadsword to 12 (DX). Now you spend 4 more points 
  on Shortsword, improving that skill from 13 to 14 (from 
  DX+1 to DX+2). Does your Broadsword skill also go 
  up a level? No. Your new default from Shortsword is 
  now 12 (Shortsword at 14, minus 2), but to go from 
  level 12 to level 13 (from DX to DX+1) with Broad-
  sword costs 2 points, and you’ve only spent 1 point on 
  Broadsword. Keep track of that point, though. When 
  you spend one more point on Broadsword, it goes up a 
  level, too. 
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
  Page 151 
   
  When two skills default to one another and you 
  have improved both, you may switch the “direction” of 
  your default if this would give you better skill levels. 
  Redistribute the points spent on both skills as needed. 
  You may never decrease either skill level this way, 
  however; you must always spend enough points to 
  keep each skill at its current level. 
   
   
  Example: Keeping Shortsword at 14, you spend a 
  total of 22 points on Broadsword, improving your skill 
  from its default of 12 (DX) to 18 (DX+6). You’d like to 
  default Shortsword from Broadsword now, rather than 
  vice versa. Taking the 8 points you spent on Short-
  sword and the 22 points you spent on Broadsword, 
  you have 30 points to work with. First, buy Broadsword 
  at 18 (DX+6) for 24 points. Then default Shortsword 
  from Broadsword, getting 16 (that is, Broadsword-2). 
  Finally, spend the remaining 6 points on Shortsword. 
  This will be enough to raise Shortsword skill to 17 (and 
  2 more points will make that 18). 
   
  This feels like an abstract number shuffle, but it 
  works. You’re no better off than if you had started out 
  with Broadsword skill, and you aren’t penalized for 
  learning Shortsword first. 
   
  SKILL LIST 
   
   
  The skill list is sorted alphabetically by skill name. 
  Each entry gives the following information: 
   
   
  Name: The skill’s name. Technological skills are 
  noted as such; e.g., “Machinist/TL.” Skills marked with 
  a dagger (†) require you to choose a specialty (see 
  Specialties, p. 146). 
   
  Type: The skill’s controlling attribute and difficulty 
  level; e.g., “IQ/Average.” 
   
  Defaults: The attributes or other skills to which the 
  skill defaults if you have not studied it. Where there is 
  more than one possible default, use the most favora-
  ble. Some skills have no default – you cannot attempt 
  to use these skills if you don’t know them. 
   
  Prerequisites: Traits you must possess before you 
  can spend points on the skill. If the prerequisite is an-
  other skill, you must have at least one point in that 
  skill. Not all skills have prerequisites. 
   
  Description: An explanation of what the skill is for 
  and how it works in play. 
   
  Modifiers: A list of common bonuses and penalties 
  for use of the skill. The GM decides whether a partic-
  ular modifier applies in a given situation. If an ad-
  vantage or disadvantage permanently modifies base 
  skill level rather than simply giving a bonus or a pen-
  alty for a specific task, add this permanent modifier to 
  the skill level listed on your character sheet. 
   
  Accounting 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Defaults: IQ-6, Finance-4, Mathematics (Statis-
  tics)-5, or Merchant-5. 
   
   
  This is the ability to keep books of account, to ex-
  amine the condition of a business, etc. A successful 
  Accounting roll (requires at least two hours of study, 
  and possibly months to audit a large corporation) can 
  tell you whether financial records are correct, and pos-
  sibly reveal evidence of forgery, tampering, and similar 
  criminal activity. 
   
   
  Modifiers: The time modifiers under Time Spent 
  (p. 185) often apply; the Talents (p.103) of Business 
  Acumen and Mathematical Ability both provide a 
  bonus. 
   
  Acrobatics 
  DX/Hard 
   
  Default: DX-6. 
   
   
  This is the ability to perform gymnastic stunts, roll, 
  take falls, etc. This can be handy on an adventure, as 
  tightrope walking, human pyramids, and trapeze 
  swinging all have useful applications. Each trick re-
  quires a separate skill roll, at whatever penalties the 
  GM sees fit. If you are performing stunts on a moving 
  vehicle or mount, roll against the lower of Acrobatics 
  and the appropriate Driving or Riding skill. 
   
  You may substitute an Acrobatics roll for a DX roll 
  in any attempt to jump, roll, avoid falling down, etc. As 
  well, you may attempt an Acrobatic Dodge in combat – 
  a jump or roll that avoids an attack in a flashy way (see 
  Acrobatic Dodge, p. 212). Finally, a successful Acro-
  batics roll will reduce the effective distance of any fall 
  by five yards (see Falling, p. 233). 
   
  Two special versions of Acrobatics are also 
  available: 
   
   
  Aerobatics: The ability to execute tight turns, 
  loops, power dives, etc. in flight. You must be able to 
  fly to learn this skill – although how you fly (wings, jet 
  pack, etc.) is irrelevant. Natural fliers might find flight to 
  be as effortless as humans find walking, but they must 
  still learn Aerobatics in order to engage in complex 
  acrobatics. Add +2 to skill if you have 3D Spatial 
  Sense. 
   
  Aquabatics: The ability to engage in underwater 
  acrobatics. Prerequisites: Swimming, or the Amphibi-
  ous advantage or the Aquatic disadvantage (p. 133). 
   
   
  Acrobatics, Aerobatics, and Aquabatics default to 
  one another at -4. Add +1 to these three skills if you 
  have Perfect Balance. 
   
  Acting 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Defaults: IQ-5, Performance‡-2, or Public Speak-
  ing-5. 
   
   
  This is the ability to counterfeit moods, emotions, 
  and voices, and to lie convincingly over a period of 
  time. A successful Acting roll lets you pretend to feel 
  
  Page 152  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
  something that you do not. The GM may require an 
  Acting roll whenever you try to fool someone, play 
  dead in combat, etc. 
   
  Impersonation is a special type of acting. To im-
  personate someone, you must first successfully dis-
  guise yourself (see Disguise, p. 187) – unless your 
  victims cannot see you! (Note that on high-tech worlds, 
  it may be difficult to pass yourself off as someone due 
  to security checks based on DNA.) 
   
  Note that Acting is not the same Fast-Talk (the art 
  of the “quick con”) or Performance‡ (the skill of screen 
  and stage acting). 
   
   
  Modifiers: +1 for every point of IQ you have over 
  the person you are trying to fool (or the smartest one 
  in the group), or -1 for every point of difference if your 
  victim is smarter than you; -3 for Low Empathy‡; -1 
  to -4 for Shyness; -5 for Truthfulness, but only if you 
  are trying to deceive someone. For impersonation 
  only: -5 if you are not well acquainted with your 
  subject; -5 if those you wish to fool are acquaintances 
  of the subject (-10 for close acquaintances). 
   
  Administration 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Defaults: IQ-5 or Merchant-3. 
   
   
  This is the skill of running a large organization. It is 
  often a prerequisite for high Rank (p. 37). A successful 
  Administration roll gives you a +2 reaction bonus when 
  dealing with a bureaucrat, and allows you to predict 
  the best way to go about dealing with a bureaucracy. 
   
  Aerobatics 
  see Acrobatics 
   
  Airshipman/TL 
  see Crewman 
   
  Anthropology† 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Defaults: IQ-6, Paleontology (Paleo-anthropol-
  ogy)‡-2, or Sociology-3. 
   
   
  This is the science of evolution and culture. An 
  anthropologist is knowledgeable in the ways of primi-
  tive (and not-so-primitive) societies. An Anthropology 
  roll might explain, or even predict, unusual rituals and 
  folk customs. This skill requires specialization by spe-
  cies (if left unspecified, assume the anthropologist’s 
  own species). Specialties usually default to one an-
  other at -2 to -5, although there may be no default for 
  completely alien species. 
   
  Aquabatics 
  see Acrobatics 
   
   
   
   
  Archaeology 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Default: IQ-6. 
   
   
  This is the study of ancient civilizations. An ar-
  chaeologist is at home with excavations, old pot-
  sherds, inscriptions, etc. An Archaeology roll lets you 
  answer questions about ancient history, or identify ar-
  tifacts and dead languages.  
   
  Area Knowledge† 
  IQ/Easy 
   
  Defaults: IQ-4 or Geography (Regional)-3* 
  * You have an IQ default only for Area Knowledge of a 
  place where you live or once lived. Geography only 
  gives a default for Area Knowledge of the specialty 
  region. 
   
   
  This skill represents familiarity with the people, 
  places, and politics of a given region. You usually have 
  Area Knowledge only for the area you consider your 
  “home base,” whether that’s a single farm or a solar 
  system. If information about other areas is available, 
  the GM may allow you to learn additional Area 
  Knowledge skills. 
   
  The GM should not require Area Knowledge rolls 
  for ordinary situations; e.g., to find the blacksmith, tav-
  ern, or your own home. But he could require a roll to 
  locate a smith to shoe your horse at 3 a.m., or to find 
  the best ambush spot along a stretch of road. “Secret” 
  or obscure information might give a penalty, require a 
  Hidden Lore‡ skill, or simply be unavailable – GM’s 
  decision. For instance, Area Knowledge of the capital 
  city of Vulcan gives you the location of the Lyran Em-
  bassy, but not the Klingon General Bureau’s current 
  safe house. 
   
  The information covered by Area Knowledge often 
  overlaps such skills as Current Affairs‡, Geography, 
  Naturalist, and Streetwise. The difference is that Area 
  Knowledge works for a single area: you know the hab-
  its of this tiger or gang boss, but have no special in-
  sight into tigers or gangs in general.  
   
  You can learn Area Knowledge for any sort of 
  area. The larger the territory, the less “personal” and 
  more general your knowledge becomes. Almost eve-
  ryone will have Area Knowledge of some type. The 
  “canonical” area classes are:  
   
   
  Neighborhood: For an urban area: the residents 
  and buildings of a few city blocks. For a rural area: the 
  inhabitants, trails, streams, hiding places, ambush 
  sites, flora, and fauna of a few hundred acres. 
   
  Village or Town: All important citizens and busi-
  nesses, and most unimportant ones; all public build-
  ings and most houses. 
   
  City: All important businesses, streets, citizens, 
  leaders, etc. 
   
  Barony, County, Duchy, or Small Nation: General 
  nature of its settlements and towns, political alle-
  giances, leaders, and most citizens of Status 5+. 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
  Page 153 
   
  Large Nation: Location of its major cities and im-
  portant sites; awareness of its major customs, ethnic 
  groups, and languages (but not necessarily expertise); 
  names of folk of Status 6+; and a general under-
  standing of the economic and political situation. 
   
  Planet: As for a large nation, but more general; 
  knowledge of people of Status 7+ only. 
   
  Empire: Location of major planets; familiarity with 
  all known species (but not necessarily expertise); 
  knowledge of people of Status 7+; general under-
  standing of the economic and political situation.  
   
  Galaxy Octant: Location of the capitals of inter-
  planetary empires and the homeworlds of major spe-
  cies; general awareness of all major species; 
  knowledge of individuals of Status 8; general under-
  standing of relations between interplanetary empires. 
   
   
  Your IQ-4 default applies to any of these classes, 
  as long as you have lived in the area. Defaults are lim-
  ited by “common knowledge” at your tech level! A TL0 
  hunter would have a default for every level up to “Vil-
  lage or Town,” while a TL8 student would have de-
  faults up to “Planet” level. You must live in an inter-
  planetary or interstellar empire to have defaults for 
  levels above “Planet.” 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Geographical and Temporal Scope 
   
   
  Skills such as Area Knowledge, Current Affairs (Regional)‡, Geography (Regional), and 
  History require specialization to specific places and times. In reality, this kind of knowledge is 
  never “clear cut,” and tends to spill over into related areas. The following penalties apply when 
  you wish to use such a skill outside your specialty. 
   
  Distance 
   
  For an area far from your “stomping grounds,” use the penalties under Long-Distance 
  Modifiers (p. 105). However, the speed at which knowledge propagates increases as 
  progressively more powerful tools for managing information appear: printing press, telephone, 
  television, computers, faster-than-light radio, etc. To reflect this, at TL5 and above, the GM may 
  choose to roll 3d against TL+1 (e.g., 9 or less at TL8) to determine whether you are familiar with 
  the distant region from TV, the Internet, etc. On a success, you may ignore all distance penalties. 
  (The GM might also wish to use this rule to determine whether a character’s Reputation is known 
  far from home in a high-tech setting.) 
   
  Time 
   
  Time is usually only a concern for History skill – but it could also apply to Area Knowledge 
  skill in a time-travel situation, or if someone has been away from home for a long time. Use the 
  Long-Distance Modifiers once again, substituting years for miles. For each point of tech-level 
  difference, double the time modifier (a two-TL difference would be ×4, etc.). This is because 
  societies change drastically on all levels when technology increases. 
   
  Area Class 
   
  “Area classes” are defined under Area Knowledge skill: Neighborhood; Village or Town; City; 
  Barony, County, Duchy, or Small Nation; Large Nation; Planet; Empire; and Galaxy Octant. Area 
  class becomes important in campaigns that involve a lot of travel. We assume here that the 
  smaller areas are contained within the larger ones. 
   
  If you have specialized in a larger area and want information about a smaller area within it, 
  the penalty is -2 for one class of difference, -4 for two, -8 for three, and so on, doubling each 
  time. 
   
  If you have specialized in a smaller area and want information about a specific locale within 
  the larger area containing it, the most appropriate solution is usually to use the distance penalties 
  described above. However, questions having to do with the entire large area use a flat -2 per 
  difference in levels. 
   
  Example: Someone with Area Knowledge (Earth) would be at -8 – due to three classes of 
  difference – to know the mayor of Los Angeles. However, someone with Area Knowledge (Los 
  Angeles) would be at -4 to know the location of Mount Rushmore. The same person would be at -
  10 to know the location of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.; the Library of Congress 
  has more to do with Washington than with the United States as a whole, and it’s more 
  appropriate to resolve the question by considering distance. 
   
  
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
  Armoury/TL† 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Defaults: IQ-5 or Engineer (same)-4. 
   
   
  This is the ability to build, modify, and repair a 
  specific class of weapons or armor. (It does not in-
  clude skill at design; for that, see Engineer.) A suc-
  cessful roll lets you find a problem, if it isn’t obvious; a 
  second roll lets you repair it. Time required is up to the 
  GM. You must specialize in one of the following fields: 
   
   
  Body Armor: Any kind of unpowered personal ar-
  mor (but not shields). Also defaults to Smith 
  (Bronze)‡-3 at TL1, to Smith (Iron)‡-3 at TL2-4, and to 
  Machinist-3 at TL5+. 
   
  Force Shields: Any kind of force screen or deflec-
  tor – be it personal or vehicular. This is the same skill 
  as Electronics Repair (Force Shields). 
   
  Heavy Weapons: All weapons used with the Artil-
  lery and Gunner skills. 
   
  Melee Weapons: Any weapon used with a Melee 
  Weapon or Thrown Weapon skill, as well as all kinds 
  of shields. Also defaults to Smith (Bronze)‡-3 at TL1, 
  to Smith (Iron)‡-3 at TL2-4, and to Machinist-3 at TL5+. 
   
  Missile Weapons: Man-portable, pre-gunpowder 
  projectile weapons of all kinds – bows, crossbows, 
  slings, etc. 
   
  Small Arms: All weapons used with the Beam 
  Weapons and Guns skills. Also defaults to Machinist-5 
  at TL5+. 
   
  Vehicular Armor: All kinds of armored vehicle 
  hulls. 
   
   
  Most specialties default to one another at -4 – but 
  above TL4, there is no default between Armoury spe-
  cialties dealing with armor and Armoury specialties 
  dealing with weapons. The technologies covered by 
  each specialty vary with TL. For instance, Armoury 
  (Small Arms) covers black-powder small arms at TL4, 
  repeating small arms that fire cartridges at TL6, 
  “smart” infantry weapons at TL8, and phasers at TL10. 
   
  The GM should strictly enforce penalties for unfa-
  miliarity. Armoury/TL10 (Small Arms) might cover both 
  beam weapons and portable railguns, but going from 
  one to the other gives you -2 to skill until you familiar-
  ize yourself with all the differences. 
   
   
  Modifiers: -2 for an unfamiliar item within your spe-
  cialty (e.g., plate armor when you’re used to mail); 
  equipment modifiers (p. 186). 
   
  Artillery/TL† 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Default: IQ-5. 
   
   
  This is the ability to use a heavy weapon, such as 
  a mortar or a howitzer, for indirect fire – that is, to put 
  fire onto a target area via a high ballistic arc or similar 
  path. For direct fire, use Gunner skill. You must spe-
  cialize by weapon type. The available specialties vary 
  by TL, but include one or more of: 
   
   
  Beams: Any kind of heavy energy weapon that is 
  fired from orbit, bounced off a mirror, or otherwise 
  used against targets you cannot see. 
   
  Bombs: All kinds of unpowered, free-falling 
  munitions. 
   
  Cannon: Any kind of heavy projectile weapon – 
  bombard, howitzer, naval gun, etc. 
   
  Catapult: Any kind of indirect-fire mechanical siege 
  engine, such as a trebuchet. 
   
  Guided Missile: Any kind of seeking or remotely 
  piloted missile. 
   
  Torpedoes: Any kind of powered underwater pro-
  jectile. 
   
   
  There is no default between specialties, some of 
  which cover weapons that bear little or no resem-
  blance to true artillery. Artillery is a single skill only be-
  cause all the weapons it covers use the same rules. 
  The weapons covered by each specialty will vary by 
  TL. 
   
  Familiarity is crucial here! Artillery (Cannon) co-
  vers both 81mm infantry mortars and 406mm naval 
  guns, but going from one to the other will give -2 for 
  weapon type (81mm vs. 406mm), -2 for fire-control 
  (visual spotting vs. fire-direction center), and -2 for 
  mount (bipod vs. naval turret), for a total of -6 to skill 
  until you familiarize yourself with all the differences. 
   
  Note that Forward Observer skill is generally re-
  quired to designate targets for Artillery skill. 
   
   
  Modifiers: All relevant combat modifiers; -2 for an 
  unfamiliar fire-control system (e.g., map coordinates 
  when you’re used to satellite imagery) or mount (e.g., 
  a naval turret when you’re used to emplaced guns), or 
  for an unfamiliar weapon of a known type (e.g., 
  155mm when you are used to 203mm); -4 or more for 
  a weapon in bad repair. 
   
  Astronomy/TL 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Default: IQ-6. 
   
  Prerequisite: Mathematics (Applied). 
   
   
  This is the study of stars and other extraplanetary 
  objects. An astronomer could answer questions about 
  the Sun, the planets of the solar system, etc. 
   
  Autohypnosis 
  Will/Hard 
   
  Default: Meditation‡-4. 
   
   
  This skill allows you to tap reserves of inner 
  strength by entering a trancelike state. It requires a 
  concentration period of (20 - skill) seconds, minimum 
  one second. You cannot talk or move during the initia-
  tion of the trance state. A successful skill roll allows 
  you to do one of the following: 
   
   
  Improve Concentration. You get +2 to skill to per-
  form a specific, lengthy mental task (e.g., break a code 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
  Page 155 
  or write a computer program), but -2 to all unrelated 
  IQ, Perception, and skill rolls. The task must be a rela-
  tively sedate one, done in a quiet place (library, lab, 
  monastery, or placid wilderness). 
   
  Increase Will. You get +2 to Will (+5 on a critical 
  success) for one hour. This applies to all attempts to 
  resist interrogation, torture, or psionic attack. This roll 
  is at -2. 
   
  Negate Pain/Fatigue. Cancels the negative effects 
  of being reduced to 1/3 or less of your FP or HP (but 
  not the fatigue or injury itself). This roll is at -4, and you 
  may only make one attempt per hour. 
   
  Beam Weapons/TL† 
  DX/Easy 
   
  Default: DX-4. 
   
   
  This is the ability to use beam small arms. You 
  must specialize by weapon type:  
   
   
  Pistol: Any handgun that fires an energy or particle 
  beam. 
   
  Rifle: Any long arm that fires an energy or particle 
  beam. 
   
   
  These specialties default to one another at -4. 
  Treat specific beam types (phaser, laser, stunner, etc.) 
  as familiarities. Other modifiers are as per Guns. The 
  Pistol and Rifle specialties of Beam Weapons default 
  to the similarly named Guns specialties at -4, and vice 
  versa.  
   
  See Artillery and Gunner for heavier beam 
  weapons. 
   
  Biology/TL† 
  IQ/Very Hard 
   
  Defaults: IQ-6 or Naturalist-6. 
   
   
  This is the scientific study of the structure, behav-
  ior, and habitats of living organisms. You must spe-
  cialize in the life of a particular planet type (see box). If 
  you do not specify a planet type, your native planet 
  type is assumed. The IQ default applies only to the 
  planet type you grew up on. The default between dif-
  ferent planet-type specialties is -4. 
   
  At TL6+, most biologists have an optional specialty 
  as well. The most common options are biochemistry, 
  botany, ecology, genetics, marine biology, microbiol-
  ogy, and zoology, but more obscure specialties are 
  possible. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Boxing 
  DX/Average 
   
  Defaults: None. 
   
   
  This is the skill of trained punching. Roll against 
  Boxing to hit with a punch. Boxing does not improve 
  kicking ability – use Brawling or Karate for that.  
   
  Boxing improves damage: if you know Boxing at 
  DX+1 level, add +1 per die to basic thrust damage 
  when you calculate punching damage. Add +2 per die 
  if you know Boxing at DX+2 or better! 
   
  When you defend with bare hands, Boxing allows 
  you to parry two different attacks per turn, one with 
  each hand. Your Parry score is (skill/2) + 3, rounded 
  down. Boxing parries are at -2 vs. kicks and -3 vs. 
  weapons other than thrusting attacks. Boxing also 
  gives an improved retreating bonus when you parry; 
  see Retreat (p. 213). For more on barehanded parries, 
  see Parrying Unarmed (p. 212). 
   
  Brainwashing/TL 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Defaults: Special. 
   
  Prerequisite: Psychology. 
   
   
  This is the “black art” of technological personality 
  alteration and mind control. Only intelligence, military, 
  and security services teach it – and only to individuals 
  with suitable Rank or Security Clearance. Even then, it 
  is rare outside police states (except perhaps during 
  wartime). 
   
  Brainwashing encompasses many techniques – 
  some proven, others little better than witchcraft. De-
  pending on the setting, these might include drugs, 
  electroshock, hypnotism, sensory deprivation, sleep 
  deprivation, social pressure, subliminal messages, or 
  surgery . . . and most likely a combination of several of 
  these. 
   
  Regardless of the techniques employed, brain-
  washing is handled as a Regular Contest (not a Quick 
  Contest) between Brainwashing skill and the victim’s 
  Will. Roll once per day. Obviously, the brainwasher 
  has a tremendous advantage: even if the victim wins 
  this time, it is only a matter of time before he slips.  
  PLANET TYPES 
   
   
  Biology, Geology, and Meteorology 
  require you to specialize by “planet type,” 
  as does the “Physical” specialty of 
  Geography. If you do not specify a planet 
  type, your native planet type is assumed – 
  for example, Class-M if you are human, or 
  Class-K if you are a Vulcan. Unless 
  otherwise specified, all planet-type 
  specialties for a given skill default to one 
  another at -4. For the standard planetary 
  classes, see p. 290. 
   
  
  Page 156  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
   
  Results depend on how effective the GM deems 
  brainwashing to be, but might include insanity, per-
  sonality alteration, or suggestions that can be triggered 
  by future events. In game terms, the victim can acquire 
  almost any mental quirk or disadvantage.  
   
  In settings where neural interfaces exist, it might 
  be possible to “hack” the victim’s brain using a com-
  puter. This takes only a fraction of a second per at-
  tempt! Brain Hacking should be treated as its own skill, 
  with Computer Hacking instead of Psychology as a 
  prerequisite. 
   
  This skill normally has no default. However, GMs 
  who wish to explore the gory details can specify the 
  techniques used in their campaign and have Brain-
  washing default to one or more of Electronics Opera-
  tion (Medical)-6, Hypnotism‡-6, Interrogation-6, Phar-
  macy-6, Psychology-6, or Surgery-6, as appropriate. 
   
  Brawling 
  DX/Easy 
   
  Defaults: None. 
   
   
  This is the skill of “unscientific” unarmed combat. 
  Roll against Brawling to hit with a punch, or Brawling-2 
  to hit with a kick. Brawling can also replace DX when 
  you attack with teeth, claws, horns, or other “natural 
  weapons.” 
   
  Brawling improves damage: if you know Brawling 
  at DX+2 level or better, add +1 per die to basic thrust 
  damage when you calculate damage with Brawling 
  attacks – punches, kicks, claws, bites, etc.  
   
  Brawling includes the ability to use the blackjack 
  or sap. An attack with such a fist load is considered a 
  punch at +1 to damage. 
   
  When you defend with bare hands, Brawling al-
  lows you to parry two different attacks per turn, one 
  with each hand. Your Parry score is (skill/2) + 3, 
  rounded down. Brawling parries are at -3 vs. weapons 
  other than thrusting attacks. For more on barehanded 
  parries, see Parrying Unarmed (p. 212). 
   
  Breath Control 
  HT/Hard 
   
  Defaults: None. 
   
   
  This is the ability to breathe at maximum effi-
  ciency. On a successful skill roll, you can increase the 
  time you can hold your breath for any reason (e.g., 
  underwater) by 50%, or regain one FP in only two 
  minutes. 
   
  Camouflage 
  IQ/Easy 
   
  Defaults: IQ-4 or Survival-2. 
   
   
  This is the ability to use natural materials, special 
  fabrics and paints, etc. to hide yourself, your position, 
  or your equipment. To see through your camouflage, 
  an observer must win a Quick Contest of Vision or Ob-
  servation skill vs. your Camouflage skill. 
   
  Depending on the circumstances, successful cam-
  ouflage might hide its subject entirely or merely blur its 
  outlines to make it harder to hit (-1 to attacker’s skill). 
  Camouflage will not improve your Stealth roll, but if 
  you fail a Stealth roll while camouflaged, those who 
  heard you must still see through your camouflage to 
  see you. 
   
   
  Modifiers: Equipment modifiers (p. 186). Apply a 
  penalty equal to the Size Modifier of a large object 
  (e.g., -5 for a shuttlecraft with SM +5). This makes it 
  difficult to camouflage large objects, but remember 
  that distant observers suffer large Vision penalties for 
  range – see Vision (p. 195). 
   
  Carousing 
  HT/Easy 
   
  Default: HT-4. 
   
   
  This is the skill of socializing, partying, etc. A suc-
  cessful Carousing roll, under the right circumstances, 
  gives you a +2 bonus on a request for aid or infor-
  mation, or just on a general reaction. A failed roll 
  means you made a fool of yourself in some way; you 
  get a -2 penalty on any reaction roll made by those 
  you caroused with. If you do your carousing in the 
  wrong places, a failed roll can have other dangers! 
   
   
  Modifiers: Up to +3 for buying drinks or other en-
  tertainment for your fellow carousers; -3 for Killjoy‡; -3 
  for Low Empathy‡; -1 to -4 for Shyness. 
   
  Cartography/TL 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Defaults: IQ-5, Geography (any) -2, Mathematics 
  (Surveying)-2, or Navigation (any)-4. 
   
   
  This is the ability to create and interpret maps and 
  charts. Roll against this skill to map any location as 
  you move through it. At TL7+, this skill includes 
  knowledge of computer mapping techniques and gen-
  erating maps from sensor information. 
   
  Chemistry/TL 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Default: IQ-6. 
   
   
  This is the study of matter. A chemist can identify 
  elements and simple compounds (but not necessarily 
  drugs, magical substances, etc.). Given proper equip-
  ment, he could conduct complex analyses and 
  syntheses. 
   
  Klingon 
  D5W New 
  Heavy 
  Cruiser 
   
   
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
  Page 157 
  Climbing 
  DX/Average 
   
  Default: DX-5. 
   
   
  This is the ability to climb mountains, rock walls, 
  trees, the sides of buildings, etc. See Climbing (p. 189) 
  for details. 
   
   
  Modifiers: +2 for Brachiator; +3 for Flexibility or +5 
  for Double-Jointed; +1 for Perfect Balance; a penalty 
  equal to encumbrance level (e.g., -1 for Light 
  encumbrance). 
   
  Computer Hacking 
   
  In the SFU, “hackers” should learn a combination 
  of Computer Operation (to exploit OS loopholes and 
  run intrusion software), Computer Programming (to 
  write intrusion software), Cryptography, Electronics 
  Operation (Communications or Surveillance), Elec-
  tronics Repair (Computers), Fast-Talk (to convince 
  legitimate users to reveal passwords), and Research 
  (to find documented security holes) 
   
  Computer Operation/TL 
  IQ/Easy 
   
  Default: IQ-4. 
   
   
  This is the ability to use a computer. It is the only 
  computer skill needed by most end users. Learn Com-
  puter Programming to write software and Electronics 
  Repair (Computers) to troubleshoot hardware. 
   
   
  Modifiers: -2 or more for an unfamiliar computer, 
  operating system, or program. 
   
  Computer Programming/TL 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Defaults: None. 
   
   
  This is the ability to write and debug computer 
  software. A successful roll lets you find a bug in a pro-
  gram, determine a program’s purpose by examining 
  the code, answer a question about computer pro-
  gramming, or write a new program (time required is up 
  to the GM). 
   
  In the SFU, those who wish to work with artificial 
  intelligence (AI) must learn Computer Programming 
  (AI). There is no default between this skill and regular 
  Computer Programming. When using Detect Lies, 
  Fast-Talk, Psychology, Teaching, and similar “social” 
  skills on an AI, roll against the lower of Computer Pro-
  gramming (AI) and the relevant skill. 
   
   
  Modifiers: -2 or more for an unfamiliar program-
  ming language (see Familiarity, p. 147). The time mod-
  ifiers under Time Spent (p. 185) will often apply. When 
  writing a program that deals with a specialized field of 
  knowledge, the GM may require a roll against the 
  lower of Computer Programming and your skill in that 
  field (e.g., a Mathematics specialty for a complex 
  mathematical program). 
   
  Cooking 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Defaults: IQ-5 or Housekeeping‡-5. 
   
   
  This is the skill of being a chef – you do not need it 
  to heat water and open boxes, or to cook rat-on-a-stick 
  over your campfire. A successful skill roll allows you to 
  prepare a pleasing meal. Many chefs have an optional 
  specialty, such as baking, beverage making, or a par-
  ticular variety of ethnic cuisine (e.g., Chinese or 
  Vulcan). 
   
  Crewman/TL† 
  IQ/Easy 
   
  Default: IQ-4. 
   
   
  This is the ability to serve as crew aboard a spe-
  cific type of large vehicle. It includes familiarity with 
  “shipboard life,” knowledge of safety measures, and 
  training in damage control (the use of emergency 
  equipment to control flooding, fight fires, patch the hull, 
  and so forth). Make a skill roll for basic map or chart 
  reading, practical meteorology, or to recall laws and 
  regulations that pertain to your vehicle. 
   
  The average Crewman skill of an entire crew can 
  be used as a measure of overall crew quality. The GM 
  rolls against average skill whenever the vehicle arrives 
  or departs, in unfavorable conditions, or in battle. Fail-
  ure and critical failure results depend on the 
  circumstances. 
   
  There is a separate skill for each class of vessel:  
   
   
  Airshipman/TL: The skill of handling ballast, gas 
  valves, mooring lines, etc. on a blimp, zeppelin, or 
  other large airship. 
   
  Seamanship/TL: The skill of operating anchors, 
  hatches, mooring lines, pumps, sails, windlasses, etc. 
  aboard a large surface ship (but not a submarine). 
   
  Spacer/TL: The skill of working with airlocks, dock-
  ing clamps, hull patches, pressure doors, etc. on a 
  large spacecraft or space base. 
   
  Submariner/TL: The skill of handling pressure 
  doors, pumps, valves, etc. aboard a submarine or in 
  an undersea base. 
   
  Criminology/TL 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Defaults: IQ-5 or Psychology-4. 
   
   
  This is the study of crime and the criminal mind. A 
  successful skill roll allows you to find and interpret 
  clues, guess how criminals might behave, etc. Though 
  this skill does not actually default to Streetwise, the 
  GM might allow a Streetwise roll instead in certain sit-
  uations – especially to predict or outguess a criminal. 
   
   
   
   
   
  
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
  Cryptography/TL 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Default: Mathematics (Cryptology)-5. 
   
   
  This is the ability to create and defeat encryption 
  systems, codes, and ciphers. It is of use in wartime, 
  espionage, and even business dealings. It covers all 
  the techniques of your TL, which can range from un-
  sophisticated substitution ciphers to state-of-the-art 
  tactical encryption schemes. Knowledge of a specific 
  system, code, or cipher depends on your Security 
  Clearance (p. 102) and allegiances (national, adminis-
  trative, or both). In many settings, some level of Secu-
  rity Clearance is a prerequisite to learning this skill at 
  all. 
   
  Treat an attempt to break an unknown code as a 
  Quick Contest of Cryptography skill between the 
  codebreaker and code-maker. The codebreaker must 
  win to break the code. Repeated attempts are possi-
  ble, but each attempt takes a day. The codemaker 
  rolls only once, when he first creates the code. 
   
  Those with Cryptography skill may take an op-
  tional specialty (p. 146) in making or breaking codes. 
  (The 
  codebreaking 
  specialty 
  is 
  often 
  called 
  “cryptanalysis.”) 
   
  Cryptography normally has no IQ default, with two 
  exceptions. Anyone can devise a trivial code or cipher 
  by making an IQ-5 roll. This won’t stall a professional 
  for long, of course. Likewise, anyone can make an IQ-
  5 roll to attempt to break such a trivial code (but not a 
  code devised by someone with Cryptography skill), 
  using the Quick Contest system described above. 
   
   
  Modifiers: Mathematical Ability. A computer with 
  appropriate software gives a bonus (provided you 
  know Computer Operation skill): +1 for a home com-
  puter, +2 for a minicomputer, +3 or +4 for a main-
  frame, and +5 or more for a supercomputer.  The 
  codebreaker is at +5 if he has a sample of the code 
  with translation, and -5 if the message to be decoded 
  is shorter than 25 words. The codemaker receives a 
  bonus for the time taken to create the code: consult 
  the Size and Speed/Range Table (p. 211), look up the 
  time in days in the Range/Speed column (substituting 
  “days” for “yards”), and use the corresponding bonus. 
   
  Detect Lies 
  Per/Hard 
   
  Defaults: Perception-6, Body Language‡-4, or Psy-
  chology-4. 
   
   
  This is the ability to tell when someone is lying to 
  you. It is not the same as Interrogation; Detect Lies 
  works in a casual or social situation. When you ask to 
  use this skill, the GM rolls a Quick Contest of your 
  Detect Lies skill vs. your subject’s IQ (or Fast-Talk or 
  Acting skill). If you win, the GM tells you whether the 
  subject is lying. If you lose, the GM may lie to you 
  about whether you were lied to . . . or just say, “You 
  can’t tell.” 
   
   
  Modifiers: +1 for Sensitive or +3 for Empathy, or -3 
  for Low Empathy‡; +4 if your subject is Easy to Read‡. 
  If the subject is of a different species, the GM may as-
  sess a penalty. 
   
  Diagnosis/TL 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Defaults: IQ-6, First Aid-8, Physician-4, or Veteri-
  nary-5. 
   
   
  This is the ability to tell what is wrong with a sick 
  or injured person, or what killed a dead person. A suc-
  cessful roll gives some information about the patient’s 
  problem – limited to realistic knowledge for your tech 
  level. It might not determine the exact problem (if the 
  GM feels the cause is totally beyond your experience, 
  for instance), but it always gives hints, rule out impos-
  sibilities, etc. No Diagnosis roll is required for obvious 
  things, like open wounds and missing limbs! In the 
  SFU, you must specialize by species (Interspecies 
  Medicine, p. 228). 
   
   
  Modifiers: Equipment modifiers (p. 186); Interspe-
  cies Medicine modifiers (p. 228), -5 for internal injuries; 
  -5 or more for a rare disease. 
   
  Diplomacy 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Defaults: IQ-6 or Politics-6. 
   
   
  This is the skill of negotiating, compromising, and 
  getting along with others. You may substitute a Diplo-
  macy roll for any reaction roll in a noncombat situation, 
  as described under Influence Rolls (p. 197).  
   
  Unlike other Influence skills, Diplomacy never 
  gives a worse result than if you had tried an ordinary 
  reaction roll. Failure with Fast-Talk or Sex Appeal al-
  ienates the subject, but Diplomacy is usually safe.  
   
  A successful roll also allows you to predict the 
  possible outcome of a course of action when you are 
  negotiating, or to choose the best approach to take.  
   
  If you know Diplomacy at level 20 or better, you 
  get a +2 bonus on all reaction rolls! 
   
   
  Modifiers: +2 for Voice; -3 for Low Empathy‡; -1 for 
  Oblivious‡; -1 to -4 for Shyness; -2 for Stuttering‡. 
   
  Disguise/TL† 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Defaults: IQ-5 or Makeup‡-3. 
   
   
  This is the art of altering your appearance using 
  clothing, makeup, and prosthetics. You do not need 
  this skill to don a quick disguise – e.g., to put on a lab 
  coat when you enter a laboratory – but such disguises 
  only fool the inattentive! A good disguise requires a 
  Disguise roll and 30 minutes to an hour of preparation. 
   
  Roll a Quick Contest of Disguise skill vs. the Per-
  ception of each person your disguise must fool. Indi-
  viduals with Criminology or Observation skill may sub-
  stitute those skills for Perception when rolling to pene-
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
  Page 159 
  trate a disguise. The GM may allow other skills to be of 
  use – for instance, Physician skill might help spot a 
  rubber nose. 
   
  When combining Acting with Disguise (that is, 
  when you must change your face and your personal-
  ity), you need only make one roll for each person or 
  group – but it must be the harder of the two rolls. 
   
  You must specialize by species – Disguise (Hu-
  man) is nothing like Disguise (Hilidarian). Disguise 
  specialized in your own species is the most common 
  form; just list this as “Disguise” on your character 
  sheet. Disguise skills for physically similar species 
  default to one another at -2 to -4. 
   
   
  Modifiers: Equipment modifiers (p. 186). +4 for 
  Elastic Skin‡. You are at -1 to -5 to disguise yourself 
  as someone very different from you (GM’s discretion). 
  Distinctive appearance also gives a penalty – see 
  Build (p. 29), Unnatural Features (p. 32), and specific 
  disadvantages (e.g., Hunchback‡) for details. Differ-
  ences in Size Modifier usually make Disguise 
  impossible. 
   
   
  You can also learn Disguise (Animals) to deceive 
  nonsapient creatures. This involves wearing animal 
  skins, smearing your body with musk or dung, etc. 
  There is no default between this and other Disguise 
  specialties. Use the following modifiers instead of 
  those given above. 
   
   
  Modifiers: +2 if approaching from downwind; -1 for 
  each animal over one of the same type being ap-
  proached (-1 for every 10 in the case of herd animals); 
  -1 to -3 if the skins are old or in poor condition. Make a 
  Naturalist roll to recall the habits of the animal being 
  imitated; success gives +1 to +3, while failure gives -1 
  to -3. 
   
  Driving/TL† 
  DX/Average 
   
  Defaults: DX-5 or IQ-5. 
   
   
  This is the ability to drive a specific type of ground 
  vehicle. 
   
  Make an IQ-based Driving roll for basic map read-
  ing, to diagnose simple malfunctions, or to recall rules 
  of the road.  
   
  You must specialize: 
   
   
  Automobile: Any vehicle with three or more wheels 
  that weighs less than 5 tons and does not move on 
  rails. Defaults: Heavy Wheeled-2 or other Driving at -4. 
   
  Construction Equipment: Any kind of bulldozer, 
  crane, plow, etc. Default: other Driving at -5. 
   
  Halftrack: Any vehicle that moves on tracks and 
  either wheels or skids. Defaults: Tracked-2 or other 
  Driving at -4. 
   
  Heavy Wheeled: Any vehicle with three or more 
  wheels that weighs 5 tons or more and does not move 
  on rails. Defaults: Automobile-2 or other Driving at -4. 
   
  Hovercraft: Any kind of air-cushion vehicle. De-
  fault: other Driving at -5. 
   
  Locomotive: Any vehicle that moves on conven-
  tional or maglev rails. Default: other Driving at -5. 
   
  Motorcycle: Any powered one- or two-wheeled 
  vehicle, including those with sidecars. Large motorcy-
  cles often have a Minimum ST, just like a weapon. 
  Default: Bicycling‡-4. 
   
  Tracked: Any vehicle that moves on tracks. De-
  faults: Halftrack-2 or other Driving at -4. 
   
  Note that the ability to “drive” a team of animals is not 
  Driving, but Teamster‡. 
   
   
  Modifiers: -2 or more for bad driving conditions; -2 
  or more for a vehicle in bad repair; -2 for an unfamiliar 
  control system (e.g., an automatic when you are used 
  to a manual); -4 or more for a vehicle of an unfamiliar 
  type within your specialty (e.g., a race car when you 
  are used to stock cars). 
   
  Economics 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Defaults: IQ-6, Finance-3, Market Analysis‡-5, or 
  Merchant-6. 
   
   
  This is the study of the theory of money, markets, 
  and financial systems. It is mainly an academic skill, 
  but a successful skill roll allows you to predict the eco-
  nomic impact of events in the game world: the assas-
  sination of a political figure, the demolition of a power 
  plant, the introduction of a new invention, etc. Adven-
  turers with intelligence and military backgrounds fre-
  quently have some training in this skill. 
   
  Electrician/TL 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Defaults: IQ-5 or Engineer (Electrical)-3. 
   
   
  This is the skill of building, maintaining, and repair-
  ing electrical systems. Make a skill roll to diagnose an 
  electrical fault, wire a building or vehicle, etc. Adven-
  turing uses include damage control in combat (e.g., to 
  restore power to a damaged vehicle system) and cut-
  ting the power to a building prior to clandestine 
  activities. 
   
  Note that electrical and electronic systems are not 
  the same thing. The equivalent skill for electronics is 
  Electronics Repair. 
   
   
  Modifiers: Equipment modifiers (p. 186). 
   
  Electronics Operation/TL† 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Defaults: IQ-5, Electronics Repair (same)-5, or 
  Engineer (Electronics)-5. 
   
   
  This skill lets you use all electronic equipment 
  within a known specialty. Make a skill roll in an emer-
  gency situation or for “abnormal” use of equipment – 
  
  Page 160  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
  not for ordinary, everyday use. (Exception: Unskilled 
  users must always attempt their default roll!) 
   
  You must specialize: 
   
   
  Communications (Comm): All forms of electronic 
  communications technology: radios, satellite uplinks, 
  laser communicators, etc. Includes knowledge of any 
  standard, current communications codes appropriate 
  to your background. These do not require a skill roll – 
  although attempts to understand or use an unfamiliar 
  code do require a roll. At TL5-7, this includes telegra-
  phy: you can send or receive 2 words per minute 
  (wpm) per point of skill at TL5, 3 wpm per point of skill 
  at TL6-7. 
   
  Electronic Warfare (EW): All signals-intelligence 
  and jamming equipment, including electronic counter-
  measures (ECM) and electronic counter-counter-
  measures (ECCM). Only intelligence agencies and the 
  military teach this specialty – and only to individuals 
  with suitable Military Rank (p. 37) or Security Clear-
  ance (p. 102). 
   
  Force Shields: Portable, vehicular, base, and star-
  ship force shields and deflectors. 
   
  Media: All forms of audio, film, trivideo, and video 
  editing equipment. Treat different media as mutually 
  unfamiliar technologies. 
   
  Medical: All manner of electronic diagnostic and 
  life-support equipment. 
   
  Psychotronics: Psionic technology, such as the 
  Klingon mindsifter. 
   
  Scientific: Laboratory electronics and survey gear. 
  You are automatically familiar with the equipment used 
  with any scientific skill on which you have spent at 
  least one point. 
   
  Security Systems: Both operating and circumvent-
  ing all forms of alarms, security sensors, and area-sur-
  veillance technology. 
   
  Sensors: Most forms of long-range detection gear, 
  from air-defense radar to starship sensor suites. Cer-
  tain highly specialized sensors (such as sonar and 
  tricorders, below) have their own specialties. 
   
  Sonar: All types of acoustic detection and ranging 
  gear (normally used underwater). 
   
  Surveillance: All forms of concealable or remote 
  surveillance gear: “bugs,” hidden cameras, long-range 
  microphones, wiretaps, etc. 
   
  Tractor Beams: Any form of tractor beam (p. 263). 
   
  Transporter: All matter transporters. Critical fail-
  ures can be disastrous, especially when transmitting 
  living beings! 
   
  Tricorder: The ability to operate tricorders and uni-
  versal translators. 
   
   
  These specialties default to one another at -4. The 
  technologies covered by a particular specialty vary 
  with TL. For instance, Electronics Operation (Comm) 
  covers telegraphs at TL5, telephones and radios at 
  TL6, and digital communications systems at TL8 . . . 
  and might cover faster-than-light or telepathic commu-
  nicators at higher TLs. 
   
  Familiarity (p. 147) is crucial here! Electronics 
  Operation/TL8 (Sensors) covers both thermographs on 
  fighter jets and ground-penetrating radars on satellites, 
  but going from one to the other gives you -2 for type 
  (thermograph to radar) and -2 for implementation (jet 
  to satellite), for a net -4 to skill until you familiarize 
  yourself with all the differences. 
   
   
  Modifiers: Equipment modifiers (p. 186); -2 for an 
  unfamiliar technology of a known type (e.g., radar 
  when you are used to thermograph) or an unfamiliar 
  implementation of a familiar technology (e.g., air-de-
  fense radar when you are used to weather radar); -1 to 
  -10 if you have been away from the field for a long 
  time (this varies by field) and have not had a chance to 
  become familiar with the changes. 
   
  Electronics Repair/TL† 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Defaults: IQ-5, Electronics Operation (same)-3, or 
  Engineer (Electronics)-3. 
   
   
  This is the ability to diagnose and repair known 
  types of electronic equipment. Time required for each 
  attempt is up to the GM. You must specialize in one of 
  the areas listed under Electronics Operation (above), 
  or in Computers (Electronics Repair (Computers) de-
  faults to Computer Operation-5). These specialties 
  default to one another at -4. 
   
   
  Modifiers: Equipment modifiers (p. 186); -2 without 
  plans or schematics; -2 for an unfamiliar technology or 
  implementation (just as for Electronics Operation); -4 
  to modify a device away from its intended purpose. 
   
  Engineer/TL† 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Defaults: Special. 
   
  Prerequisites: Mathematics (Applied) at TL5+, plus 
  others as noted. 
   
   
  This is the ability to design and build technological 
  devices and systems. A successful roll lets you design 
  a new system, diagnose a glitch, identify the purpose 
  of a strange device, or improvise a gadget to solve a 
  problem. Time required for each attempt is up to the 
  GM. 
   
  Note that engineers are designers and inventors; 
  they are not necessarily skilled at the routine operation 
  or maintenance of the things they design! For in-
  stance, Engineer (Small Arms) lets you design a new 
  assault rifle, but you need Armoury skill to maintain it 
  and Guns skill to shoot it. You must specialize: 
   
   
  Artillery: Designing whatever passes for artillery at 
  your TL, from trebuchets to smart missiles. Default: 
  Armoury (Heavy Weapons)-6. 
   
  Civil: Planning highways, aqueducts, buildings, 
  etc. Default: Architecture‡-6. 
   
  Combat: 
  Building 
  or 
  removing 
  fortifications, 
  trenches, etc. Default: Explosives (Demolition)-6. 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
  Page 161 
   
  Electrical: Designing electrical systems, such as 
  power cells and transmission lines. Default: Electri-
  cian-6. 
   
  Electronics: Designing and building electronic 
  apparatus, from computers to starship sensor arrays. 
  (The specific technologies involved – vacuum tubes, 
  transistors, photonics, etc. – will depend on the tech 
  level.) Default: Electronics Repair (any)-6. 
   
  Psychotronics: Designing psionic technology, such 
  as telepathic shields, Klingon mindsifters, and amplifi-
  ers. Default: Electronics Operation (Psychotronics)-6. 
   
  Robotics: Designing robotics and cybernetics. De-
  fault: Mechanic (Robotics)-6. 
   
  Small Arms: Designing personal firearms, such as 
  guns and portable rocket launchers. Default: Armoury 
  (Small Arms)-6. 
   
  Vehicle Type: Designing a single, broad class of 
  vehicle. Examples include Engineer (Automobiles), 
  Engineer (Ships), and Engineer (Starships). Default: 
  Mechanic (same vehicle type)-6. 
   
   
  Engineer specialties normally default to one an-
  other at -4.  
   
   
  Modifiers: Equipment modifiers (p. 186). Up to +5 
  to build a gadget if you can give the GM a good de-
  scription of what you want it to do. 
   
  Environment Suit/TL 
  DX/Average 
   
  Defaults: DX-5 and others. 
   
   
  This is training in the use of a specific class of pro-
  tective suit designed to shield the wearer from envi-
  ronmental or battlefield hazards.  
   
  Roll against Environment Suit skill to get into or 
  out of your suit quickly. A successful roll halves the 
  time required. To activate a specific subsystem of a 
  suit, or to gauge whether a suit is in good repair, make 
  an IQ-based skill roll instead. 
   
  When rolling against DX or any DX-based skill 
  while suited up, use the lower of your Environment 
  Suit skill and your actual skill level. For instance, if you 
  have DX 14, Stealth-15, and Vacc Suit-13, you will 
  function at DX 13 and Stealth-13 while wearing a 
  spacesuit. Particularly ungainly suits might give -1 or 
  more to DX on top of this, regardless of skill level. On 
  the other hand, some sleek, ultra-tech suits might not 
  limit skills at all! 
   
  However, Environment Suit is strictly the skill of 
  donning and operating the suit. Familiarity with and 
  knowledge of dangerous environments is covered by 
  other skills: Free Fall, Hazardous Materials, Survival, 
  etc. 
   
  Each suit type requires its own skill. Examples 
  include: 
   
   
  NBC Suit/TL: All forms of hazardous materials 
  (“HazMat”) gear – including sealed, unpowered body 
  armor that can be buttoned down against nuclear-bio-
  logical-chemical (NBC) threats. Without this skill, you 
  run the risk of misusing the equipment and being ex-
  posed to contamination. To improvise NBC gear, make 
  an IQ-based skill roll at -5 to -15 to skill. 
   
  Vacc Suit/TL: Any kind of spacesuit. In addition to 
  true vacuum suits, this includes suits intended for use 
  in 
  high-pressure, 
  corrosive, 
  and 
  poisonous 
  atmospheres. 
   
   
  NBC Suit and Vacc Suit default to the other at -2. 
   
  Note that unpowered, unsealed body armor never 
  requires an Environment Suit skill. 
   
  Escape 
  DX/Hard 
   
  Default: DX-6. 
   
   
  This is the ability to slip out of ropes, handcuffs, 
  and similar restraints. The first attempt to escape takes 
  one minute; each subsequent attempt takes 10 
  minutes. 
   
  The GM may apply a penalty for particularly se-
  cure bonds. For instance, modern police handcuffs 
  would give -5 to Escape. You suffer only half these 
  penalties if you dislocate the restrained limb (usually 
  an arm). This requires (20 - skill) minutes of concen-
  tration, minimum one minute and a Will roll. However, 
  if you fail your Escape roll by 3 or more when dislo-
  cating a limb, the limb suffers 1d damage. On a critical 
  failure, you automatically take enough damage to crip-
  ple the limb! 
   
   
  Modifiers: +3 for Flexibility or +5 for Double-
  Jointed; any bonus for Slippery‡. 
   
  Expert Skill† 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Defaults: None. 
   
   
  An Expert Skill represents cross-disciplinary 
  knowledge of a single, narrow theme. When answering 
  factual questions on that theme, you may substitute a 
  roll against your Expert Skill for any IQ-based roll 
  against any skill that has a default. Expert Skills do not 
  exempt you from Cultural Familiarity (p. 33) or Lan-
  guage (p. 33) requirements, and never provide the 
  ability to do practical tasks. Experts sometimes com-
  plement Expert Skills with related Area Knowledge 
  skills, but you must learn these separately.  
   
  You must specialize by theme, and the GM is free 
  to forbid any theme he feels is too broad. Some 
  examples: 
   
   
  Epidemiology: The study of the spread of disease. 
  Can serve as Biology, Diagnosis, Forensics, Geogra-
  phy, or Mathematics when deducing how a disease 
  was spread. 
   
  Hydrology: The study of a planet’s water. Can be 
  used in place of Biology, Chemistry, Geography, Ge-
  ology, or Meteorology to answer questions about pre-
  cipitation, flooding, irrigation, etc. 
  
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
   
  Military Science: General expertise on military ca-
  pabilities. Can substitute for Artillery, Armoury, Strat-
  egy, or Tactics to answer questions about – but not 
  use – weapons or strategies. 
   
  Political Science: The academic study of politics. 
  Can substitute for Geography, History, Law, Politics, or 
  Sociology when performing political analysis. 
   
  Xenology: General knowledge of the known spe-
  cies in your setting. Can substitute for Anthropology, 
  History, Physiology, or Psychology to identify a mem-
  ber of a species different from your own, or to answer 
  general questions about the species and its culture. 
   
  Explosives/TL† 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Defaults: IQ-5 and others. 
   
   
  This is the skill of working with explosives and in-
  cendiaries. 
   
  You must specialize: 
   
   
  Demolition: The ability to prepare and set explo-
  sives in order to blow things up. Make a roll whenever 
  you use explosives in this way. A failure indicates an 
  error. The gravity of the error depends on the amount 
  by which you failed; a badly failed roll in close quarters 
  can blow you up! Time required varies – it takes only a 
  couple of seconds to set a prepared charge, but it 
  might take hours to demolish a large bridge or a sky-
  scraper. When setting an explosive trap, use this skill 
  rather than Traps. Rolls to set a “trap” fuse (e.g., a 
  land mine) instead of a timed fuse are at -2. Defaults: 
  Engineer (Combat) or (Mining)‡ at -3. 
   
  Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD): The ability to 
  disarm and dispose of bombs and other explosives. 
  When disarming a trap, roll a Quick Contest of your 
  Explosives (EOD) skill vs. the Explosives (Demolition) 
  skill of the person who created the device. A failure (or 
  even a critical failure) does not necessarily mean an 
  explosion – the GM can be much more creative than 
  that! Sudden hissing noises, mysterious parts falling 
  off, cramps, itches, and alarm bells are all possible in 
  the right circumstances. It is best if the GM rolls the 
  dice and describes the physical circumstances to the 
  victim. Fright Checks are appropriate for the survivors 
  of a failed EOD attempt! Prerequisite: DX 12+. 
   
  Nuclear Ordnance Disposal (NOD): The equiva-
  lent of Explosives (EOD) for nuclear devices. Only a 
  critical failure verified by a second critical failure will 
  result in a nuclear detonation. Disarming a military nu-
  clear weapon is straightforward; disarming a home-
  made terrorist bomb might be more difficult. Only a 
  critical failure verified by a second critical failure will 
  result in a nuclear detonation. Any lesser failure will – 
  at worst – detonate the high-explosive trigger and 
  contaminate the immediate area with radioactive mate-
  rial . . . not that this is a great deal of consolation to 
  those nearby. This skill includes fission, fusion, and 
  antimatter weapons. 
   
  Underwater Demolition (UD): The ability to pre-
  pare and set explosives underwater. This is otherwise 
  identical to Explosives (Demolition). You usually need 
  Scuba‡ skill – or at least Swimming skill – to get into a 
  position where you can use this skill. 
   
   
  These specialties default to one another at -4 ex-
  cept for Demolition and UD, which default to one an-
  other at -2, and EOD and NOD, which also default to 
  one another at -2. 
   
   
  Modifiers: Equipment modifiers (p. 186); -1 to -5 
  for distractions (e.g., enemy fire or swarms of biting 
  ants) or physical motion (e.g., a rocking boat or 
  speeding bus). The time modifiers under Time Spent 
  (p. 185) will often apply. 
   
  Fast-Draw† 
  DX/Easy 
   
  Defaults: None. 
   
   
  This skill lets you quickly draw a weapon from its 
  holster, sheath, or hiding place. A successful roll 
  means you ready the weapon instantly. This does not 
  count as a combat maneuver; you can use the weapon 
  to attack on the same turn. On a failure, you ready 
  your weapon normally but may do nothing else on your 
  turn. A critical failure means you drop the weapon!   
   
  You must specialize in one of these weapon types: 
  Knife, Long Arm (rifle, shotgun, submachine gun, etc.), 
  Pistol, Sword (any one-handed blade larger than a 
  knife), or Two-Handed Sword. The GM may add Fast-
  Draw skills for other weapons (or even tools) that one 
  could reasonably draw quickly. 
   
  In addition to the above specialties, there is an-
  other Fast-Draw skill that allows you to reload missile 
  weapons quickly: 
   
   
  Fast-Draw/TL (Ammo): Reduces the time required 
  to reload any kind of gun or beam weapon. The exact 
  benefits depend on your weapon, but a successful roll 
  always shaves at least one second off the reload time. 
  This skill varies greatly with TL! At TL4, it covers pow-
  der-and-shot drills; at TL6+, it includes speed-loading 
  techniques for detachable magazines; and at higher 
  tech levels, it involves quickly replacing energy cells 
  and attaching power cables. 
   
   
  For the Ammo specialty, failure means you acci-
  dentally discard one round of ammunition. On a critical 
  failure, you drop the entire ammo box, magazine, etc., 
  scattering loose ammunition everywhere! 
   
   
  Modifiers: Combat Reflexes gives +1 to all Fast-
  Draw specialties; Ham-Fisted‡ gives -3 per level. 
   
  Fast-Talk 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Defaults: IQ-5 or Acting-5. 
   
   
  This is the skill of talking others into doing things 
  against their better judgment. It is not taught (inten-
  tionally, that is) in school; you study it by working as a 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
  Page 163 
  salesman, confidence man, lawyer, etc. In any situa-
  tion that calls for a reaction roll, you may make an In-
  fluence roll against Fast-Talk instead; see Influence 
  Rolls (p. 197). 
   
  If you have Fast-Talk at level 20 or better, you get 
  +2 on all reaction rolls where you’re allowed to talk! 
   
  Note that Fast-Talk differs from Acting. In general, 
  Fast-Talk is used to get someone to make a snap de-
  cision in your favor, while Acting is used for long-term 
  dissimulation. However, there are situations in which 
  the GM could allow a roll on either skill. 
   
   
  Modifiers: +2 for Voice; -3 for Low Empathy‡; -1 for 
  Oblivious‡; -1 to -4 for Shyness; -2 for Stuttering‡ ; -5 
  for Truthfulness. The GM may ask you for details of 
  the story you are using, rather than just let you say, 
  “I’m using Fast-Talk.” Your approach and the plausibil-
  ity of the story may further modify the roll, at the GM’s 
  discretion. 
   
  Finance 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Defaults: Accounting-4, Economics-3, or Mer-
  chant-6. 
   
   
  This is the skill of managing money. It is a practi-
  cal application of Economics, much as Engineer skill is 
  a practical application of Physics. A successful skill roll 
  lets you broker a financial deal, raise capital for a new 
  corporation, balance a budget, etc. 
   
   
  Modifiers: Business Acumen and Mathematical 
  Ability both provide a bonus. 
   
  First Aid/TL 
  IQ/Easy 
   
  Defaults: IQ-4, Esoteric Medicine‡, Physician, or 
  Veterinary-4. 
   
   
  This is the ability to patch up an injury in the field 
  (see Recovery, p. 226). Make a skill roll to halt bleed-
  ing, suck out poison, give artificial respiration to a 
  drowning victim, etc. Unusual problems must be iden-
  tified using Diagnosis skill first. 
   
   
  Modifiers: Interspecies Medicine (p. 
  228); equipment modifiers (p. 186). 
   
   
  Yitlian Medic 
   
   
   
  Flight 
  HT/Average 
   
  Default: HT-5. 
   
  Prerequisite: Flight advantage (p. 91). 
   
  This skill represents training for endurance flying. 
  Use the better of Flight or HT when rolling to avoid 
  fatigue due to flying. When traveling long distances, a 
  successful Flight roll increases the distance traveled 
  by 20%. If a group of fliers is traveling together, all 
  must make the Flight roll in order to get the increased 
  distance. 
   
  Forensics/TL 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Defaults: IQ-6 or Criminology-4. 
   
   
  This is the ability to apply the principles of forensic 
  science and criminalistics, such as the computation of 
  bullet paths and the microscopic or chemical analysis 
  of clues. Some disciplines require other skills. For in-
  stance, a forensic pathologist performing an autopsy 
  would roll against Surgery skill. 
   
  Forgery/TL 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Defaults: IQ-6 or Counterfeiting‡-2. 
   
   
  This is the ability to create falsified documents 
  (identity cards, passports, etc.). It is not taught except 
  by intelligence agencies and the underworld – al-
  though you can always study it on your own. 
   
  The time required to create a forgery ranges from 
  days to weeks (GM decides). When you use a forged 
  document, make your Forgery roll each time it is in-
  spected – unless you roll a critical success on your 
  first attempt. Failure means someone spots the 
  forgery. 
   
  Some tasks require DX-based skill rolls, in which 
  case modifiers for High Manual Dexterity (p. 92) or 
  Ham-Fisted‡ apply. The GM may allow Forgery to de-
  fault to a suitable Artist‡ specialty at -5 if you are doing 
  the work entirely by hand. 
   
   
  Modifiers: Equipment modifiers (p. 186); +3 if you 
  merely altered a genuine document; -5 if you did not 
  have a sample to copy. The GM may also assign 
  modifiers based on the severity of the inspection; a 
  routine border check, for instance, would give a +5 
  bonus. 
   
  Forward Observer/TL 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Defaults: IQ-5, Artillery (any)-5, and others. 
   
   
  This is the skill of being a “spotter” for artillery. It 
  includes locating targets, marking targets, matching 
  ordnance to target for best effect, and calling in cor-
  rections to any fire you personally observe.  
   
  Failure means the ordnance misses the target; 
  critical failures result in severe “collateral damage” or 
  “friendly fire” incidents. The very worst critical failures 
  (GM’s decision) drop the ordnance on your position! 
   
   
  Modifiers: Equipment modifiers (p. 186); -2 if you 
  are unfamiliar with the artillery (e.g., aircraft bombs 
  when you are used to naval guns); -3 per 500 yards 
  between you and the target – but divide the actual 
  range by the magnification of any vision aid first. 
  
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
  Free Fall 
  DX/Average 
   
  Defaults: DX-5 or HT-5. 
   
   
  This is the ability to operate in a free-fall (zero-
  gravity) environment. Roll against the higher of HT or 
  Free Fall when you first enter free fall; see Space Ad-
  aptation Syndrome (p. 235). In addition, whenever you 
  make a DX or DX-based skill roll in free fall, use the 
  lower of Free Fall and your DX or skill. For instance, if 
  you had Free Fall-14 and Karate-16, you would roll at 
  14 or less to land a punch. 
   
   
  Modifiers: +2 for 3D Spatial Sense.  
   
  Freight Handling/TL 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Default: IQ-5. 
   
   
  This is the skill of supervising the loading and un-
  loading of vehicles (laborers do not require this skill – 
  just their foreman). A successful skill roll cuts the time 
  required by 20%. Also roll against Freight Handling 
  skill any time there is doubt as to whether an item of 
  cargo was lost or damaged; on a success, it made the 
  journey intact. 
   
  Gambling 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Defaults: IQ-5 or Mathematics (Statistics)-5. 
   
   
  This is skill at playing games of chance. A 
  successful Gambling roll can (among other things) tell 
  you if a game is rigged, identify a fellow gambler in a 
  group of strangers, or “estimate the odds” in any tricky 
  situation. When you gamble against the house, make 
  a skill roll (The GM will secretly modify this roll if the 
  odds are poor!). When you gamble against someone 
  else, roll a Regular Contest of Gambling until one of 
  you wins. 
   
  Sleight of Hand skill is helpful if you want to cheat! 
  To spot a cheater, roll a Quick Contest of your Gam-
  bling or Vision roll, whichever is higher, vs. your oppo-
  nent’s Sleight of Hand skill (for card or dice tricks) or 
  IQ (for other kinds of cheating). 
   
   
  Modifiers: +1 to +5 for familiarity with the game 
  being played; -1 to -5 if the game is rigged against 
  you; -3 for Killjoy‡, since you don’t care if you win or 
  lose. 
   
  Garrote 
  DX/Easy 
   
  Default: DX-4. 
   
   
  This is the ability to strangle a victim with a rope or 
  a wire. See Special Melee Weapon Rules (p. 116) for 
  details. Note that you cannot use a garrote to parry. 
   
   
  Geography/TL† 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Defaults: IQ-6 and others. 
   
   
  This is the study of the physical, political, and eco-
  nomic divisions of a planet, and how they interact. It is 
  part physical science, part social science. You must 
  specialize: 
   
   
  Physical: The study of the physical properties of a 
  planetary surface. A physical geographer could an-
  swer questions about climate, terrain, and so forth. 
  You must further specialize by planet type (p. 155). 
  Defaults: Geology (same planet type)-4 or Meteorol-
  ogy (same planet type)-4. 
   
  Political: The study of political regions – their bor-
  ders, natural resources, industries, etc. A political ge-
  ographer could answer questions about land claims, 
  overpopulation, regional economic disparities, trans-
  portation networks, etc. Default: Economics-4. 
   
  Regional: The study of all of the above, but spe-
  cific to a single region: New York, the United States, 
  planet Earth, etc. The depth of knowledge decreases 
  with the size of the region (see Area Knowledge). De-
  fault: the relevant Area Knowledge skill at -6. 
   
   
  These specialties default among themselves at -5. 
   
  Geology/TL† 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Defaults: IQ-6, Geography (Physical)-4, or Pro-
  specting-5. 
   
   
  This is the science dealing with the structure of 
  planets – their crust, mantle, and core. A geologist 
  knows about minerals, oil, ores, etc.; about earth-
  quakes and volcanoes; and about fossils. In the field, 
  he can attempt to find water by using an “eye for 
  country” (see the Survival skill).  
   
  You must specialize by planet type (p. 155). 
   
  Gunner/TL† 
  DX/Easy 
   
  Default: DX-4. 
   
   
  This is the ability to use a heavy weapon, usually 
  one mounted on a tripod or a vehicle, to make a direct-
  fire attack – that is, to aim and fire at a target to which 
  you have a line of sight. For indirect fire, use Artillery 
  skill. Roll against Gunner skill to hit the target.  
   
  Make an IQ-based skill roll to take immediate ac-
  tion (e.g., clear a stoppage or restart a crashed tar-
  geting computer), should your weapon fail. Loaders 
  can make ST-based skill rolls to improve the rate of 
  fire of certain crew-served weapons; see individual 
  weapon descriptions for details. 
   
  You must specialize by weapon type.  
   
   
  Beams: Any kind of heavy directed-energy 
  weapon: laser, particle beam, phaser, etc. 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
  Page 165 
   
  Cannon: Any kind of heavy projectile weapon – 
  e.g., the main gun of a tank or a photon torpedo on a 
  starship – that fires single shots.  
   
  Catapult: Any kind of large, direct-fire mechanical 
  bolt-thrower, such as a ballista. 
   
  Machine Gun: Any kind of heavy projectile weapon 
  capable of firing bursts. 
   
  Rockets: Any kind of free-flight rocket fired from a 
  mount. 
   
   
  These specialties default to one another at -4. The 
  weapons covered by each specialty vary by TL. For 
  instance, Gunner (Machine Gun) covers hand-cranked 
  Gatling guns at TL5, automatic machine guns at TL6, 
  and autocannon at TL7. 
   
  Familiarity is crucial here! Gunner/TL7 (Machine 
  Gun) covers both tripod-mounted machine guns and 
  aircraft autocannon, but going from one to the other 
  gives you -2 for weapon type (machine gun to 
  autocannon), -2 for aiming system (open sights to 
  HUD), and -2 for mount (tripod to hull mount), for a net 
  -6 to skill until you familiarize yourself with all the 
  differences. 
   
   
  Modifiers: All applicable ranged combat modifiers; 
  -2 for an unfamiliar aiming system (e.g., a camera 
  when you’re used to open sights) or mount (e.g., a 
  tripod when you’re used to a turret), or for an unfamil-
  iar weapon of a known type (e.g., .30-cal when you are 
  used to .50s); -4 or more for a weapon in bad repair. 
   
  Guns/TL† 
  DX/Easy 
   
  Default: DX-4. 
   
   
  This is the ability to use a handheld chemical-pro-
  pellant or mass-driver projectile weapon. Roll against 
  Guns skill to hit your target.  
   
  Make an IQ-based skill roll to take immediate ac-
  tion (e.g., eject a dud round), should your weapon fail.  
   
  You must specialize by weapon type.  
   
   
  Grenade Launcher (GL): Any large-bore, low-pow-
  ered small arm that fires a bursting projectile. Includes 
  under-barrel grenade launchers, flare pistols, and ul-
  tra-tech “tanglers.” 
   
  Gyroc: Any kind of small arm that fires miniature 
  rockets. 
   
  Light Anti-Armor Weapon (LAW): All forms of 
  rocket launchers and recoilless rifles. 
   
  Light Machine Gun (LMG): Any machine gun fired 
  from the hip or a bipod. 
   
  Rifle: Any kind of rifled long arm – assault rifle, 
  hunting rifle, sniper rifle, etc. – that fires a solid 
  projectile. 
   
  Shotgun: Any kind of smoothbore long arm that 
  fires multiple projectiles (flechettes, shot, etc.). 
   
  Submachine Gun (SMG): All short, fully automatic 
  weapons that fire pistol-caliber ammunition, including 
  machine pistols. 
   
   
  Most of these specialties default to one another at 
  -2, but defaults involving GL, Gyroc, or LAW are at -4 
  in either direction. The weapons covered by each spe-
  cialty vary by TL. For example, Guns (Rifle) covers 
  muzzleloaders at TL4, lever actions at TL5, and self-
  loaders at TL6+. In particular, ammunition varies with 
  TL, from black powder and loose shot at TL4, to 
  smokeless powder cartridges at TL6, to power cells 
  and grenades for TL10+ under-barrel grenade 
  launchers. 
   
  Familiarity is crucial here! Guns (Rifle) covers both 
  bolt-action 12.7mm sniper rifles and 5.56mm assault 
  rifles, but going from one to the other gives you -2 for 
  weapon type (12.7mm to 5.56mm), -2 for action (bolt-
  action to self-loader), and -2 for grip (bipod to hand-
  held), for a total of -6 to skill until you familiarize your-
  self with all the differences. 
   
   
  Modifiers: All applicable ranged combat modifiers; 
  -2 for an unfamiliar action (e.g., an automatic when 
  you’re used to a revolver) or grip (e.g., a shoulder-fired 
  antitank weapon when you’re used to a bipod), or for 
  an unfamiliar weapon of a known type (e.g., a 5.56mm 
  rifle when you are used to a 7.62mm rifle); -4 or more 
  for a weapon in bad repair. 
   
  History† 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Default: IQ-6. 
   
   
  This is the study of the recorded past (compare 
  Archaeology skill). A successful skill roll lets you an-
  swer questions about history, and might (at the GM’s 
  option) allow you to remember a useful parallel: “Ah, 
  yes. Hannibal faced a situation like this once, and 
  here’s what he did ...”  
   
  You must specialize. There are two general clas-
  ses of specialty: 
   
   
  A limited geographical region – no larger than a 
  small nation – over multiple eras. Examples: History 
  (Bavarian), History (Irish), or History (New York State). 
   
  A single era (e.g., Victorian period, 20th century) 
  and one of a broad geographical region (e.g., Europe), 
  a culture (e.g., Muslim), or an idea (e.g., economic, 
  esoteric, or military). Examples: History (20th-Century 
  American), History (Ottoman Muslim), or History (Na-
  poleonic Military). 
   
   
  The sheer variety of possible specialties makes it 
  impossible to list all possible defaults. In general, if two 
  specialties overlap at all, then GM should permit a 
  default at -2 to -4 
   
  Holdout 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Defaults: IQ-5 or Sleight of Hand-3. 
   
   
  This is the skill of concealing items on your person 
  or on other people (usually with their cooperation). An 
  
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
  item’s size and shape govern its concealability. Some 
  examples: 
   
   
  +4: A BB-sized jewel, a postage stamp. 
   
  +3: A pea-sized jewel. 
   
  +2: One lockpick, a huge jewel, a dime, a TL9+ 
  computer disk, a letter. 
   
  +1: A set of lockpicks, a silver dollar. 
   
  0: A TL8 floppy disk or CD without case. 
   
  -1: A dagger, a slingshot, the tiniest handgun or 
  grenade. 
   
  -2: An average handgun, a grenade, a large knife. 
   
  -3: A submachine gun, a shortsword, a short 
  carbine. 
   
  -4: A broadsword, an assault rifle. 
   
  -5: A bastard sword, a battle rifle. 
   
  -6: A crossbow, a heavy sniper rifle. 
   
   
  Things that move or make noise give an additional 
  -1 or more to skill. 
   
  Clothing also modifies effective skill. A nun in full 
  habit (+5 to skill) could conceal a bazooka or a battle-
  axe from an eyeball search. A Las Vegas showgirl in 
  costume (-5 to skill) would have trouble hiding even a 
  dagger. Of course, the showgirl might escape search 
  entirely (unless the guards were bored) because “She 
  obviously couldn’t hide anything in that outfit!” Full nu-
  dity is -7 to skill.  
   
  A proper concealment holster helps conceal a 
  weapon; use the equipment modifiers on p. 186. 
  Clothing designed specifically to hide things gives a 
  bonus of up to +4. 
   
  To spot a concealed item, roll a Quick Contest of 
  Search skill vs. Holdout. Search defaults to Percep-
  tion-5 if you haven’t studied it. See the Search skill for 
  additional rules. 
   
  Intelligence Analysis/TL 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Defaults: IQ-6 or Strategy (any)-6. 
   
   
  This is the ability to analyze and interpret intelli-
  gence data. It allows you to deduce enemy plans and 
  capabilities, evaluate the accuracy of information, rate 
  the reliability of sources, etc. In most game worlds, 
  only intelligence, military, and security services teach 
  this skill – often only to those with a minimum level of 
  Rank or Security Clearance.  
   
  The GM makes all Intelligence Analysis rolls in 
  secret. On a success, he provides details about the 
  significance and accuracy of your data, or insights into 
  what it means in terms of enemy planning. When you 
  encounter deliberately falsified data, the GM rolls a 
  secret Quick Contest: your Intelligence Analysis vs. 
  the enemy’s skill at disinformation (Forgery, Propa-
  ganda, etc.). If you win, the GM provides details on 
  precisely what is wrong with the information. It is up to 
  you to deduce what this means, however! 
   
  This skill has nothing to do with gathering intelli-
  gence. Use Current Affairs‡ and Research to sift 
  through public sources; Forensics and Search to find 
  physical clues; Observation for human surveillance; 
  and Electronics Operation to work with the satellite 
  imagery, communications intercepts, and related 
  “technical means” common at TL7+. 
   
  You may take an optional specialty in one particu-
  lar type of intelligence. A useful specialty at TL6+ is 
  Intelligence Analysis (Traffic Analysis): identifying the 
  purpose and organization of targets by examining in-
  tercepted communications traffic. 
   
   
  Modifiers: -1 to -5 for incomplete information; -3 if 
  all your information comes from a single source; -3 for 
  intelligence concerning an arcane scientific or bureau-
  cratic principle, unless you have skill in that area (e.g., 
  Engineer (Electronics) for intelligence regarding a ra-
  dar installation). 
   
  Interrogation 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Defaults: IQ-5, Intimidation-3, or Psychology-4. 
   
   
  This is the ability to question a prisoner. Only intel-
  ligence agencies, police and prison services, the mili-
  tary, and the underworld teach this skill.  
   
  Roll a Quick Contest of Interrogation vs. the pris-
  oner’s Will for each question. This requires 5 minutes 
  per question. If you win, you get a truthful answer. If 
  you tie or lose, the victim remains silent or lies. If you 
  lose by more than five points, he tells you a good, be-
  lievable lie! The GM roleplays the prisoner (or, if you 
  are the prisoner, the GM will roleplay the interrogator) 
  and makes all die rolls in secret. 
   
   
  Modifiers: -5 if the prisoner’s loyalty to his leader 
  or cause is “Very Good” or “Excellent”; -3 for Low Em-
  pathy‡; +2 for a lengthy interrogation (over two hours); 
  +3 if you use severe threats; +6 if you use torture*. 
  Increase these last two bonuses by +1 if you have the 
  Callous disadvantage! 
   
   
  * “Torture” does not necessarily mean thumb-
  screws and the rack. Exposing a prisoner to the object 
  of his phobia (see Phobias, p. 135) is an effective tor-
  ture, as is a believable threat against a loved one. 
  Note that torturing a prisoner is usually considered vile 
  behavior, likely bringing retribution. 
   
  Intimidation 
  Will/Average 
   
  Defaults: Will-5 or Acting-3. 
   
   
  This is the skill of hostile persuasion. The essence 
  of Intimidation is to convince the subject that you are 
  able and willing, perhaps even eager, to do something 
  awful to him.  
   
  You can substitute an Intimidation attempt for any 
  reaction roll; see Influence Rolls (p. 197). Exception: 
  You cannot intimidate someone who has the Unfaze-
  able advantage! 
   
  The results of a successful Intimidation attempt 
  depend on the target. An honest citizen probably 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
  Page 167 
  cooperates, sullenly or with false cheer. A low-life 
  might lick your boots (even becoming genuinely loyal). 
  A really tough sort might react well without being 
  frightened: “You’re my kind of scum!” The GM decides, 
  and roleplays it. If you rolled a critical success – or if 
  the subject critically failed his Will roll – your victim 
  must make a Fright Check in addition to the other re-
  sults of the Influence roll! 
   
   
  Group Intimidation: You may attempt to intimidate 
  up to 25 people at once, at -1 to skill per five people 
  (or fraction thereof) in the group. Multiple intimidators 
  can attempt to intimidate proportionally larger groups; 
  for instance, three thugs could try to intimidate up to 
  75 people! Base the skill penalty on the size of the tar-
  get group divided by the number of intimidators (round 
  up). Resolve the outcome with a single Quick Contest: 
  the highest effective Intimidation skill from among the 
  intimidators vs. the highest modified Will in the target 
  group. 
   
  Specious Intimidation: You can attempt a Quick 
  Contest of Fast-Talk vs. the subject’s IQ before your 
  Intimidation attempt in order to appear to be intimidat-
  ing when you can’t back it up. If you win, you are at +3 
  on the subsequent Intimidation attempt, which can go 
  a long way toward offsetting the high Will and Fear-
  lessness of martial arts masters, world leaders, etc. If 
  you tie or lose, however, your Intimidation attempt fails 
  automatically, and you suffer a “Very Bad” reaction 
  instead of just a “Bad” one! 
   
   
  Modifiers: +1 to +4 for displays of strength, blood-
  thirstiness, etc. (GM’s judgment); increase this bonus 
  by +1 if you are Callous. Appearance (p. 31) matters: +2 
  if you are Hideous, +3 if Monstrous, or +4 if Horrific. Size 
  also matters: add your Size Modifier and subtract the 
  subject’s. Appropriate Reputation modifiers (positive or 
  negative) certainly count! You get -1 for Oblivious‡  and 
  -1 to -4 for Shyness. Subtract the subject’s Fearless-
  ness (p. 91) from your roll. The GM may assign a +1 
  or -1 for especially appropriate or clumsy dialog. Re-
  quests for aid are always at -3 or worse. 
   
  Judo 
  DX/Hard 
   
  Defaults: None. 
   
   
  This skill represents any advanced training at un-
  armed throws and grapples – not just the eponymous 
  Japanese martial art.  
   
  Judo allows you to parry two different attacks per 
  turn, one with each hand. Your Parry score is (skill/2) 
  + 3, rounded down. This parry is not at the usual -3 for 
  parrying a weapon barehanded, greatly reducing the 
  likelihood of injury when you defend against an armed 
  foe. In addition, Judo gives an improved retreating bo-
  nus when you parry; see Retreat (p. 213). For more on 
  barehanded parries, see Parrying Unarmed (p. 212). 
   
  On the turn immediately after a successful Judo 
  parry, you may attempt to throw your attacker if he is 
  within one yard. This counts as an attack; roll vs. Judo 
  skill to hit. (Note that in an All-Out Attack, you cannot 
  attempt two throws, but you can make one attempt at 
  +4.) Your foe may use any active defense – he can 
  parry your hand with a weapon! If his defense fails, 
  you throw him. 
   
  When you throw a foe, he falls where you please. 
  On a battle map, he lands in any two hexes near you. 
  One of these hexes must be his starting hex, your hex, 
  or any hex adjacent to one of those hexes. Your victim 
  must roll against HT; a failed roll means he is stunned! 
  If you throw him into someone else, that person must 
  roll against the higher of ST+3 or DX+3 to avoid being 
  knocked down. 
   
  Finally, you may use your Judo skill instead of 
  your DX for any DX roll made in close combat except 
  to draw a weapon or drop a shield. If you grapple a foe 
  using Judo, and he fails to break free, you may make a 
  Judo attack to throw him on your next turn, exactly as 
  if you had parried his attack. 
   
  To use Judo, any hand with which you wish to 
  parry or grapple must be empty. Because Judo relies 
  heavily on footwork, all Judo rolls and Judo parries 
  take a penalty equal to your encumbrance level. For 
  instance, Heavy encumbrance would give you -3 to hit 
  or to parry an enemy attack. 
   
  Jumping 
  DX/Easy 
   
  Defaults: None. 
   
   
  This skill represents trained jumping ability. When 
  you attempt a difficult jump, roll against the higher of 
  Jumping or DX. In addition, you may use half your 
  Jumping skill (round down) instead of Basic Move 
  when calculating jumping distance. For instance, 
  Jumping-14 would let you jump if you had Basic Move 
  7. See Jumping (p. 191). 
   
  Karate 
  DX/Hard 
   
  Defaults: None. 
   
   
  This skill represents any advanced training at un-
  armed striking, not just the Okinawan martial art of 
  karate. Roll against Karate to hit with a punch (at no -4 
  for the “off” hand), or Karate-2 to hit with a kick. You 
  cannot use Karate to attack with claws, teeth, etc., or 
  with a blackjack – use Brawling for that. Karate skill 
  does let you make several special attacks, however; 
  see Unarmed Combat (p. 206). 
   
  Karate improves damage: if you know Karate at 
  DX level, add +1 per die to basic thrust damage when 
  you calculate damage with Karate attacks: punches, 
  kicks, elbow strikes, etc. Add +2 per die if you know 
  Karate at DX+1 or better! 
   
  Karate allows you to parry two different attacks per 
  turn, one with each hand. Your Parry score is (skill/2) 
  + 3, rounded down. This parry is not at the usual -3 for 
  parrying a weapon barehanded, greatly reducing the 
  likelihood of injury when you defend against an armed 
  foe. In addition, Karate gives an improved retreating 
  
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
  bonus when you parry; see Retreat (p. 213). For more 
  on barehanded parries, see Parrying Unarmed (p. 
  212). 
   
  To use Karate, any hand with which you wish to 
  strike or parry must be empty (but you are free to wear 
  heavy gauntlets, brass knuckles, etc. to increase dam-
  age). Because Karate relies heavily on footwork, all 
  Karate attacks and parries take a penalty equal to your 
  encumbrance level. For instance, Heavy encumbrance 
  would give you -3 to hit or to parry an enemy attack. 
   
  Knife 
  see Melee Weapon 
   
  Law † 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Default: IQ-6. 
   
   
  This skill represents knowledge of law codes and 
  jurisprudence. A successful roll lets you remember, 
  deduce, or figure out the answer to a question about 
  the law. Few legal questions have clear-cut answers, 
  however – even an expert will hedge his advice!  
   
  You must specialize. There are two general clas-
  ses of specialty: 
   
   
  The laws of a particular political region within a 
  specific field (constitutional, contract, criminal, police, 
  etc.). Examples: Law (British Criminal), Law (Canadian 
  Constitutional), and Law (U.S. Contract). 
   
  A specialized body of law not associated with a 
  political region. Examples: Law (Catholic Canon) and 
  Law (international). 
   
   
  Specialties within the same region, such as Law 
  (British Criminal) and Law (British Police), or field, 
  such as Law (British Criminal) and Law (French Crimi-
  nal), default to one another at -4. If both region and 
  field differ, the default is -6 or worse. 
   
  In some times and places, a Quick Contest of Law 
  (Criminal) between the defense and prosecution will 
  determine the outcome of a trial. In others, Law func-
  tions as an Influence skill (see Influence Rolls, p. 197) 
  used to sway the rulings of the judge. 
   
  Law enforcers nearly always have a point or two in 
  Law (Police) for their region. This represents 
  knowledge of “proper procedure” when it comes to 
  arrests, evidence handling, interrogation, etc. 
   
  Leadership 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Default: IQ-5. 
   
   
  This is the ability to coordinate a group. Make a 
  Leadership roll to lead NPCs into a dangerous or 
  stressful situation. (PCs can decide for themselves if 
  they want to follow you!) 
   
  You may attempt a Leadership roll in combat if 
  you spend your turn doing nothing but giving orders 
  and encouragement. On a success, everyone on your 
  side who can hear you (including PCs) has +1 on all 
  combat-related Fright Checks and morale checks, and 
  on self-control rolls for disadvantages that would re-
  duce combat efficiency (such as Berserk and Cow-
  ardice – or Bloodlust, if you wish to take prisoners). A 
  critical success gives +2. The bonus lasts until your 
  next turn, at which time you may roll again. A group 
  can have only one leader, however! If multiple people 
  attempt Leadership rolls, no one gets a bonus. 
   
  Note that a minimum level of Leadership is often a 
  prerequisite for high Rank (p. 37). 
   
   
  Modifiers: Any bonus for Charisma; -3 for Low Em-
  pathy‡; -1 to -4 for Shyness. -5 if the NPCs have never 
  been in action with you; -5 if you are sending them into 
  danger but not going yourself; +5 if their loyalty to you 
  is “Good”; +10 if their loyalty is “Very Good.” If their 
  loyalty is “Excellent,” you do not have to roll! 
   
  Linguistics 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Defaults: None. 
   
   
  This is the study of the principles upon which lan-
  guages are based. A successful skill roll lets you iden-
  tify a language from a snatch of speech or writing. As 
  well, make a skill roll once per month when learning a 
  language without a teacher. On a success, you learn 
  at full speed rather than at 1/4 speed (see Learning 
  Languages, p. 34). 
   
  Lockpicking/TL 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Default: IQ-5. 
   
   
  This is the ability to open locks without the key or 
  combination. Each attempt requires one minute. If you 
  make the roll and open the lock, each point by which 
  you succeeded shaves five seconds off the required 
  time. (Safecracking and similar challenges can take 
  more time, at the GM’s discretion.) 
   
  Note that if the lock has a trap or alarm attached, 
  you must make a separate Traps roll to circumvent it. 
   
   
  Modifiers: Equipment modifiers (p. 186); -5 if work-
  ing by touch (e.g., in total darkness). Inside information 
  gives a bonus at GM’s discretion. If the GM requires a 
  DX-based roll (for instance, to work with a particularly 
  delicate mechanism), modifiers for High Manual Dex-
  terity or Ham-Fisted‡ will apply. 
   
  Machinist/TL 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Defaults: IQ-5 or Mechanic (any)-5. 
   
   
  This is the skill of making and modifying mechani-
  cal parts and tools. A successful skill roll lets you build 
  parts from raw materials, manufacture tools for use 
  with another skill (such as Armoury or Lockpicking), or 
  modify any simple mechanical device not explicitly 
  covered by another skill. The GM may require an 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
  Page 169 
  inventor to make one or more Machinist rolls before 
  attempting an Engineer roll to assemble a gadget. 
   
   
  Modifiers: Equipment modifiers (p. 186). 
   
  Mathematics/TL† 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Defaults: IQ-6 and others. 
   
   
  This is the scientific study of quantities and magni-
  tudes, and their relationships and attributes, through 
  the use of numbers and symbols. You must specialize:  
   
   
  Applied: The branch of mathematics that interacts 
  directly with the physical sciences and engineering, 
  dealing with mathematical models of the behavior of 
  physical systems. Defaults: Engineer (any)-5 or 
  Physics-5. 
   
  Computer Science: The theoretical study of data 
  structures and computation. Roll vs. skill to answer 
  questions about what is possible with computers. This 
  gives you no special ability to use computers! Default: 
  Computer Programming-5. 
   
  Cryptology: The mathematical study of codes and 
  ciphers. This gives you a theoretical understanding of 
  encryption schemes, including how they change with 
  TL and why some schemes are more effective than 
  others. To create or break codes, use Cryptography 
  skill. Default: Cryptography-5. 
   
  Pure: Generic “academic” mathematics. Make a 
  skill roll to answer any math-related question not cov-
  ered by another specialty. Pure mathematics encom-
  passes dozens of obscure subfields that will never af-
  fect the game. If you must be an expert in something 
  like “non-selfadjoint operator algebras,” you may fur-
  ther note an optional specialty (p. 146). 
   
  Statistics: The science of assembling and analyz-
  ing data for the purpose of calculating probabilities, 
  constructing models, and making forecasts. Roll vs. 
  skill to determine the odds of a particular outcome, 
  given sufficient data about similar situations in the 
  past. 
   
  Surveying: The science of determining the area of 
  a portion of the Earth’s surface, the lengths and direc-
  tions of the bounding lines, and the contour of the 
  surface. Make a skill roll to determine the dimensions 
  of any area you can see. More complex determina-
  tions require specialized equipment. Defaults: Cartog-
  raphy-3 or Navigation (any)-4. 
   
   
  These specialties default to one another at -5. 
   
  Mechanic/TL† 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Defaults: IQ-5, Engineer (same)-4, or Machinist-5. 
   
   
  This is the ability to diagnose and fix ordinary me-
  chanical problems. A successful skill roll will let you 
  find or repair one problem. 
   
  You must pick a specialty from within one of these 
  four categories: 
   
   
  Machine Type: Any one class of nonvehicular ma-
  chine. Types include Micromachines (miniature ma-
  chinery, invisible to the naked eye; TL9+), Na-
  nomachines (molecular-scale machinery; TL10+) (this 
  is not prevalent within the SFU), and Robotics (robots 
  and automated factories; TL7+). 
   
  Motive System Type: Any one type of propulsion 
  system, regardless of vehicle type. Types include Leg-
  ged, Tracked, Wheeled, Rockets, and Reactionless 
  Thrusters. 
   
  Power Plant Type: Any one type of power plant, 
  no matter what it powers. Types include Clockwork, 
  Steam Engine, Gasoline Engine, Diesel Engine, Gas 
  Turbine, Fuel Cell, Fission Reactor, Fusion Reactor, 
  and Antimatter Reactor. 
   
  Vehicle Type: The controls, hull, motive system, 
  power plant, transmission, and even the paint job of 
  one specific type of vehicle listed under a vehicle-op-
  eration skill such as Driving, Piloting, or Submarine‡. 
   
   
  Mechanic specialties default to one another at -4, 
  although the GM may modify this for particularly close 
  or distant specialties. The systems covered by each 
  specialty vary by TL. For instance, Mechanic (Light 
  Airplane) covers single-engine biplanes at early TL6, 
  small private jets at TL7, and so forth. 
   
  Familiarity is very important here. For instance, 
  Mechanic/TL7 (Light Airplane) covers both propeller-
  powered seaplanes and small private jets, but going 
  from one to the other gives you -2 for an unfamiliar 
  item (prop-powered plane to jet) and -2 for an unfa-
  miliar implementation (seaplane to regular plane), for a 
  net -4 to skill until you familiarize yourself with all the 
  differences. 
   
   
  Modifiers: -2 for an unfamiliar item within your spe-
  cialty (e.g., a barge when you’re used to battleships), 
  or for an unfamiliar implementation (e.g., a powerboat 
  engine when you’re used to automobile engines); 
  equipment modifiers (p. 186). 
   
  Melee Weapon 
  DX/Varies 
   
  Defaults: Special. 
   
   
  This is not one skill, but an entire collection of 
  skills – one per class of closely related melee weap-
  ons. Melee Weapon skills are based on DX, and de-
  fault to DX-4 if Easy, DX-5 if Average, or DX-6 if Hard. 
  See specific skill descriptions for other defaults. 
   
  Make a Melee Weapon roll to hit an opponent in 
  combat. You may also use these skills to parry. Your 
  Parry defense is (skill/2) + 3, rounded down. Melee 
  weapons fall into broad categories on the basis of 
  overall balance and function. When a rule refers to one 
  of these categories, it applies to all weapons in that 
  category and all Melee Weapon skills used to wield 
  them. For instance, “fencing weapons” means “all 
  weapons used with any of Main-Gauche, Rapier, Sa-
  ber, or Smallsword skill.” 
  
  Page 170  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
  Fencing Weapons 
   
  Fencing weapons are light, one-handed weapons, 
  usually hilted blades, optimized for parrying. If you 
  have a fencing weapon, you get an improved retreat-
  ing bonus when you parry – see Retreat (p. 213). 
  Furthermore, you have half the usual penalty for par-
  rying more than once with the same hand (see Parry-
  ing, p. 212). 
   
  Note that fencing weapons are light and likely to 
  break when used to parry a heavier weapon. They 
  cannot parry flail weapons at all! You must be rela-
  tively mobile to capitalize on their speed and maneu-
  verability: all attacks and parries take a penalty equal 
  to your encumbrance level (e.g., Heavy encumbrance 
  gives -3 to hit or to parry). 
   
  The skills in this category default to one another at 
  -3. They also default to sword skills, as noted below. 
   
   
  Rapier (DX/Average): Any long (over 1 yard), light 
  thrusting sword. Default: Broadsword-4. 
   
  Saber (DX/Average): Any light cut-and-thrust 
  sword. Note that cavalry sabers are quite heavy, and 
  use Broadsword instead. Defaults: Broadsword-4 or 
  Shortsword-4. 
   
  Smallsword (DX/Average): Any short (up to 1 
  yard), light thrusting sword or one-handed short staff 
  (such as the sticks used in the martial arts arnis, 
  escrima, and kali). Default: Shortsword-4. 
   
  Impact Weapons 
   
  An impact weapon is any rigid, unbalanced 
  weapon with most of its mass concentrated in the 
  head. Such a weapon cannot parry if you have already 
  attacked with it on your turn. The skills in this category 
  default to one another at -3. 
   
   
  Axe/Mace (DX/Average): Any short- or medium-
  length, one-handed impact weapon, such as an axe, 
  hatchet, knobbed club, or pick. Default: Flail‡-4. 
   
  Two-Handed Axe/Mace (DX/Average): Any long, 
  two-handed impact weapon, such as a baseball bat, 
  battleaxe, maul, or warhammer. Defaults: Polearm‡-4 
  or Two-Handed Flail‡-4. 
   
  Pole Weapons 
   
  Pole weapons are long (usually wooden) shafts, 
  often adorned with striking heads. All require two 
  hands. 
   
   
  Spear (DX/Average): Any long, balanced pole 
  weapon with a thrusting point, including spears, jave-
  lins, tridents, and fixed bayonets. Defaults: Polearm‡-4 
  or Staff-2. 
   
  Staff (DX/Average): Any long, balanced pole with-
  out a striking head. This skill makes good use of the 
  staff’s extensive parrying surface when defending, 
  giving +2 to your Parry score. Defaults: Polearm‡-4 or 
  Spear-2. 
   
   
   
   
  Swords 
   
  A sword is a rigid, hilted blade with a thrusting 
  point, cutting edge, or both. All swords are balanced, 
  and can attack and parry without becoming unready. 
   
  Broadsword (DX/Average): Any balanced, 2- to 4-
  foot blade wielded in one hand – broadsword, cavalry 
  saber, scimitar, etc. This skill also covers any stick or 
  club of similar size and balance to these blades, as 
  well as bastard swords, katanas, and longswords used 
  one-handed. Defaults: Force Sword‡-4, Rapier-4, 
  Saber-4, Shortsword-2, or Two-Handed Sword-4. 
   
  Knife (DX/Easy): Any rigid, hilted blade less than 
  one foot long, from a pocketknife to a bowie knife. A 
  knife has a very small parrying surface, which gives 
  you -1 to your Parry score. Defaults: Force Sword‡-3, 
  Main-Gauche‡-3, or Shortsword-3. 
   
  Shortsword (DX/Average): Any balanced, one-
  handed weapon 1-2 feet in length – including the 
  shortsword and any club of comparable size and bal-
  ance (e.g., a police baton). Defaults: Broadsword-2, 
  Force 
  Sword‡-4, 
  Jitte/Sai‡-3, 
  Knife-4, 
  Saber-4, 
  Smallsword-4, or Tonfa-3. 
   
  Two-Handed Sword (DX/Average): Any balanced, 
  two-handed blade over 4 feet in length: greatswords, 
  zweihanders, etc. This skill also covers quarterstaffs 
  wielded like swords, as well as bastard swords, kat-
  anas, and longswords used two-handed. Defaults: 
  Broadsword-4 or Force Sword‡-4. 
   
  Whips 
   
  A whip is a flexible weapon made from a length of 
  chain, leather, wire, etc. A whip can be up to seven 
  yards long – but note that a whip two yards or more in 
  length cannot strike at one yard or closer, and is slow 
  to ready after an attack. A whip tends to wind around 
  its target, making it an excellent disarming and entan-
  gling weapon. However, a whip’s lack of rigidity makes 
  it a poor parrying weapon. For details, see Special 
  Melee Weapon Rules (p. 218). 
   
  The skills in this category default to one another at 
  -3. 
   
   
  Kusari (DX/Hard): A weighted chain wielded in two 
  hands. Default: Two-Handed Flail‡-4. 
   
  Whip (DX/Average): Any ordinary whip. 
   
  Other Weapons 
   
  Some hand weapons defy easy classification. For 
  instance: 
   
   
  Tonfa (DX/Average): A tonfa is a baton with a pro-
  truding handle on one side. It can function as a baton, 
  but you can also grasp it by the handle and hold it 
  against the forearm in close combat. This grip lets you 
  jab for thrust+1 crushing damage and parry close-
  combat attacks at (skill/2) + 3, rounded down. Roll vs. 
  skill to change grips. On a success, the grip change is 
  a free action. On a failure, you must spend the entire 
  turn changing grips. A critical failure means you throw 
  your weapon away! Default: Shortsword-3. 
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
  Page 171 
  Merchant 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Defaults: IQ-5, Finance-6, or Market Analysis‡-4. 
   
   
  This is the skill of buying, selling, and trading retail 
  and wholesale goods. It covers all types of merchan-
  dise, but many merchants have an optional specialty in 
  a single class of goods.   
   
  Make a skill roll to judge the value of any piece of 
  common goods, find out where any commodity is 
  bought and sold, find the local fair market value of any 
  commodity, etc.  
   
  When two merchants haggle, the GM may settle it 
  with a Quick Contest. The winner adds or subtracts 
  10% of fair value, depending on whether he was trying 
  to sell or buy.  
   
  If you have this skill at any level, you get + 1 on re-
  action rolls when buying or selling. If you have this skill 
  at level 20 or better, you get +2. 
   
   
  Modifiers: -3 for Gullibility‡; -3 for Low Empathy‡; -
  1 to -4 for Shyness. -3 for illegal goods, unless you 
  have Streetwise at 12+ or specialize in such goods; -2 
  in an unfamiliar area, until you have had time to famil-
  iarize yourself with local market conditions; Cultural 
  Familiarity modifiers (p. 33). These last two modifiers 
  “stack,” and frequently occur together. 
   
  Metallurgy/TL 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Defaults: 
  Chemistry-5, 
  Jeweler‡-8, 
  or 
  Smith 
  (any)‡-8. 
   
   
  This is the study of metals and their properties. A 
  successful roll lets you identify metals or alloys, or 
  solve a problem concerning metals, their use, mining, 
  or refining. 
   
  Meteorology/TL† 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Default: IQ-5. 
   
   
  This is the study of the weather, and the ability to 
  predict it. It includes familiarity with technological aids 
  such as barometers and satellite maps, but you can 
  still function without your instruments. (If you can’t, 
  you’re a meter-reader, not a meteorologist!) 
   
  When you wish to predict the weather, the GM 
  rolls against your skill in secret. On a success, he tells 
  the truth; on a failure, he answers randomly, or lies. 
  Each skill roll predicts the weather for one day. If one 
  day’s roll fails, subsequent ones can’t succeed. For 
  instance, a three-day forecast would require three skill 
  rolls: the first for tomorrow, the second for the next 
  day, and the third for the day after that. 
   
  A successful roll also allows you to deduce what 
  sort of general climate to expect when you visit a new 
  area. 
   
  At TL4 or less, this skill is called Weather Sense, 
  and you get +2 to skill in your home area. At TL5 and 
  up, Meteorology is a scientific skill, and you must spe-
  cialize by planet type; see Planet Types (p. 155) for 
  details. 
   
   
  Modifiers: Time is a major factor! There is no pen-
  alty to predict tomorrow’s weather, but you have -1 for 
  2 days, -2 for 3 days, -4 for 4 days, -6 for 5 days, and 
  an additional -2 per day for each further day. Instru-
  mentation becomes useful with the development of the 
  barometer at TL4, after which equipment modifiers (p. 
  186) apply. You must know this skill at better than de-
  fault to claim bonuses for good equipment. 
   
  Mind Block 
  Will/Average 
   
  Defaults: Will-5 or Meditation‡-5. 
   
   
  This ability allows you to establish a mental block 
  against attempts to eavesdrop on your thoughts and 
  emotions. The techniques involved are wholly mun-
  dane – for instance, doing complicated mathematical 
  calculations, or repeating poetry over and over again. 
  With sufficient training, anyone can learn this skill. 
   
  To maintain a block, you must make a Mind Block 
  roll once per minute. You must roll every second in 
  combat or other stressful situations.  
   
  If you succeed, anyone who reads your mind must 
  win a Quick Contest of his mind-reading ability vs. your 
  Mind Block skill in order to get useful information. Oth-
  erwise, he gets nothing but poetry, multiplication ta-
  bles, etc. However, if you ever critically fail a Mind 
  Block roll, you thought about precisely what the mind 
  reader wanted to know – in detail – right there in the 
  forefront of your mind! 
   
  This skill only works against mind reading, not 
  mind control or other mental attacks. If you have a 
  mind shield, Mind Block acts as a last-ditch defense: 
  only mental probes that pierce your psionic defenses 
  and contact your mind will encounter the block. 
   
   
  Modifiers: +2 if you do nothing but concentrate on 
  blocking; -3 if you are mentally or physically stunned; -
  2 or more to hide emotions rather than thoughts, de-
  pending on how strong the GM rules your emotions 
  are – it’s hard to block your emotions while sneaking 
  up on your most hated enemy! 
   
  Musical Instrument† 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Defaults: Special. 
   
   
  This is the ability to play a musical instrument. 
  With a successful skill roll, you give a competent per-
  formance. You must specialize in a particular instru-
  ment. Defaults between specialties range from -3 for 
  similar instruments to “no default” for utterly unrelated 
  ones, such as Musical Instrument (Drums) and Musi-
  cal Instrument (Harp). 
   
  This skill includes the ability to read music in your 
  culture’s notation system (if any). Treat different sys-
  tems as familiarities (see Familiarity, p. 147). 
   
  
  Page 172  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
  Naturalist† 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Defaults: IQ-6 or Biology-3. 
   
   
  This skill represents practical (as opposed to 
  scientific) knowledge of nature in its many forms. It 
  includes just enough Biology to tell dangerous plants 
  and animals from benign ones; just enough Geology to 
  locate a cave to shelter in; and just enough Meteorol-
  ogy to know when to take shelter. Roll vs. skill to do 
  any of these things.  
   
  You must specialize by planet. The specialties for 
  planets of the same type (see Planet Types, p. 155) 
  default to one another at -4. Any larger difference re-
  sults in no default. 
   
  Navigation/TL† 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Defaults: Special. 
   
   
  This is the ability to find your position through 
  careful observation of your surroundings and the use 
  of instrumentation. A successful roll tells you where 
  you are or lets you plot a course. 
   
  You must specialize: 
   
   
  Sea: Navigation by the stars and ocean currents. 
  Modifiers: +3 if you have Absolute Direction, or a high-
  tech global positioning system or inertial compass; -5 
  (and no use of Astronomy default) if you lack high-tech 
  aids, the weather is bad, and the stars are hidden. 
  Defaults: Astronomy-5 or Seamanship-5. 
   
  Air: Navigation by the stars and by the terrain be-
  low. Modifiers are as for Navigation (Sea). Default: 
  Astronomy-5. 
   
  Land: Navigation using landmarks and the stars; 
  also called “orienteering.” Modifiers: +3 if you have 
  Absolute Direction or a high-tech substitute. Defaults: 
  IQ-5, Cartography-4, or Mathematics (Surveying)-4. 
   
  Space: Navigating through ordinary interplanetary 
  and interstellar space. Modifiers: +2 for 3D Spatial 
  Sense. Defaults: Astronomy-4 or Mathematics (Ap-
  plied)-4. 
   
   
  Air, Land, and Sea default to one another at -2. 
  There is no default from Space to Air, Land, or Sea.  
   
   
  Modifiers: -1 to -10 for being in an unfamiliar area 
  (GM’s discretion, but an unfamiliar world, star system, 
  etc. should give at least -5); equipment modifiers (p. 
  186). 
   
  Observation 
  Per/Average 
   
  Defaults: Perception-5 or Shadowing-5. 
   
   
  This is the talent of observing dangerous or “inter-
  esting” situations without letting others know that you 
  are watching. Use this skill to monitor a location, a 
  group of people, or your immediate surroundings for 
  concealed or tactically significant details. This is not 
  the same as gathering clues or making a hands-on 
  search (use Forensics and Search, respectively) – you 
  always use Observation from a distance. 
   
   A successful skill roll lets you gather information 
  that is not specifically hidden. For instance, you could 
  case a bank for obvious cameras before a robbery, 
  learn the schedule of sentries, estimate the size of a 
  crowd, or gauge the strength of troops moving in the 
  open. The GM may require an Intelligence Analysis roll 
  to interpret what you observe. 
   
  To spot deliberately hidden details, you must win a 
  Quick Contest of Observation skill vs. the Stealth, 
  Shadowing, or Camouflage skill (as appropriate) of the 
  other party. The GM should roll the Contest in secret, 
  and should not say, “You don’t see the machine gun 
  nest concealed in the bushes.”  
   
  If your attempt fails, you get no details on an obvi-
  ous item, or fail to spot a hidden one. On a critical fail-
  ure, someone spots you and reacts poorly to the 
  attention . . . 
   
   
  Modifiers: Acute Senses, as appropriate; modifiers 
  for cover, darkness, or size; -1 to -10 if the target is 
  concealed by high-tech camouflage or “stealth” tech-
  nology; +1 to +10 if you possess suitable surveillance 
  devices (a thermograph to spot a concealed sniper, 
  binoculars to observe troop movements, etc.) and suc-
  ceed at the skill roll to operate them. 
   
  Operations/TL 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Defaults: IQ-6,Strategy-6, or Tactics-6. 
   
   
  Operations represents skill in coordinating multiple 
  tactical missions to achieve the goals of a strategic 
  plan (see Strategy). Majors and lieutenant command-
  ers begin learning this skill, which higher officers must 
  know at increasing levels. The usual unit sizes in-
  volved are anywhere from a battalion to an army 
  corps. This skill has been adopted for the Star Fleet 
  Universe. 
   
  The skill includes operating, commanding, and 
  supplying units on this scale. It requires specialization 
  by medium: Air, Land, Sea, or Space. Officers in non-
  standard units may instead specialize in a combination 
  medium; for instance, a Marine Major would have op-
  erations (Space-Land). All specialties default to one 
  another at -3. 
   
  Parachuting/TL 
  DX/Easy 
   
  Default: DX-4. 
   
   
  This is the ability to survive a parachute jump. Roll 
  once per jump. Failure could mean anything from 
  drifting off course to panic that makes you drop your 
  gear (GM’s option). A critical failure means the chute 
  did not open or was fatally fouled (see Falling, p. 233). 
  For a jump under bad conditions, make a second roll 
  on landing – for instance, to survive an “ankle-breaker” 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
  Page 173 
  landing without injury, or to dodge trees on the way 
  down. Make an IQ-based roll to pack a parachute. 
   
   
  Modifiers: -2 if your body weight plus encum-
  brance exceeds your Basic Lift×10. 
   
  Pharmacy/TL† 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Defaults: IQ-6 and others. 
   
   
  This is the skill of preparing medicines to treat ill-
  ness. (To work with noxious drugs, use Poisons skill.) 
  You must specialize: 
   
   
  Herbal: The ability to make and administer reme-
  dies prepared from plants. Make a Naturalist roll to 
  locate herbs. Before TL5, this is the only specialty 
  available. It replaces Physician (below) and is fre-
  quently used in conjunction with Esoteric Medicine‡. At 
  TL5+, this specialty remains available, but Pharmacy 
  (Synthetic) is much more common. Prerequisite: 
  Naturalist. Defaults: Biology-5, Herb Lore‡-5, or 
  Naturalist-5. 
   
  Synthetic: The skill of preparing drugs under 
  “laboratory” conditions. To prescribe drugs, use Physi-
  cian skill. This specialty is only available at TL5+. De-
  faults: Chemistry-5 or Physician-5. 
   
  Physician/TL 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Defaults: IQ-7, First Aid-11, or Veterinary-5. 
   
   
  This is the ability to aid the sick and the injured, 
  prescribe drugs and care, etc. In the SFU you must 
  specialize by species (see Interspecies Medicine, p. 
  228). Make a skill roll to hasten natural recovery from 
  injury (see Recovery, p. 226), and whenever the GM 
  requires a roll to test general medical competence or 
  knowledge. Apply physiology modifiers if your patient 
  is of a different species from you (see Interspecies 
  Medicine, p. 228). 
   
  In the SFU, medical knowledge is divided between 
  Pharmacy (Synthetic) and Physician. A physician 
  knows a great deal about drugs. He can identify most 
  drugs fairly easily (at -5 without laboratory facilities but 
  +3 if he takes the risk of smelling/tasting the sub-
  stance), but he cannot formulate them unless he also 
  learns Pharmacy. 
   
  Physics/TL 
  IQ/Very Hard 
   
  Default: IQ-6. 
   
  Prerequisite: Mathematics (Applied) at TL5+. 
   
   
  This is the science dealing with the properties and 
  interactions of matter and energy. Beyond the basics 
  (such as the behavior of moving bodies), a physicist’s 
  knowledge includes whatever is understood about 
  electricity, gravity, heat, light, magnetism, radiation, 
  and sound at his tech level. 
   
  At TL6+, most physicists have an optional spe-
  cialty (p. 146): acoustics, astrophysics, geophysics, 
  nuclear physics, optics, particle physics, quantum 
  physics, relativity, solid-state physics, etc. The SFU 
  offers warp physics. 
   
  Physiology/TL† 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Defaults: IQ-6, Diagnosis-5, Physician-5, or 
  Surgery-5. 
   
   
  This is the study of the human body and its func-
  tion. A physiologist knows how bones, muscles, and 
  organs work, and where they are located. You must 
  specialize by species (see Interspecies Medicine, p. 
  228). 
   
  Pickpocket 
  DX/Hard 
   
  Defaults: DX-6, Filch‡-5, or Sleight of Hand-4. 
   
   
  This is the ability to steal a purse, knife, etc., from 
  someone’s person – or to “plant” something on him. If 
  your victim is aware someone may try to pick his 
  pocket, or if he is generally wary, you must win a 
  Quick Contest of Pickpocket vs. the higher of his Per-
  ception or Streetwise skill. To outwit a third party who 
  is watching you and the victim, you must win a Quick 
  Contest of Pickpocket vs. the watcher’s Observation 
  skill. 
   
   
  Modifiers: +5 if the victim is distracted; +10 if he is 
  asleep or drunk; up to -5 for goods in an inner pocket; 
  and up to -10 for a ring or similar jewelry. 
   
  Piloting/TL† 
  DX/Average 
   
  Default: IQ-6. 
   
   
  This is the ability to operate a specific type of air-
  craft or spacecraft. The default is to IQ, because it 
  takes intelligence to figure out the controls in an emer-
  gency, but when you learn this skill, always base it on 
  DX. 
   
  Roll against Piloting for takeoffs and landings, and 
  in any hazardous situation. Failure by 1 indicates a 
  rough job; failure by more indicates damage to the ve-
  hicle. A critical failure is a crash! If you have skill 15+, 
  a critical failure requires an immediate second roll. 
  Only if the second roll is a failure does a mishap occur. 
  Otherwise, it was a “near thing,” averted by experi-
  ence. Air combat requires frequent Piloting rolls as 
  well.  
   
  Make an IQ-based Piloting roll for basic map read-
  ing or practical meteorology, or to recall aviation laws 
  and regulations.  
   
  Remotely piloted vehicles (RPVs) use this skill if 
  the pilot uses some form of telepresence to mimic ac-
  tually being in the cockpit. Otherwise, make a DX-
  based roll against the appropriate skill for the task the 
  
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
  RPV is performing (e.g., Forward Observer for a sur-
  veillance drone). 
   
  You must specialize: 
   
   
  Aerospace: Any vehicle capable of atmospheric 
  flight to and from orbit. Defaults: High-Performance 
  Airplane-2 or other Piloting at -4. 
   
  Glider: Any kind of unpowered, winged aircraft. 
  Defaults: Light Airplane or Ultralight at -2, or other Pi-
  loting at -4. 
   
  Heavy Airplane: Any winged aircraft weighing over 
  10 tons and flying at 600 mph or slower. Defaults: 
  High-Performance Airplane or Light Airplane at -2, or 
  other Piloting at -4. 
   
  Helicopter: Any aircraft that uses rotors for both lift 
  and thrust. Defaults: other Piloting at -5. 
   
  High-Performance Airplane: Any winged aircraft 
  capable of flying faster than 600 mph. Defaults: Aero-
  space, Heavy Airplane, or Light Airplane at -2, or other 
  Piloting at -4. 
   
  Light Airplane: Any winged aircraft weighing 10 
  tons or less and flying at 600 mph or slower. Defaults: 
  Glider, Heavy Airplane, High-Performance Airplane, or 
  Ultralight at -2, or other Piloting at -4. 
   
  Shuttlecraft: Shuttlecraft, fighters, or bombers in 
  the SFU.  Defaults: Aerospace-4 or Starship-2. 
   
  Starship: Starships, skiffs, gunboats, or workboats 
  in the SFU. Defaults: Aerospace-4 or Shuttlecraft-2. 
   
  Ultralight: Any winged aircraft weighing 0.5 tons or 
  less and flying at 200 mph or slower. Defaults: Glider 
  or Light Airplane at -2, other Airplane specialties at -4, 
  or other Piloting at -5. 
   
   
  Modifiers: +1 for 3D Spatial Sense; +1 for Perfect 
  Balance. -2 for an unfamiliar vehicle within your spe-
  cialty (e.g., a twin-engine plane when you are used to 
  single-engine craft); -2 or more for unusually primitive 
  or extremely complex controls; -4 or more for a plane 
  in bad repair; -2 or more for bad flying conditions. 
   
  Poetry 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Defaults: IQ-5 or Writing-5. 
   
   
  This is the ability to compose “good” poetry of any 
  type native to your culture, in any language you know. 
  A successful roll lets you write one good poem in an 
  appropriate amount of time (GM’s decision). A failed 
  roll might mean that you couldn’t get inspired – or that 
  your audience just didn’t care for your work (for what-
  ever reason). 
   
   
  Modifiers: The time modifiers under Time Spent 
  (p. 185) will often apply; Cultural Familiarity modifiers 
  (p. 33); Language modifiers (p. 33). 
   
  Poisons/TL 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Defaults: IQ-6, Chemistry-5, Pharmacy (any)-3, or 
  Physician-3. 
   
   
  This skill represents practical knowledge of poi-
  sons. A successful skill roll lets you (among other 
  things) recognize a poison-bearing plant in the wild; 
  extract the poison in a useful form; recognize a poison 
  by its taste in food or drink; identify a poison by ob-
  serving its effects (+3 if you are poisoned); know a 
  proper antidote; or recognize or prepare the antidote 
  from its sources. Each of these feats requires a sepa-
  rate roll. 
   
   
  Modifiers: Acute Taste and Smell gives a bonus to 
  notice or recognize a poison by taste or by scent. 
  Likewise, Discriminatory Smell and Discriminatory 
  Taste give +4 to these tasks when working by smell or 
  by taste, respectively. 
   
  Politics 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Defaults: IQ-5 or Diplomacy-5. 
   
   
  This is the ability to get into office and get along 
  with other politicians. It has nothing to do with admin-
  istration! You can only learn Politics in office or by 
  working for someone in office. A successful skill roll 
  will give you +2 on reactions from fellow politicians. 
  The GM may opt to handle an election as a Quick 
  Contest of Politics. 
   
   
  Modifiers: +2 for Voice; -3 for Low Empathy‡; -1 to 
  -4 for Shyness. In some jurisdictions, money is another 
  important modifier . . . 
   
  Professional Skill 
  DX or IQ/Average 
   
  Defaults: Special. 
   
   
  Many realistic job skills are more useful for making 
  a living than for adventuring. Most such skills do not 
  appear in this skill list – but you can still learn them if 
  you want! Each is a separate Professional Skill. If your 
  “adventuring” skills aren’t useful for earning money, a 
  Professional Skill can help you earn a steady income. 
  To qualify for most jobs, you will need the relevant 
  Professional Skill at 12+ (unless you really are sup-
  posed to be incompetent!). 
   
  Most 
  professions 
  encompass 
  a 
  body 
  of 
  knowledge. The associated Professional Skills are 
  IQ/Average and default to IQ-5, because the smarter 
  you are, the better you can recall and employ the 
  techniques used at your job. Examples include ac-
  countant, air traffic controller, barber, game designer, 
  journalist, librarian, and zookeeper. 
   
  A few professions – glassblower, tailor, weaver, 
  etc. – focus more on precision than on recall. These 
  Professional Skills are DX/Average and default to 
  DX-5.  
   
  At the GM’s option, a given Professional Skill 
  might also default to other skills. For instance, “Jour-
  nalist” would logically default to Writing-3. 
   
  The skills associated with highly paid or respected 
  professions often have prerequisites. For instance, “Air 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
  Page 175 
  Traffic Controller” might require Electronics Operation 
  (Sensors) skill. Like defaults, prerequisites are up to 
  the GM. 
   
  You are free to create your own Professional 
  Skills, subject to GM approval. They should be unique 
  and well defined, not just a compilation of existing 
  skills. 
   
  Propaganda/TL 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Defaults: IQ-5, Merchant-5, or Psychology-4. 
   
   
  This is the skill of indirect persuasion through the 
  media. It is used for psychological warfare by intelli-
  gence and military organizations, and for advertising 
  and marketing in the civilian world. Use familiarity (p. 
  147) to reflect the differences between these areas. 
   
  Propaganda works on groups, not individuals. The 
  GM should set the effective Will of the target group 
  based on its size, composition, and resistance to the 
  desired outcome, and then use the Influence Rolls (p. 
  197) rules to determine the results. Success might 
  inform the target audience or even alter its percep-
  tions. Propaganda attempts nearly always take more 
  time and exposure than ordinary Influence rolls, how-
  ever; how much time is up to the GM. 
   
  Prospecting/TL 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Defaults: IQ-5 or Geology (any)-4. 
   
   
  This is the skill of finding valuable minerals. A suc-
  cessful Prospecting roll lets you locate minerals, judge 
  good ore from a small sample (and gauge its commer-
  cial value), and find water by using an “eye for coun-
  try,” as described for Survival skill. 
   
  This skill is “applied geology,” and requires on-site 
  examination. Prospecting from a distance – using 
  maps, instrument readings, and extrapolation – uses 
  Geology skill instead. 
   
   
  Modifiers: Equipment modifiers (p. 186); -1 in a 
  new area of a familiar type, or -2 or more in an unfa-
  miliar type of area, until you have been there for at 
  least a month. 
   
  Psychology 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Defaults: IQ-6 or Sociology-4. 
   
   
  This is the skill of applied psychology, which may 
  be learned by academic study or lengthy observation 
  of human nature. Roll against skill to predict the gen-
  eral behavior of an individual or small group in a par-
  ticular situation – especially a stressful situation. 
   
  In the SFU, you must specialize by species. De-
  faults between specialties are up to the GM. 
   
  If the GM desires extra detail, he may rule that 
  Psychology is split into two specialties: Applied (de-
  scribed above) and Experimental (for scientists who 
  run rats in mazes and so forth). Applied defaults to 
  Experimental-5; Experimental does not default to Ap-
  plied, as a shrewd observer of people may lack train-
  ing in scientific procedures. 
   
  Modifiers: +3 if you know the subject well; +3 if the 
  subject is of a known deviant personality type; +1 for 
  Sensitive or +3 for Empathy, or -3 for Low Empathy‡, if 
  diagnosing a subject in your presence; -3 for Callous, 
  unless specifically rolling to deduce someone’s weak-
  nesses so you can exploit them. 
   
  Public Speaking 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Defaults: IQ-5, Acting-5, Performance‡-2, or Poli-
  tics-5. 
   
   
  This is general talent with the spoken word. A suc-
  cessful skill roll lets you (for instance) give a good po-
  litical speech, entertain a group around a campfire, 
  incite or calm a riot, or put on a successful “court 
  jester” act. 
   
  Public Speaking includes skill with debate, oratory, 
  and rhetoric, as well as ability with less formal activi-
  ties such as “punning” and storytelling. Not all speak-
  ers possess talent in all of these areas. You may take 
  an optional specialty (p. 146) to represent this. 
   
   
  Modifiers: Any bonus for Charisma; +2 for 
  Voice; -1 to -4 for Shyness; -2 for Stuttering‡; Cultural 
  Familiarity modifiers (p. 33); Language modifiers (p. 
  33). 
   
  Research/TL 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Defaults: IQ-5 or Writing-3. 
   
  Prerequisite: literacy in at least one language; at 
  TL8+, Computer Operation is also a prerequisite. 
   
   
  This is the ability to do library and file research. 
  Roll against skill to find a useful piece of data in an 
  appropriate place of research . . .  if the information is 
  there to be found.  
   
  At the GM’s option, when researching material 
  connected with a “book-learned” skill such as Foren-
  sics, Literature‡, or Physics, you may roll against that 
  skill at -2 instead, if that would be better than your Re-
  search skill or default (but this is not a general default 
  level). 
   
   
  Modifiers: Language modifiers (p. 33), for research 
  materials in a foreign tongue. 
   
  Rapier 
  see Melee Weapon 
   
  Riding† 
  DX/Average 
   
  Defaults: DX-5 or Animal Handling (same)-3. 
   
   
  This is the ability to ride a particular kind of mount. 
  Make a skill roll when you first try to mount a riding 
  
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
  animal, and again each time something happens to 
  frighten or challenge the creature (e.g., a jump). 
   
  You must specialize by riding beast. Defaults be-
  tween specialties vary from 0 to -10. For instance, if 
  you have Riding (Horse), Riding (Mule) is essentially 
  the same skill (no default penalty), Riding (Camel) 
  would default at -3, Riding (Dolphin) at -6, and Riding 
  (Dragon) at a whopping -10! 
   
   
  Modifiers: +5 if the animal knows and likes you; +1 
  or more for a mount with the Mount skill‡ ; -10 if the 
  animal has not been trained for riding. 
   
  Running 
  HT/Average 
   
  Default: HT-5. 
   
   
  This skill represents training in both sprints and 
  long-distance running. Roll against the higher of Run-
  ning or HT to avoid fatigue or injury due to running. 
  When racing someone of equal Move on foot, roll a 
  Quick Contest of Running skill to determine the 
  winner. 
   
  Note that you must have legs and be capable of 
  land movement to learn this skill. 
   
  Saber 
  see Melee Weapon 
   
  Savoir-Faire† 
  IQ/Easy 
   
  Defaults: IQ-4 and others. 
   
   
  This is the skill of appropriate behavior in a subcul-
  ture that has an established code of conduct – for in-
  stance, high society or the military. When dealing with 
  that social group, a successful skill roll lets you interact 
  without embarrassing yourself, detect pretenders to 
  high standing, and so on. You may also substitute an 
  Influence roll against Savoir-Faire for any reaction roll 
  required in a social situation involving that subculture; 
  see Influence Rolls (p. 197). Roll once per encounter. 
   
  You must specialize. Common specialties include: 
   
   
  High Society: The manners of those of “good” birth 
  and breeding. Status determines relative standing. Roll 
  against skill whenever you must impersonate someone 
  more than three Status levels away from your own. If 
  your Status is negative and you are trying to pass 
  yourself off as someone of Status 1+, or vice versa, 
  this roll is at -2. 
   
  Military: The customs, traditions, and regulations 
  of military service. This also includes knowledge of the 
  unwritten rules: what is acceptable even if not regula-
  tion, and what is forbidden although there is nothing in 
  writing against it. Military Rank determines relative 
  standing. 
   
  Pirate: Proper conduct within a formal criminal or-
  ganization such as an Orion Pirate cartel. This in-
  cludes such things as codes of silence and showing 
  proper deference to “made men.” These protocols of-
  ten ape those of high society ... but the penalties for 
  misconduct are far more severe. Default: Streetwise-3. 
   
  Police: As Savoir-Faire (Military), but for civilian 
  police service. This gives knowledge of the social 
  protocols for police officers; use Law (Police) for the 
  legal protocols. Police Rank determines relative 
  standing. 
   
  Servant: Knowledge of how to serve the upper 
  class. Certain procedures are always done just so (the 
  salad fork goes outside the dinner fork, the Duke is 
  announced before the Earl, etc.), and certain attitudes 
  in a servant are unacceptable. 
   
   
  Savoir-Faire (High Society) is the most common 
  specialty, and you may list this as simply “Savoir-
  Faire” on your character sheet. Savoir Faire (High So-
  ciety) and (Servant) default to one another at -2. There 
  are no defaults between other types of Savoir-Faire. 
   
   
  Modifiers: Cultural Familiarity modifiers (p. 33). +2 
  if you are of higher standing than those you are trying 
  to impress, or -2 if you are of lower standing (“stand-
  ing” might mean Rank, Status, skill level, or something 
  else). +2 if you seem to have important friends. -4 for 
  Clueless‡; -3 for Low Empathy‡; -1 for Oblivious‡; -1 to 
  -4 for Shyness. 
   
  Seamanship/TL 
  see Crewman 
   
  Search 
  Per/Average 
   
  Defaults: Perception-5 or Criminology-5. 
   
   
  This is the ability to search people, baggage, and 
  vehicles for items that aren’t in plain sight. The GM 
  rolls once – in secret – per item of interest. For delib-
  erately concealed items, this is a Quick Contest of 
  your Search skill vs. the Holdout or Smuggling skill 
  used to hide the item. If you fail, the GM simply says, 
  “You found nothing.” (It defeats the purpose to say, 
  “You don’t find the gun under his jacket.”)  
   
  If more than one person is searching, roll sepa-
  rately for each searcher. 
   
  The GM should avoid unnecessary rolls. For in-
  stance, no human can get a sawed-off shotgun 
  through a body search. Likewise, a knife or jewel 
  simply cannot be found on a normally dressed person 
  without an X-ray or skin search. In general, if the net 
  bonus to the concealer’s Holdout roll is +3 or more, a 
  skin search is required. If his Holdout is at -2 or worse 
  for size, a skin search will automatically find the hidden 
  item. 
   
   
  Modifiers: +1 for a “pat-down” of an unresisting 
  person (takes one minute), +3 for a thorough “skin 
  search” of a person’s hair and clothing (takes three 
  minutes), or +5 for a complete search, including body 
  cavities (takes five minutes). Bonuses for Acute Touch 
  and Sensitive Touch‡ apply to all hands-on searches. 
  On a successful Electronics Operation (Security) roll, 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
  Page 177 
  specialized sensors – metal detectors, X-ray ma-
  chines, etc. – give from +1 to +5 to find items they can 
  detect (a metal detector won’t help you find plastic 
  explosives!). 
   
  Sex Appeal 
  HT/Average 
   
  Default: HT-3. 
   
   
  This is the ability to impress those who are at-
  tracted to members of your sex. It has as much to do 
  with attitude as it does with looks. If you are not willing 
  to “vamp” someone to get what you want, you won’t 
  have this skill – or want it. 
   
  You may substitute an Influence roll against Sex 
  Appeal for any reaction roll made by someone who is 
  attracted to members of your sex; see Influence Rolls 
  (p. 197). 
   
  Usually, you may make only one attempt per “tar-
  get,” although the GM might allow another attempt af-
  ter a few weeks. 
   
   
  Modifiers: +2 for Voice; -3 for Low Empathy‡; -1 for 
  Oblivious‡; -1 to -4 for Shyness; -2 for Stuttering‡. Ap-
  ply any bonus for above-average appearance (p. 31) – 
  or double the penalty for below-average appearance! 
   
  Shadowing 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Defaults: IQ-5, Observation-5, or Stealth-4 (on foot 
  only). 
   
   
  This is the ability to follow another person through 
  a crowd without being noticed. (In the wilderness, use 
  Tracking and Stealth.) Roll a Quick Contest every 10 
  minutes: your Shadowing vs. the subject’s Vision roll. 
  If you lose, you lost the subject; if you lose by more 
  than 5, you were seen. 
   
  Once the subject is aware you are shadowing him, 
  roll a Quick Contest every five minutes: your Shadow-
  ing skill vs. his Shadowing or Stealth skill. If he wins, 
  he eludes you. If he loses by more than 5, he thinks he 
  eluded you. If you critically fail, you lose him and follow 
  the wrong person. 
   
  Following someone in a vehicle is harder than 
  shadowing on foot. Use the same rules, but you roll at 
  -2 (and may not use your Stealth default). 
   
   
  Modifiers: -3 if the subject knows you. Distinctive 
  appearance gives a penalty – see Build (p. 29), Un-
  natural Features (p. 32), and specific disadvantages 
  (e.g., One Leg) for details. If you belong to a visibly 
  different race or species than most of the people 
  around you, the penalty is up to the GM; it is never 
  smaller in magnitude than the difference between your 
  Size Modifier and that of those around you. 
   
  Shield† 
  DX/Easy 
   
  Default: DX-4. 
   
   
  This is the ability to use a shield, both to block and 
  to attack. Your active defense with any kind of shield – 
  your Block score – is (skill/2) + 3, rounded down. You 
  must specialize: 
   
   
  Shield: Any shield held in place with straps. Such 
  shields have the advantage that you can hold (but not 
  wield) something in your shield hand, but the disad-
  vantage of being slow to put on or take off. This is the 
  most common specialty – list it as “Shield” on charac-
  ter sheets. 
   
  Buckler: Any kind of shield, usually a small one, 
  held in the hand. A buckler occupies one hand com-
  pletely, but you can ready it in only one turn and drop it 
  as a free action. 
   
  Shield and Shield (Buckler) default to each other at -2. 
   
  Shiphandling/TL† 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Defaults: IQ-6 and others. 
   
  Prerequisites: see below. 
   
   
  This is the ability to act as the master of a large 
  vessel. It involves directing the crew in the tasks nec-
  essary to control the vehicle’s speed and direction. It 
  also covers such duties as keeping the captain’s log 
  and inspecting the crew. Someone with Shiphandling 
  skill (at better than default!) should stand watch at all 
  times when the vessel is underway. Roll vs. skill when 
  encountering hazards or maneuvering for battle. 
   
  A failed roll when encountering hazards means the 
  vessel is damaged. This might mean anything from 
  scratched paint to crippling damage that requires ex-
  tensive repairs.  
   
  A failed roll in battle means the vessel did not go 
  exactly where intended. The details depend on the 
  vessel, the tech level, and the GM’s judgment, but 
  might include weapons being “masked” (unable to en-
  gage the enemy), a failed boarding attempt, or drifting 
  out of formation with your fleet (which might deny you 
  the benefits of area defenses, fire support, or tactical 
  communications). 
   
  A critical failure under any circumstances means 
  an appropriate disaster. Depending on the TL and sit-
  uation, this could mean running aground, colliding with 
  another vessel, being dismasted, losing your screws or 
  rudder, or simply giving an order that your crew disre-
  gards. Whether they then save your ship for you, or 
  mutiny and flee, is up to the GM.  
   
  You must specialize. 
   
   
  Ship: “Wet-navy” vessels from tugboats to carriers. 
  Prerequisites: Leadership, Navigation (Sea), and 
  Seamanship. Defaults: Seamanship-5, or to Boating 
  (Large Powerboat)‡-5 for ships with engines or Boating 
  (Sailboat)‡-5 for tall ships. 
   
  Spaceship: Slower-than-light spacecraft. Prerequi-
  sites: Leadership, Navigation (Space), and Spacer. 
  Defaults: Spacer-5 or any spaceship Piloting-5. 
  
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
   
  Starship: Faster-than-light spacecraft. Prerequi-
  sites: Leadership, Navigation (Space), and Spacer. 
  Defaults: Spacer-5 or any spaceship Piloting-5. 
   
  Submarine: All forms of large submersibles. 
  Prerequisites: Leadership, Navigation (Sea), and 
  Submariner. Defaults: Submariner-5 or Submarine 
  (Large Sub)‡-5. 
   
   
  Modifiers: -2 to master an unfamiliar vessel (e.g., 
  an aircraft carrier when you’re used to a battleship); -2 
  for an unfamiliar crew; -2 or more for a vehicle in bad 
  repair. 
   
  Shortsword 
  see Melee Weapon 
   
  Singing 
  HT/Easy 
   
  Default: HT-4. 
   
   
  This is the ability to sing in a pleasing fashion. A 
  successful roll means the audience liked your song. 
   
   
  Modifiers: Language Modifiers (p. 33), if you are 
  singing in a foreign language; -2 if the audience does 
  not understand the language; +2 for Voice; -2 for 
  Stuttering‡. 
   
  Sleight of Hand 
  DX/Hard 
   
  Default: Filch-5. 
   
   
  This is the ability to “palm” small objects, do coin 
  and card tricks, etc. Make a skill roll to perform one 
  piece of simple “stage magic.” A failed roll means you 
  blew the trick. 
   
  When you use this skill to steal, you must win a 
  Quick Contest of Sleight of Hand vs. the Vision roll or 
  Observation skill of potential witnesses to perform the 
  theft unnoticed. 
   
  You can also use this skill to cheat at cards, dice, 
  etc. A successful Sleight of Hand roll gives from +1 to 
  +5 on your Gambling roll. Any failure causes you to be 
  denounced as a cheater! In both cases, the exact re-
  sults are up to the GM. 
   
   
  Modifiers: +3 if the light is dim; +3 if you have a 
  confederate to distract attention; +5 if you have pre-
  pared in advance (cards up your sleeve, etc.); -3 if the 
  person you want to fool knows Sleight of Hand himself; 
  modifiers for High Manual Dexterity or Ham-Fisted‡. 
   
  Sling 
  DX/Hard 
   
  Default: DX-6. 
   
  This is the ability to use the sling or staff sling. 
   
  Smallsword 
  see Melee Weapon 
  Smuggling 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Default: IQ-5. 
   
   
  This is the ability to conceal items in baggage and 
  vehicles. You can also use it to hide an object in a 
  room or a building. Roll against skill to hide an item 
  from casual inspection. In an active search, the 
  searchers must win a Quick Contest of Search vs. 
  your Smuggling skill to find the item. 
   
   
  Modifiers: Equipment modifiers (p. 186) for spe-
  cialized smuggling gear. The difference between the 
  Size Modifier (p. 30) of the package, vehicle, or room 
  in which you are hiding the item and that of the item 
  itself; e.g., to hide a bottle of liquor (SM -5) in a family 
  car (SM +3), you would roll at +8. 
   
  Sociology 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Defaults: IQ-6, Anthropology-3, or Psychology-4. 
   
   
  This is the study of societies and social relation-
  ships. A successful skill roll lets you judge how well a 
  large group of people will work together; deduce the 
  social pressures contributing to a crime wave, revolu-
  tion, war, etc.; or predict the most probable outcome of 
  dissimilar societies coming into contact. 
   
  Soldier/TL 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Default: IQ-5. 
   
   
  This skill represents a combination of basic mili-
  tary training – the lessons taught at “boot camp” or its 
  equivalent – and actual combat experience. Only 
  those who have served in an army, militia, etc. are 
  likely to know it. 
   
  The GM may require a Soldier roll whenever cir-
  cumstances would test your battlefield discipline 
  (knowing when to shoot, use concealment, take cover, 
  etc.) or skill at practical field survival (e.g., keeping 
  your feet dry and eating when you get the chance). 
  Roll daily during prolonged military action. Failure 
  means an inconvenience – perhaps a minor piece of 
  equipment fails. Critical failure indicates a disaster: 
  “friendly fire” incident, trench foot, etc. 
   
  Soldier includes basic lessons in many fields cov-
  ered by other skills. For instance, a TL8 soldier learns 
  to strip his rifle without learning Armoury (Small Arms), 
  to use a radio without learning Electronics Operation 
  (Comm), to dig a foxhole without learning Engineer 
  (Combat), and so forth. In a situation where someone 
  with one of those skills would roll at +4 or better for a 
  routine task (see Task Difficulty, p. 184), the GM may 
  let you roll against Soldier skill instead. You do not 
  receive the bonus that someone with the full-fledged 
  skill would get, but you do suffer any situational 
  penalties. 
   
  Soldier can only substitute for skill rolls to do 
  things that would be a believable part of basic training. 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
  Page 179 
  This means the routine use of standard equipment by 
  ordinary troops – not research, improvisation, or de-
  sign, and never the operation of new or secret tech-
  nologies! Soldier cannot replace weapon skills, either; 
  you must buy all such skills separately. 
   
   
  Example: If someone with Electronics Operation 
  (Comm) would be at +4 to call HQ on a standard-issue 
  communicator, you could do so with a successful Sol-
  dier roll. However, you could not use Soldier to fix a 
  broken communicator, use an enemy communicator, 
  or transmit coded signals. 
   
  Spacer/TL 
  see Crewman 
   
  Spear 
  see Melee Weapon 
   
  Sports 
  DX/Average 
   
  Defaults: DX-5 and others. 
   
   
  This is the ability to play a particular sport well – 
  perhaps well enough to earn a living. Each sport is a 
  separate 
  Sports 
  skill. 
  Most 
  Sports 
  skills 
  are 
  DX/Average and default to DX-5, but those that put a 
  premium on strength (e.g., rugby) might default to ST-
  5. Some Sports skills might default to one another or 
  to other skills as well. 
   
  Make an IQ-based roll to recall the basic rules of 
  your sport. Detailed knowledge of the full rules gov-
  erning leagues and tournaments – as would be ex-
  pected of a coach or referee – is covered by the rele-
  vant Games‡ skill. 
   
  The GM may rule that certain Sports are useful in 
  combat situations. For instance, Sports (Baseball) 
  might let you use a bat to parry hurled rocks and gre-
  nades at (skill/2) + 3, Sports (Bullfighting) might give a 
  Parry equal to (skill/2) + 3 against a slam by a beast 
  that uses a “running head butt,” and you might be able 
  to roll against Sports (Rugby) to hit with a slam. 
   
  Staff 
  see Melee Weapon 
   
  Stealth 
  DX/Average 
   
  Defaults: DX-5 or IQ-5. 
   
   
  This is the ability to hide and to move silently. A 
  successful roll lets you conceal yourself anywhere ex-
  cept in a totally bare room, or move so quietly that no-
  body will hear you, or follow someone without being 
  noticed. (To follow someone through a crowd, use 
  Shadowing.) 
   
  If someone is specifically on the alert for intruders, 
  the GM will roll a Quick Contest between your Stealth 
  and the sentinel’s Perception. 
   
  You can also use this skill to stalk game. A suc-
  cessful roll (and about 30 minutes) gets you within 30 
  yards of most animals. Another roll, at -5, gets you 
  within 15 yards. 
   
   
  Modifiers: A penalty equal to your encumbrance 
  level. -5 to hide in an area without “natural” hiding 
  places, or +3 or more if there are many hiding 
  places. -5 to move silently if you are moving faster 
  than Move 1. -5 to fool those with Discriminatory 
  Smell. 
   
  Strategy† 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Defaults: IQ-6, Intelligence Analysis-6, or Tac-
  tics-6. 
   
   
  This is the ability to plan military actions and pre-
  dict the actions of the enemy. In most settings, only 
  the military teaches this skill.  
   
  A successful Strategy roll lets you deduce, in ad-
  vance, enemy military plans unless another person 
  with this skill leads them. In that case, the GM rolls a 
  Quick Contest of Strategy. The amount of information 
  gained depends on how well you roll (but not on the 
  quality of the foe’s plans). If you fail an uncontested 
  roll or lose a Quick Contest, the GM gives you false 
  information. 
   
  You must specialize in a type of strategy – Land, 
  Naval, Space, etc. These specialties default to one 
  another at -4. The specific units being commanded are 
  less important; even the units of another nation or tech 
  level would give -1 or -2 at most (GM’s judgment), as 
  long as you had accurate information about their 
  capabilities. 
   
  Streetwise 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Default: IQ-5. 
   
   
  This is the skill of getting along in rough company. 
  A successful Streetwise roll might let you learn (among 
  other things) where any sort of illegal “action” is; which 
  local cops or bureaucrats can be bought, and for how 
  much; and how to contact the local underworld. Note 
  that you might also be able to get this information by 
  asking a Contact‡. This skill is a measure of your abil-
  ity to make new connections as needed.  
   
  You may substitute an Influence roll against 
  Streetwise for any reaction roll made in an underworld 
  or “bad neighborhood” situation; see Influence Rolls 
  (p. 197). 
   
   
  Modifiers: +3 if you have a tough reputation (either 
  “good” or “bad”) in the area; -3 if you are obviously a 
  stranger in the area. -3 for Low Empathy‡; -1 for 
  Oblivious‡; -1 to -4 for Shyness. 
   
   
   
   
  
  Page 180  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
  Surgery/TL 
  IQ/Very Hard 
   
  Defaults: First Aid-12, Physician-5, Physiology-8, 
  or Veterinary-5. 
   
  Prerequisites: First Aid or Physician. 
   
   
  This is skill at using invasive medical techniques to 
  treat sickness or injury. Roll once per operation. On a 
  success, the operation proceeded without complica-
  tions. On a failure, the patient took damage – 2d for a 
  simple amputation, 3d for other procedures. Surgery 
  rolls can also facilitate recovery from wounds; see 
  Surgery (p. 227.) 
   
  This skill represents general surgical expertise, 
  which is relatively rare in real life. Most surgeons have 
  an optional specialty (p. 146) in a certain part of the 
  body (brain, heart, etc.) or a specific type of surgery 
  (cosmetic surgery, microsurgery, transplant surgery, 
  etc.). In the SFU, you must specialize by species (see 
  Interspecies Medicine, p. 228). 
   
   
  Modifiers: Equipment modifiers (p. 186); physiol-
  ogy modifiers (p. 228). -3 if the area or equipment 
  cannot be properly cleaned and sterilized; -3 for head 
  or chest surgery; -5 for undiagnosed problems. If you 
  lack Physician skill, you are at -5 to do anything but 
  “field-expedient” surgery (e.g., stitch wounds or extract 
  arrowheads, bullets, and shrapnel). 
   
  Survival† 
  Per/Average 
   
  Defaults: 
  Perception-5 
  or 
  Naturalist 
  (same 
  planet)-3. 
   
   
  This is the ability to “live off the land,” find safe 
  food and water, avoid hazards, build shelter, etc. You 
  may look after up to 10 other people. To live safely in a 
  wilderness situation, you must make a successful Sur-
  vival roll once per day. Failure inflicts 2d-4 injury on 
  you and anyone in your care; roll separately for each 
  victim. 
   
  This skill also gives an “eye for country.” A suc-
  cessful roll shows you the best direction of travel to 
  find flowing water, a mountain pass, or whatever other 
  terrain feature you desire – assuming that it exists. 
   
  Finally, you can use this skill to trap wild animals. 
  (A city-bred thief could use Traps skill, but he’s used to 
  different game . . .  so the roll would be at a -5.) Make 
  one roll per trap. It takes about 30 minutes to impro-
  vise a trap from ordinary materials, or 10 minutes to 
  set and hide a commercial steel trap. Pit traps for large 
  game take several hours to dig. 
   
  Survival often requires skill rolls based on scores 
  other than Perception. The GM might ask for a ST-
  based roll to dig a pit trap or erect a log shelter, a DX-
  based roll to start a fire using primitive techniques (flint 
  sparking, bow and palette, etc.), or even a HT-based 
  roll to avoid nutritional deficiencies from an improvised 
  diet. 
   
  You must specialize by terrain type. Land-dwellers 
  may choose from Arctic, Desert, Island/Beach, Jungle, 
  Mountain, 
  Plains, 
  Swampland, 
  and 
  Woodlands. 
  Aquatic beings may take any of Bank, Deep Ocean 
  Vent, 
  Fresh-Water 
  Lake, 
  Open 
  Ocean, 
  Reef, 
  River/Stream, Salt-Water Sea, and Tropical Lagoon. 
  Amphibious individuals can pick from either list! 
   
  Land specialties default to one another at -3, while 
  aquatic specialties default among themselves at -4. 
  Island/Beach and Tropical Lagoon default to each 
  other at -4, as do Swampland and River/Stream, but 
  there are no other defaults between land and aquatic 
  specialties. 
   
  You must also specialize by planet. Each Survival 
  specialty defaults to the same terrain type for a differ-
  ent planet at -4. All this assumes that the two planets 
  are of the same planet type (see Planet Types, p. 
  155). There is no default at all between Survival skills 
  for two planets of different planet types. 
   
  At the GM’s option, extreme manmade terrain may 
  call for unique specialties; e.g., Survival (Radioactive 
  Wasteland). Most such specialties have no default of 
  any kind. 
   
  See also Urban Survival. 
   
   
  Modifiers: Up to -5 for extreme weather conditions. 
  Equipment modifiers (p. 186). 
   
  Swimming 
  HT/Easy 
   
  Default: HT-4. 
   
   
  This is the skill of swimming (whether on purpose 
  or to keep afloat in emergencies) and lifesaving. Roll 
  against the higher of Swimming or HT to avoid fatigue 
  while swimming or injury due to aquatic misfortunes. 
  When racing someone of equal water Move, roll a 
  Quick Contest of Swimming to determine the winner. 
  See Swimming, p. 192. 
   
  Note that Swimming does not cover high diving – 
  that’s Sports (Diving). 
   
  Tactics 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Defaults: IQ-6 or Strategy (any)-6. 
   
   
  This is the ability to outguess and outmaneuver 
  the enemy in small-unit or personal combat. In most 
  settings, only the military teaches this skill. 
   
  When commanding a small unit, roll against Tac-
  tics to place your troops correctly for an ambush, know 
  where to post sentries, etc. At the GM’s option, a suc-
  cessful roll might even provide clues as to immediate 
  enemy plans. To outmaneuver enemy units, you must 
  win a Quick Contest of Tactics with their leader. All of 
  this only applies when you lead a group small enough 
  that you can give each warrior orders personally – or 
  through at most one subordinate. Thus, radio and sim-
  ilar technologies can greatly enhance your command 
  abilities! 
   
  In personal combat, you may make a Tactics roll 
  before the fight begins if you had any time to prepare. 
  On a success, you start the fight in an advantageous 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
  Page 181 
  position – e.g., behind cover or on higher ground – as 
  determined by the GM. The better the roll, the greater 
  your advantage. If you fail, or do not attempt a Tactics 
  roll, you are in a random location (or one of the GM’s 
  choosing) when combat begins. Fighters without Tac-
  tics skill always start combat this way. 
   
  Even in an ambush or similar “surprise” situation, 
  the GM will use the better of your Tactics skill and your 
  Perception to see if you spotted the danger on time. 
   
  Teaching 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Default: IQ-5. 
   
   
  This is the ability to instruct others. If you have 
  Teaching at level 12+, you may act as a teacher for 
  game purposes. For more on teaching and learning, 
  see Improvement Through Study (p. 249). 
   
   
  Modifiers: -3 for Callous‡; -1 to -4 for Shyness. 
  Apply both the teacher’s and the student’s Language 
  penalties (p. 33) in the language of instruction. 
   
  Theology† 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Defaults: IQ-6 or Religious Ritual (same)‡-4. 
   
   
  This is the study of a particular religion: its gods, 
  cosmology, doctrines, scriptures, etc. You must spe-
  cialize by religion. There are usually no defaults be-
  tween specialties, but the GM might permit a default at 
  -4 or so for belief systems that have similar origins, or 
  where one is derived from the other. 
   
  Alternatively, you may study the similarities and 
  differences between religions; this is Theology (Com-
  parative). The Theology of any religion routinely stud-
  ied by scholars in your game world defaults to this 
  specialty at -5. 
   
  To be a priest or holy man at TL1+, you must have 
  both Theology and Religious Ritual‡ skill for your reli-
  gion. TL0 shamans need only learn Religious Ritual. 
   
  You do not necessarily believe in the religion you 
  study – faith comes from within, not from book learn-
  ing! If you do, you may ask the GM to make a secret 
  roll against your Theology skill when confronted with 
  moral uncertainty. On a success, the GM will advise 
  you on which course of action “feels” right, given your 
  beliefs and understanding of scripture. 
   
  Throwing 
  DX/Average 
   
  Defaults: DX-3 or Dropping‡-4. 
   
   
  This is the ability to throw any small, relatively 
  smooth object that fits in the palm of your hand. Ex-
  amples include baseballs, hand grenades, and rocks. 
  (Boomerangs, javelins, knives, etc. require their own 
  specialized skills; see Thrown Weapon.) Roll against 
  skill to hit. Furthermore, if you know Throwing at DX+1 
  level, add +1 to ST when figuring throwing distance 
  (but not damage). Add +2 to ST for Throwing at DX+2 
  or better.  
   
  If you do not have this skill, roll against your de-
  fault to hit a specific target, but against full DX to lob 
  an object into a general area. 
   
  Thrown Weapon† 
  DX/Easy 
   
  Defaults: DX-4 and others. 
   
   
  This is the ability to hurl any one type of thrown 
  weapon. You must specialize: 
   
   
  Axe/Mace: Any axe, hatchet, or mace balanced for 
  throwing (but not an unbalanced battleaxe or maul!). 
   
  Dart: Any sort of small, finned dart. Games (Darts) 
  defaults to this skill at no penalty. Default: Throwing-2. 
   
  Harpoon: Any sort of tethered spear. Default: 
  Thrown Weapon (Spear)-2. 
   
  Knife: Any sort of knife. 
   
  Shuriken: Any sort of hiltless blade, notably shu-
  riken (“ninja stars”). Default: Throwing-2. 
   
  Spear: Any sort of spear, javelin, etc. Defaults: 
  Spear Thrower‡-4 or Thrown Weapon (Harpoon)-2. 
   
  Stick: Any balanced and shaped throwing stick, 
  such as a boomerang. This type of throwing stick does 
  not return to the user. 
   
  Tonfa 
  see Melee Weapon 
   
  Tracking 
  Per/Average 
   
  Defaults: Perception-5 or Naturalist-5. 
   
   
  This is the ability to follow a man or an animal by 
  its tracks. Make a Tracking roll to pick up the trail, then 
  roll periodically to avoid losing it. The frequency and 
  difficulty of these rolls depend on the terrain: 
   
   
  Jungle, Plains, or Woodlands: Roll every 30 
  minutes. 
   
  Arctic, Desert, Island/Beach, or Mountain: Roll 
  at -2 every 15 minutes. 
   
  Swampland: Roll at -4 every 5 minutes. 
   
  Urban: Roll at -6 every minute! 
   
   
  You may also use this skill to cover your tracks. 
  This doubles your travel time! A successful roll means 
  you have hidden your tracks well enough that only 
  someone else with this skill can see them. If another 
  tracker follows you, the Tracking rolls above become 
  Quick Contests of Tracking skill. If he loses any of the 
  Contests, he loses your trail. 
   
  To stalk game once you have tracked it, use the 
  Stealth skill. 
   
   
  Modifiers: -5 if the trail is more than a day old, or -
  10 if more than a week old. +3 if you are following a 
  man, or +6 if following a group of men. Superior 
  senses help a lot: bonuses for Acute Vision and 
  
  Page 182  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Skills 
  Discriminatory Smell usually apply, and many super-
  human senses (Infravision, Subsonic Hearing, etc.) 
  give situational bonuses. 
   
  Traps/TL 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Defaults: IQ-5 or Lockpicking-3*.  
   
  * Also defaults to DX-5 if you are disarming or 
  resetting a trap, but not if you are detecting or building 
  one. 
   
   
  This is the skill of building and nullifying traps. A 
  successful Traps roll will (among other things) disarm 
  a trap once you have found it, reset it after you pass, 
  or build a new trap (given suitable materials). Time 
  required is as for Lockpicking. To detect a trap, make 
  a Perception-based skill roll. 
   
  Note that for the purposes of Traps skill, detection 
  devices are “traps.” Thus, this skill covers everything 
  from covered pits to elaborate electronic security 
  systems! 
   
   
  Modifiers: Infinitely variable. The more sophisti-
  cated the trap, the harder it will be to disarm, reset, 
  build, or find – and a given trap might be (for instance) 
  easy to find but hard to disarm. The GM should be 
  creative! Equipment modifiers (p. 186) apply to most 
  rolls to set or disarm traps. Bonuses for Acute Vision 
  apply to rolls to detect traps (only). 
   
  Two-Handed Axe/Mace 
  see Melee Weapon 
   
  Two-Handed Sword 
  see Melee Weapon 
   
  Urban Survival 
  Per/Average 
   
  Default: Perception-5. 
   
   
  This talent covers the physical part of staying alive 
  in a city environment, whether it’s overpopulated or 
  empty. (The social problems of city survival are cov-
  ered by Streetwise skill.) A successful skill roll allows 
  you to find clean rainwater; locate manholes from 
  above or below; quickly locate building entrances, ex-
  its, stairwells, etc.; recognize and avoid physically 
  dangerous areas, such as crumbling buildings; make 
  and read city maps; find your way out of strange city 
  areas; find a warm place to sleep outside in cold 
  weather; and locate common types of buildings or 
  businesses without asking anyone, just by your “feel” 
  for the way cities are laid out. 
   
   
  VaccSuit/TL 
  see Environment Suit 
   
  Veterinary/TL 
  IQ/Hard 
   
  Defaults: Animal Handling (any)‡-6, Physician-5, or 
  Surgery-5. 
   
   
  This is the ability to care for a sick or wounded 
  animal. You may take an optional specialty (p. 146) in 
  a particular type of animal. 
   
   
  Modifiers: +5 if the animal knows and trusts 
  you; -2 or worse if the animal is of an unfamiliar type. 
   
  Weather Sense 
  see Meteorology 
   
  Whip 
  see Melee Weapon 
   
  Wrestling 
  DX/Average 
   
  Defaults: None. 
   
   
  This skill represents training at grappling and pin-
  ning. Roll against the higher of DX or Wrestling to hit 
  with a grapple, or to make or resist a takedown. Fur-
  thermore, if you know Wrestling at DX+1 level, add +1 
  to ST for the purpose of making or resisting any choke, 
  grapple, neck snap, takedown, or pin, and whenever 
  you attempt to break free. Add +2 to ST for Wrestling 
  at DX+2 or better. 
   
  When you defend with bare hands, Wrestling al-
  lows you to parry once attacks per turn. You must use 
  both hands. Your Parry score is (skill/2) + 3, rounded 
  down. This parry is at -3 vs. weapons. For complete 
  rules for parrying barehanded, see Parrying Unarmed 
  (p. 212). 
   
  Writing 
  IQ/Average 
   
  Default: IQ-5 
   
   
  This is the ability to write in a clear or entertaining 
  manner. A successful roll means the work is readable 
  and accurate. 
   
  This is mostly useful to earn a living or write for 
  GURPS, but can sometimes help on adventures . . . or 
  after them. The report of a spy, soldier, or private in-
  vestigator is far more useful if it is well-written! 
   
   
  Modifiers: The time modifiers under Time Spent 
  (p. 185) will often apply; -5 if you are writing about an 
  unfamiliar subject; Language modifiers (p. 33). 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  Page 183 
   
  SUCCESS ROLLS 
   
   
  Whenever a character attempts to perform an ac-
  tion (e.g., use a skill), roll three dice to determine the 
  outcome. This is called a success roll. The task in 
  question succeeds if the total rolled on the dice is less 
  than or equal to the number that governs the action – 
  most often a skill or an attribute. Otherwise, it fails. 
   
   
  Example: If you attempt to pick a lock with a Lock-
  picking skill of 9, you must roll 9 or less on 3d to suc-
  ceed. On a roll of 10 or more, you fail. 
   
   
  Regardless of the score you are rolling against, a 
  roll of 3 or 4 is always a success, while a roll of 17 or 
  18 is always a failure.  
   
  In general, the player makes the die rolls for his 
  character’s actions. However, the GM may always 
  choose to roll the dice in Secret – see When the GM 
  Rolls. 
   
   
  WHEN TO ROLL 
   
  To avoid bogging down the game in endless die 
  rolls, the GM should only require a success roll if there 
  is a chance of meaningful failure or gainful success. In 
  particular, the GM should require success rolls     
  when . . . 
   
   
  A PC’s health, wealth, friends, reputation, or 
  equipment are at risk. This includes chases, combat 
  (even if the target is stationary and at point-blank 
  range!), espionage, thievery, and similar “adventuring” 
  activities. 
   
  A PC stands to gain allies, information, new abili-
  ties, social standing, or wealth. 
   
   
  The GM should not require rolls for . . . 
   
   
  Utterly trivial tasks, such as crossing the street, 
  driving into town, feeding the dog, finding the corner 
  store, or turning on the computer. 
   
  Daily work at a mundane, nonadventuring job. (To 
  evaluate job performance, make monthly “job rolls”; 
  see Jobs, p. 242) 
   
   
   
  When the GM Rolls 
   
  There are two sets of circumstances under which 
  the GM should roll for a PC and not let the player see 
  the results: 
   
   
  1. When the character wouldn’t know for sure 
  whether he had succeeded. This is true of all rolls to 
  gain information, whether through skills such as Detect 
  Lies, Interrogation, Meteorology, and Search, ad-
  vantages like Intuition and Oracle‡, or supernatural 
  divinatory abilities. In this situation, the player declares 
  that he is using his ability and the GM rolls in secret. 
  On a success, the GM gives the player true infor-
  mation – the lower the roll, the better the information. 
  On a failure, the GM either gives no information at all 
  or lies (the higher the roll, the more severe the lie), as 
  appropriate. 
   
  2. When the player shouldn’t know what’s going 
  on. This includes most Sense rolls, rolls to use Danger 
  Sense, etc. Suppose the party is walking along a jun-
  gle trail. A jaguar is on a limb ahead. The GM should 
  not say, “There’s a jaguar ahead of you. Roll to see if 
  you notice it.” Neither should he say, “Everybody make 
  a Vision roll. Does anybody have Danger Sense?” Ei-
  ther of these approaches gives too much away. In-
  stead, the GM should roll for each character in secret. 
  If anyone succeeds, the GM can say, “You notice a 
  jaguar on a branch 20 yards ahead!” If nobody suc-
  ceeds . . . they’re in for a surprise. 
   
  MODIFIERS 
   
  The rules often specify modifiers for certain suc-
  cess rolls. These bonuses and penalties affect the 
  number you are rolling against – your “target number” 
  – and not the total rolled on the dice. Bonuses always 
  improve your odds, while penalties always reduce 
  them. 
   
  For instance, the Lockpicking skill description 
  states, “-5 if working by touch (e.g., in total darkness).” 
  This means that if you are working in the dark, you 
  must subtract 5 from your Lockpicking skill for that at-
  tempt. If your Lockpicking skill is 9, you roll against 9 
  minus 5, or 4, in the dark. 
   
  A specific scenario might provide modifiers to al-
  low for the relative ease or difficulty of a particular sit-
  uation. For instance, an adventure might state that a 
  
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  lock is +10 to open due to the fact that it is primitive 
  and clumsy. If your Lockpicking skill were 9, you would 
  roll against 9 + 10, or 19. Since the highest roll possi-
  ble on 3d is 18, it would seem that success is assured. 
  This is almost true, but not quite – see Critical Failure 
  (p. 186). 
   
  Modifiers are cumulative unless stated otherwise. 
  For instance, if you tried to open that primitive lock in 
  the dark, both modifiers would apply, and you would 
  roll against 9 - 5 + 10, or 14. 
   
  See Culture (p. 33), Language (p. 33), Tech-Level 
  Modifiers (p. 146), Familiarity (p. 147), Equipment 
  Modifiers (p. 186), and Task Difficulty (p. 184) for dis-
  cussions of common modifiers. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Base Skill vs. Effective Skill 
   
  Your base skill is your actual level in a skill, as 
  recorded on your character sheet. Your effective skill 
  for a particular task is your base skill plus or minus any 
  modifiers for that task. In the Lockpicking examples 
  above, base skill is 9 in all cases, while effective skill is 
  4, 19, and 14 in three different situations. 
   
  The terms “base skill” and “effective skill” apply to 
  all success rolls, not just to skill rolls. When you make 
  an attribute roll (p. 119), defense roll (p. 211), self-
  control roll (p. 120), etc., your base skill is your 
  unmodified score, while your effective skill is your final, 
  modified target number. 
   
   
  You may not attempt a success roll if your effec-
  tive skill is less than 3, unless you are attempting a 
  defense roll (p. 211). 
   
  TASK DIFFICULTY 
   
  If the GM feels that a success roll should be easier 
  or harder in a particular situation, he may assess a 
  difficulty modifier. This is separate from modifiers for 
  the culture, equipment, language, tech level, etc. of the 
  person attempting the task, in that it applies to anyone 
  who attempts the task. It is cumulative with all other 
  modifiers. 
   
  For instance, if the GM rules that the only way to 
  sway a particular audience is to make a Public 
  Speaking roll at -2, the difficulty modifier is -2. Any 
  speaker has -2, in addition to personal modifiers (for 
  culture, language, Voice, etc.), when dealing with that 
  audience. 
   
  Many skills suggest difficulty modifiers – e.g., 
  the -5 to use Lockpicking skill by touch – but the pos-
  sible variety of tasks is essentially infinite. Here are 
  some guidelines for GMs: 
   
  +10 – Automatic. Tasks so trivial that the GM should 
  waive the need for a success roll, except under 
  extraordinary circumstances. Example: A Driving 
  roll to start a car. 
  +8 or +9 – Trivial. Situations where failure is extremely 
  unlikely, and would require incredibly bad luck. 
  Example: A Driving roll to drive around an empty 
  parking lot. 
  +6 or +7 – Very Easy. Tasks where failure is possible, 
  but would require bad luck. Example: A Driving roll 
  to drive down an empty suburban street. 
  +4 or +5 – Easy. Most mundane tasks, including rolls 
  made by ordinary people at day-to-day jobs. Ex-
  ample: A Driving roll to commute to work in a small 
  town. 
  +2 or +3 – Very Favorable. Mildly risky tasks that most 
  people would undertake without hesitation. Exam-
  ple: A Driving roll to commute to work in a teeming 
  metropolis. 
  +1 – Favorable. Tasks that most people would hesitate 
  at, due to the risk, but that a career adventurer 
  would regard as easy. Example: A Driving roll to 
  compete in a road rally. 
  Default Rolls 
   
  When a task calls for a skill roll, you must have 
  some ability with the required skill in order to attempt 
  the task. Ideally, you want points in that skill . . . but an 
  untrained person can take a stab at most tasks. For 
  instance, anyone can swing a sword – although only a 
  trained warrior is likely to have much success at it. 
   
  A skill that anyone can attempt without study is said 
  to “default” to an attribute or another skill. This means 
  you can attempt the desired action by rolling against 
  one of your attributes or other skills at a penalty. This 
  “default roll” is just an ordinary success roll. 
   
   
  Example: Lockpicking skill defaults to “IQ-5”; that is, 
  anyone can open a lock, without training, by making a 
  success roll against 5 less than his IQ. If your IQ is 10, 
  you can open an ordinary lock on a roll of 5 or less on 
  3d. The smarter you are, the better your chances — but 
  training is always preferable! 
   
   
  The description of each skill shows what skills or 
  attributes it defaults to, and at what penalties. If a skill 
  offers multiple defaults, always choose the best one. 
   
   
  Example: Interrogation defaults to “IQ-5, Intimida-
  tion-3, or Psychology-4.” If you’re not a trained 
  interrogator, you can still get answers out of a prisoner 
  by outthinking him (IQ-5), frightening him (Intimidation-
  3), or playing “mind games” with him (Psychology-4). If 
  you had IQ 12, Intimidation at 14, and Psychology at 
  13, your defaults would be 7, 11, and 9, respectively. 
  Roll against 11, the highest of the three. 
   
  The Rule of 20 
   
  If you have a basic attribute over 20, treat it as 20 
  for default purposes. For instance, if you have IQ 25, 
  your default Lockpicking skill (IQ-5) is 15 — not 20. No 
  such limit applies to defaults to other skills. 
   
  “No Default” 
   
  Some actions are impossible without training. Skills 
  like Fast-Draw, Karate, and Computer Programming 
  have no default. If you lack the proper training, you 
  can’t attempt these things at all. 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  Page 185 
  0 – Average. Most adventuring tasks, and the majority 
  of skill use under stress. Example: A Driving roll in 
  a car chase. 
  -1 – Unfavorable. Stressful tasks that would challenge 
  a novice adventurer, but not an old hand. Exam-
  ple: A Driving roll in a high-speed car chase. 
  -2 or -3 – Very Unfavorable. Stressful tasks that would 
  challenge a professional. Skilled adventurers still 
  routinely accept such risks! Example: A Driving roll 
  in a high-speed car chase on a busy freeway. 
  -4 or -5 – Hard. Tasks so challenging that even an 
  expert will look for alternatives. A true “master” is 
  still unlikely to feel challenged. Example: A Driving 
  roll to keep the car on the road while shooting a 
  gun out the window during a high-speed chase. 
  -6 or -7 – Very Hard. Situations that even the masters 
  might have second thoughts about. Example: A 
  Driving roll in a high-speed chase during a 
  blizzard. 
  -8 or -9 – Dangerous. Tasks at which even the great-
  est masters expect to fail. Example: A Driving roll 
  while shooting a gun in a high-speed chase during 
  a blizzard. 
  -10 – Impossible. No sane person would attempt such 
  a task. The GM may wish to forbid such attempts 
  altogether. Example: A Driving roll to steer a car 
  with the knees while firing a bazooka two-handed 
  during a chase through a blizzard. 
   
   
  These modifiers assume a trained character. To 
  get an idea of how tough a task would be for someone 
  working at default, add the default penalty to the diffi-
  culty modifier. 
   
   
  Example: Someone who never learned to drive is 
  using Driving at its DX-5 default. For him, an everyday 
  commute – “Easy” (+4 or +5) for a trained driver – 
  would be “Average” (DX) or even “Unfavorable” 
  (DX-1), and almost certainly a stressful experience! 
   
   
  The GM can use difficulty modifiers in place of 
  other modifiers if the outcome of a task is too unim-
  portant – or the action too hot – to justify stopping to 
  add up a long string of modifiers. For instance, in a car 
  chase involving a car in bad repair, the GM might 
  bump the difficulty up a level or two instead of as-
  sessing an equipment modifier for the car. 
   
  Time Spent 
   
  You can reduce the penalty for a tough task – or 
  even get a bonus – by working slowly and deliberately, 
  taking the time to get things right. Conversely, if you 
  are racing to beat a deadline, even the simplest task 
  can become tricky. 
   
   
  Extra Time: Taking more time than usual for a task 
  (as specified by the rules or the GM) gives a bonus to 
  a noncombat action: 2× as long gives +1, 4× gives +2, 
  8× gives +3, 15× gives +4, and 30× gives +5. For in-
  stance, taking a work day (eight hours) to do a one-
  hour task would give +3. This bonus only applies if it 
  would make sense to take extra time for the task at 
  hand (GM’s judgment). You can take extra time to 
  open a safe or figure out an alien artifact, but not to 
  neutralize poison or chase a fleeing suspect! 
   
  Haste: Hurrying gives a penalty: -1 per 10% less 
  time taken. For instance, attempting a task in half the 
  usual time (-50%) is at -5. The maximum time reduc-
  tion is normally 90% (taking 1/10 the prescribed time), 
  at -9. However, you cannot hasten tasks that require a 
  certain amount of time due to natural laws (e.g., a 
  chemical reaction) or the limitations of equipment (e.g., 
  the top speed of a vehicle). When in doubt, the GM’s 
  decision is final. 
   
   
  Note that if a skill specifies time modifiers, these 
  override the generic modifiers above.  
   
  DEGREE OF SUCCESS OR FAILURE 
   
  Once you have calculated effective skill by apply-
  ing all relevant modifiers to base skill, roll 3d to deter-
  mine the outcome. If the total rolled on the dice is less 
  than or equal to your effective skill, you succeed, and 
  the difference between your effective skill and your die 
  roll is your margin of success.  
   
   
  Example: If you have effective skill 18 and roll a 
  12, you succeed; your margin of success is 6. 
   
   
  If you roll higher than your effective skill, you fail, 
  and the difference between the die roll and your effec-
  tive skill is your margin of failure.  
   
   
  Example: If you have effective skill 9 and roll a 12, 
  you fail; your margin of failure is 3. 
   
   
  Always note your margin of success or failure, as 
  many rules use these margins to calculate results that 
  matter in play. Even when the rules don’t call for these 
  numbers, the GM might wish to reward a large margin 
  of success with a particularly favorable outcome, or 
  assess especially dire consequences for a large mar-
  gin of failure! 
   
  Extremely high or low rolls have special effects – 
  beyond those for normal success and failure – re-
  gardless of your exact margin of success or failure. 
   
  Critical Success 
   
  A critical success is an especially good result. You 
  score a critical success as follows:  
   
   
  A roll of 3 or 4 is always a critical success. 
   
  A roll of 5 is a critical success if your effective skill 
  is 15+. 
   
  A roll of 6 is a critical success if your effective skill 
  is 16+. 
   
   
  When you roll a critical success, the GM deter-
  mines what happens to you. It is always something 
  good! The lower the roll, the better “bonus” he gives 
  you.  
  
  Page 186  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
   
  A critical hit is a critical success scored on an at-
  tack. The GM does not determine the result. Instead, 
  use the Critical Hit Table (p. 186). 
   
  Critical Failure 
   
  A critical failure is an especially bad result. You 
  score a critical failure as follows: 
   
   
  A roll of 18 is always a critical failure. 
   
  A roll of 17 is a critical failure if your effective skill 
  is 15 or less; otherwise, it is an ordinary failure. 
   
  Any roll of 10 greater than your effective skill is a 
  critical failure: 16 on a skill of 6, 15 on a skill of 5, and 
  so on. 
   
   
  When you roll a critical failure, the GM determines 
  what happens to you. It is always something bad – the 
  higher the roll, the worse the result. A critical miss is a 
  critical failure scored on an attack. The GM does not 
  determine the result. Instead, use the Critical Miss 
  Table (p. 187). 
   
   
  CRITICAL HIT TABLE 
   
  All doublings or triplings of damage refer to basic 
  damage (not injury). In all cases, the target gets no 
  active defense against the attack. 
   
  3 – The blow does triple damage. 
  4 – The target’s DR protects at half value (round 
  down) after applying any armor divisors. 
  5 – The blow does double damage. 
  6 – The blow does maximum normal damage. 
  7 – If any damage penetrates DR, treat it as if it were a 
  major wound, regardless of the actual injury in-
  flicted. 
  8 – If any damage penetrates DR, it inflicts double 
  normal shock (to a maximum penalty of -8). If the 
  injury is to a limb or extremity, that body part is 
  crippled as well. This is only a “funny-bone” injury: 
  crippling wears off in (16 - HT) seconds, minimum 
  two seconds, unless the injury was enough to 
  cripple the body part anyway. 
  9, 10, 11 – Normal damage only. 
  12 – Normal damage, and the victim drops anything he 
  is holding, regardless of whether any damage 
  penetrates DR. 
  13, 14 – If any damage penetrates DR, treat it as if it 
  were a major wound, regardless of the actual in-
  jury inflicted. 
  15 – The blow does maximum normal damage. 
  16 – The blow does double damage. 
  17 – The target’s DR protects at half value (round 
  down) after applying any armor divisors. 
  18 – The blow does triple damage. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Equipment Modifiers 
   
  The quality of your equipment modifies 
  your skill rolls for tasks that normally re-
  quire equipment: 
   
   
  No equipment: -10 for technological 
  skills, -5 for other skills. Note that many 
  skills cannot be used at all without equip-
  ment! 
   
  Improvised equipment: -5 for techno-
  logical skills, -2 for other skills. 
   
  Basic equipment: No modifier. This is 
  the case most of the time. 
   
  Good-quality equipment: +1. Costs 
  about 5× basic price. 
   
  Fine-quality equipment: +2. Costs 
  about 20× basic price. 
   
  Best equipment possible at your TL: 
  +TL/2, round down (minimum +2). Not 
  usually for sale! 
   
   
  If you have “basic” or better equipment 
  that is not in perfect condition, the following 
  modifiers apply in addition to quality 
  modifiers: 
   
   
  Missing important items: -1 per item. 
   
  Damaged equipment: -1 to -3. 
   
  Equipment modifiers reflect the quality of: 
   
   
  Special “tools of the trade,” for criminal, 
  military, and espionage skills such as Dis-
  guise, Explosives, Forgery, Forward Ob-
  server, Holdout, and Lockpicking. 
   
  The contents of your backpack, for 
  outdoor skills like Fishing‡ and Survival. 
   
  Your instruments or lab, for scientific 
  and medical skills such as Alchemy‡, Diag-
  nosis, Meteorology, Navigation, and 
  Surgery. 
   
  Your shop or toolkit, for Armoury, Car-
  pentry‡, Electrician, Electronics Repair, 
  Engineer, Machinist, Masonry‡, Mechanic, 
  Smith‡, and other skills used to build or 
  repair things. 
   
  Your studio, for artistic skills – Artist‡, 
  Jeweler‡, Photography‡, etc. 
   
   
  Example: For First Aid skill, “impro-
  vised” might mean leaves and clean mud; 
  “basic,” sterile bandages; “good,” a stand-
  ard first-aid kit; “fine,” a crash kit (found in 
  most ambulances); and “best,” an entire 
  hospital. Missing antiseptic would give -1, 
  while a first-aid kit salvaged from a 
  wrecked vehicle might give -1 or worse for 
  damaged equipment. 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  Page 187 
  CRITICAL HEAD BLOW TABLE 
   
  Use this table only for critical hits to the head 
  (face, skull, or eye). In all cases, the target gets no 
  active defense against the attack. 
   
  3 – The blow does maximum normal damage and ig-
  nores the target’s DR. 
  4, 5 – The target’s DR protects at half value (round up) 
  after applying any armor divisors. If any damage 
  penetrates, treat it as if it were a major wound, re-
  gardless of the actual injury inflicted. 
  6, 7 – If the attack targeted the face or skull, treat it as 
  an eye hit instead, even if the attack could not 
  normally target the eye! If an eye hit is impossible 
  (e.g., from behind), treat as 4. 
  8 – Normal head-blow damage, and the victim is 
  knocked off balance: he must Do Nothing next turn 
  (but may defend normally). 
  9, 10, 11 – Normal head-blow damage only. 
  12, 13 – Normal head-blow damage, and if any dam-
  age penetrates DR, a crushing attack deafens the 
  victim, while any other attack causes severe scar-
  ring (the victim loses one appearance level, or two 
  levels if a burning or corrosion attack). 
  14 – Normal head-blow damage, and the victim drops 
  his weapon (if he has two weapons, roll randomly 
  to see which one he drops). 
  15 – The blow does maximum normal damage. 
  16 – The blow does double damage. 
  17 – The target’s DR protects at half value (round up) 
  after applying any armor divisors. 
  18 – The blow does triple damage. 
   
  CRITICAL MISS TABLE 
  3, 4 – Your weapon breaks and is useless. Exception: 
  Certain weapons are resistant to breakage. These 
  include solid crushing weapons (maces, flails, 
  mauls, metal bars, etc.); firearms (other than 
  wheel-locks, guided missiles, and beam weap-
  ons); and fine and very fine weapons of all kinds. If 
  you have a weapon like that, roll again. Only if you 
  get a “broken weapon” result a second time does 
  the weapon really break. If you get any other re-
  sult, you drop the weapon instead. For more on 
  broken weapons, see GURPS Basic Set, p. 485. 
  Note that many items and weapons built by a high-
  tech civilization are fine or very fine by default; 
  only weapons built specifically for export (such as 
  the Soviet “monkey models”) are normal grade.  
  5 – You manage to hit yourself in the arm or leg (50% 
  chance each way). Exception: If making an impal-
  ing or piercing melee attack, or any kind of ranged 
  attack, roll again. If you get a “hit yourself” result a 
  second time, use that result – half or full damage, 
  as the case may be. If you get something other 
  than “hit yourself,” use that result. 
  6 – As 5, but half damage only. 
  7 – You lose your balance. You can do nothing else 
  (not even a free action) until your next turn, and all 
  your active defenses are at -2 until then. 
  8 – The weapon turns in your hand. You must take an 
  extra Ready maneuver before you can use it 
  again. 
  9, 10, 11 – You drop the weapon. Exception: A cheap 
  weapon breaks; see 3. 
  12 – As 8. 
  13 – As 7. 
  14 – If making a swinging melee attack, your weapon 
  flies 1d yards from your hand – 50% chance 
  straight forward or straight back. Anyone on the 
  target spot must make a DX roll or take half dam-
  age from the falling weapon! If making a thrusting 
  melee attack or any kind of ranged attack, or par-
  rying, you simply drop the weapon, as in 9. 
  15 – You strain your shoulder! Your weapon arm is 
  “crippled.” You do not have to drop your weapon, 
  but you cannot use it, either to attack or defend, 
  for 30 minutes. 
  16 – You fall down! If making a ranged attack, see 7 
  instead. 
  17, 18 – Your weapon breaks; see 3. 
   
  UNARMED CRITICAL MISS TABLE 
   
  Use this table only for critical misses on unarmed 
  attacks (bites, claws, grapples, head butts, kicks, 
  punches, slams, etc.) or parries, including those by 
  animals. 
   
  3 – You knock yourself out! Details are up to the GM – 
  perhaps you trip and fall on your head, or walk 
  face-first into an opponent’s fist or shield. Roll vs. 
  HT every 30 minutes to recover. 
  4 – If attacking or parrying with a limb, you strain it: 
  take 1 HP of injury and the limb is “crippled.” You 
  cannot use it, either to attack or defend, for 30 
  minutes. If biting, butting, etc., you pull a muscle 
  and suffer moderate pain (see Irritating Condi-
  tions, p. 231) for the next (20 - HT) minutes, mini-
  mum one minute. 
  5 – You hit a solid object (wall, floor, etc.) instead of 
  striking your foe or parrying his attack. You take 
  crushing damage equal to your thrusting damage 
  to the body part you were using; DR protects nor-
  mally. Exception: If attacking a foe armed with a 
  ready impaling weapon, you fall on his weapon! 
  You suffer the weapon’s damage, but based on 
  your ST rather than his. 
  6 – As 5, but half damage only. Exception: If attacking 
  with natural weapons, such as claws or teeth, they 
  break: -1 damage on future attacks until you heal 
  (for recovery, see Duration of Crippling Injuries, p. 
  225). 
  7 – You stumble. On an attack, you advance one yard 
  past your opponent and end your turn facing away 
  from him; he is now behind you! On a parry, you 
  fall down; see 8. 
  8 – You fall down! 
  9, 10, 11 – You lose your balance. You can do nothing 
  else (not even a free action) until your next turn, 
  and all your active defenses are at -2 until then. 
  12 – You trip. Make a DX roll to avoid falling down. 
  Roll at DX-4 if kicking, or at twice the usual DX 
  
  Page 188  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  penalty for a technique that requires a DX roll to 
  avoid mishap even on a normal failure (e.g., DX-8 
  for a Jump Kick‡). 
  13 – You drop your guard. All your active defenses are 
  at -2 for the next turn, and any Evaluate bonus or 
  Feint penalty against you until your next turn 
  counts double! This is obvious to nearby 
  opponents.  
  14 – You stumble; see 7. 
  15 – You tear a muscle. Take 1d-3 of injury to the limb 
  you used (to one limb, if you used two), or to your 
  neck if biting, butting, etc. You are off balance and 
  at -1 to all attacks and defenses for the next turn. 
  You are at -3 to any action involving that limb (or 
  to any action, if you injure your neck!) until this 
  damage heals. Reduce this penalty to -1 if you 
  have High Pain Threshold. 
  16 – You hit a solid object; see 5. 
  17 – You strain a limb or pull a muscle, as in 4. Excep-
  tion: An IQ 3-5 animal fails so miserably that it 
  loses its nerve. It will turn and flee on its next turn, 
  if possible. If backed into a corner, it will assume a 
  surrender position (throat bared, belly exposed, 
  etc.). 
  18 – You knock yourself out; see 3. Fighters that can-
  not fall down (e.g., snakes, and anyone already on 
  the ground): Treat any “fall down” result as 1d-3 of 
  general injury instead. Details are up to the GM – 
  perhaps your opponent steps on you! Fliers and 
  swimmers: Treat any “fall down” result as being 
  forced into an awkward flying or swimming posi-
  tion with the same effective results (-4 to attack, -3 
  to defend). 
   
  REPEATED ATTEMPTS 
   
  Sometimes you will only get one chance to do 
  something (defuse a bomb, jump over a crevasse, re-
  move an inflamed appendix). Other times you can try 
  over and over again until you succeed (pick a lock, 
  catch a fish, analyze a poison). Still other times you 
  will not know whether you succeeded or failed until it’s 
  too late to try again (translate an ancient Vulcan scroll, 
  order in a French restaurant, build a ship). Finally, 
  there are times when you are injured by failure but can 
  afford to fail a few times (climb a wall, impress a sav-
  age tribesman). 
   
  The GM must use common sense to distinguish 
  between these cases, according to the exact situation 
  in which the players find themselves. As a rule: 
   
   
  If the first failure kills them or destroys the object 
  of the attempt, that’s that. 
   
  If a failure causes damage of some kind, assess 
  the damage and let them try again after a “reasonable” 
  time passes. (Skill descriptions frequently state the 
  time required.) 
   
  If a failure causes no damage, let them try again 
  after a reasonable time, but at -1 per repeated attempt 
  – that is, -1 on the second attempt, -2 on the third, and 
  so on – until they succeed or give up. 
   
  If repeated attempts are the norm for the task 
  (e.g., when attacking in combat), or if it’s long task, tell 
  them that their attempt failed but let them try again at 
  no special penalty, in the usual amount of time. 
   
  CONTESTS 
   
  Sometimes a situation will arise in which two char-
  acters must compare attributes, skills, or other traits to 
  settle a competition. The one with the highest score 
  doesn’t always win . . . but that’s the way to bet. A 
  “Contest” is a quick way to handle such a competitive 
  situation without playing it out in detail.  
   
  In a Contest, each competitor attempts a success 
  roll against the ability being tested – with all applicable 
  modifiers – and then compares his result to his oppo-
  nent’s. There are two different ways to make this 
  comparison. 
   
  QUICK CONTESTS 
   
  A “Quick Contest” is a competition that is over in 
  very little time – often in one second, perhaps even 
  instantly. Examples include two enemies lunging for a 
  phaser, or two knife throwers seeing who gets closer 
  to the bull’s-eye.  
   
  Each competitor attempts his success roll. If one 
  succeeds and the other fails, the winner is obvious. If 
  both succeed, the winner is the one with the largest 
  margin of success; if both fail, the winner is the one 
  with the smallest margin of failure. A tie means nobody 
  won (in the examples above, both fighters grabbed the 
  weapon at once, or the knives hit the same distance 
  from the bull’s-eye). 
   
  Margin of Victory 
   
  The amount by which the winner beat the loser is 
  often important – success by 5 vs. failure by 5 gener-
  ally means more than success by 2 vs. success by 1! 
  The winner’s “margin of victory” is the difference be-
  tween his margin of success and the loser’s margin of 
  success if both succeeded, the sum of his margin of 
  success and the loser’s margin of failure if he suc-
  ceeded and the loser failed, or the difference between 
  the loser’s margin of failure and his margin of failure if 
  both failed. 
   
  Resistance Rolls 
   
  Most abilities that can affect an unwilling subject 
  offer the subject an attempt to resist using an attribute, 
  skill, or supernatural ability. This is sometimes a Quick 
  Contest between the attacking ability and the de-
  fender’s resistance, in which case two special rules 
  apply: 
   
  1. The attacker must succeed to win. He cannot win 
  by having the smallest margin of failure. If he fails his 
  roll, he loses automatically and his subject does not 
  need to attempt a resistance roll. 
  2. The attacker must win to affect the subject. All ties 
  go to the defender. 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  Page 189 
  REGULAR CONTESTS 
   
  A “Regular Contest” is a slow competition with 
  much give and take – for instance, arm wrestling.  
   
  Each character attempts his success roll. If one 
  succeeds and the other fails, the winner is obvious. If 
  both succeed or both fail, the competitors’ relative po-
  sitions are unchanged and they roll again. Eventually, 
  one character succeeds when the other fails. At this 
  point, the one who made his roll is the winner. 
   
  The length of game time each attempt takes de-
  pends on the activity, and is up to the GM. In a combat 
  situation, each attempt takes one second . . . but in a 
  library-research contest, with the fate of the galaxy 
  hanging on who finds a certain obscure reference first, 
  each attempt could represent days of time. 
   
  Extreme Scores 
   
  If both contestants have a score of 6 or less, a 
  Regular Contest can bog down the game as both 
  sides roll failure after failure. To keep the game mov-
  ing, raise the lower score to 10 and add the same 
  amount to the higher score. 
   
   
  Example: For a 5 vs. 3 Contest, add 7 to each 
  score to make it 12 vs. 10. 
   
   
  Likewise, a Regular Contest can become dead-
  locked if both contestants have scores of 14 or more, 
  because it can take a long time before anyone rolls a 
  failure. To speed up the process, reduce the lower 
  score to 10 and subtract the same amount from the 
  higher score. 
   
   
  Example: For a 19 vs. 16 Contest, subtract 6 from 
  each score to make it 13 vs. 10. 
   
   
  When both scores are greater than 20 – e.g., a 
  Contest of ST between alien space monsters – even 
  this will not suffice. Instead, reduce the lower score to 
  10 and multiply the higher score by (10/lower score), 
  rounding down. 
   
   
  Example: For a 600 vs. 500 Contest, multiply the 
  higher score by 10/500 and set the lower one to 10 to 
  make it 12 vs. 10. 
   
  PHYSICAL FEATS 
   
   
  Below are rules for common physical tasks of im-
  portance to adventurers. For tasks not listed here, 
  make DX rolls for matters of precision and HT rolls for 
  feats of endurance. To determine weight moved or 
  work done, use Basic Lift. Movement speed should 
  generally be proportional to Basic Move. For more on 
  basic attributes and secondary characteristics, see 
  Chapter 2. 
   
  CLIMBING 
   
  To climb anything more difficult than a ladder, roll 
  against Climbing skill. This defaults to DX-5. Modifiers 
  to the roll depend on the difficulty of the climb (see 
  below). In all cases, subtract your encumbrance level 
  from your roll as well. Climbing while heavily laden is a 
  dangerous matter! 
   
  Type of Climb 
  Modifier 
  Combat 
  Regular 
  Ladder going up 
  no roll 
  3 rungs/sec 
  1 rung/sec 
  Ladder going 
  down 
  no roll 
  2 rungs/sec 
  1 rung/sec 
  Ordinary tree 
  +5 
  1 ft/sec 
  1 ft/3 sec 
  Ordinary 
  mountain 
  0 
  1 ft/2 sec 
  10 ft/min 
  Vertical stone 
  wall 
  -3 
  1 ft/5 sec 
  4 ft/min 
  Modern building 
  -3 
  1 ft/10 sec 
  2 ft/min 
  Rope-up 
  -2 
  1 ft/sec 
  20 ft/min 
  Rope-down 
   
   
   
  (w/o 
  equipment) 
  -1 
  2 ft/sec 
  30 ft/min 
  w/ 
  equipment 
  -1 
  12 ft/sec 
  12 ft/sec 
   
   
  Make one roll to start the climb and another roll 
  every five minutes. Any failure means you fall (see 
  Falling, p. 233). If you secured yourself with a rope, 
  you will fall only to the end of the rope unless you 
  rolled a critical failure. 
   
  The table above gives skill modifiers and climbing 
  speeds for some common climbs. In most cases, use 
  the speeds in the “Regular” column. The “Combat” 
  column is for climbs inspired by rage or terror, which 
  always cost at least 1 FP – or double the FP cost 
  given in an adventure or assessed by the GM. Climbs 
  in combat require a Move maneuver. 
   
  DIGGING 
   
  Digging rate depends on the type of soil, the dig-
  ger’s Basic Lift (that is, ST x ST/5), and the quality of 
  the tools available. 
   
   
  Loose Soil, Sand, etc.: A man can dig 2×BL cubic 
  feet per hour (cf/hr). 
   
  Ordinary Soil: A man can dig BL cf/hr. One man 
  with a pick can break up 4×BL cf/hr, making it into 
  loose soil, which is easier to remove. The most effi-
  cient way to dig is with one man with a pick, and two 
  shovelers clearing behind him. 
   
  Hard Soil, Clay, etc.: Must be broken up first by a 
  pick, at 2×BL cf/hr, and then shoveled at 2×BL cf/hr. A 
  lone man with both pick and shovel can only remove 
  0.6×BL cf/hr – he loses time switching between tools. 
   
  Hard Rock: Must be broken by a pick at BL cf/hr 
  (or slower, for very hard rock!), and then shoveled at 
  BL cf/hr. 
   
   
  All of the above assumes iron or steel tools! Halve 
  speeds for wooden tools (common at TL5 and below). 
  
  Page 190  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  Divide by 4 (or more) for improvised tools – bare 
  hands, mess kits, etc. 
   
  Time Required and Fatigue Cost 
   
  To find the time required to dig a given hole, find 
  the volume of the hole in cubic feet by multiplying 
  height × width × depth (all in feet). Then divide the 
  number of cubic feet by the digging rate to find the 
  hours of work required. 
   
  Each hour of work costs 1 FP for loose soil, 2 FP 
  for ordinary soil, 3 FP for hard soil, and 4 FP for hard 
  rock. 
   
  HIKING 
   
  Sustainable cross-country speed on foot depends 
  on ground Move. Start with Basic Move and reduce it 
  for encumbrance (see Encumbrance and Move, p. 28), 
  injury (see Injury, Illness, and Fatigue, p. 233), and 
  exhaustion (see Fatigue, p. 230), as applicable. The 
  distance in miles you can march in one day, under 
  ideal conditions, equals 10 × Move. 
   
  If you have the Enhanced Move (Ground) ad-
  vantage, you may apply your movement multiple to 
  this distance. For instance, Enhanced Move 1 
  (Ground) multiplies Move by two, doubling daily 
  marching distance. See Enhanced Move, p. 89. 
   
  A successful roll against Hiking‡ skill increases 
  marching distance by 20%. (Hiking defaults to HT-5 for 
  those who have not studied it.) Roll daily. A group led 
  by someone with Leadership skill at 12+ may make a 
  single roll against the group’s average Hiking skill. 
  Success lets the entire group march 20% farther; fail-
  ure means the whole group must forgo the bonus.  
   
  When these rules result in different speeds for 
  different members of a party, the party must either 
  move at the speed of its slowest member or split up. 
  Note that a party that has opted to make a single Hik-
  ing roll for the entire group has already chosen not to 
  split up! 
   
  Terrain 
   
  Once you know your ideal daily mileage, modify it 
  for terrain as follows: 
   
   
  Very Bad: Deep snow, dense forest, jungle, moun-
  tains, soft sand, or swamp. ×0.20. 
   
  Bad: Broken ground (including streams), forest, or 
  steep hills. ×0.50. 
   
  Average: Light forest or rolling hills. ×1.00. 
   
  Good: Hard-packed desert or level plains. ×1.25. 
   
  Weather 
   
  Weather conditions can further modify distance 
  traveled: 
   
   
  Rain: Rain halves off-road speed in any terrain. 
  See Roads (below) for the effects of rain on roads. 
   
  Snow: Ankle-deep snow halves speed in any ter-
  rain. Anything deeper divides speed by 4 or more. Ex-
  ception: Skis allow travelers to treat any depth of snow 
  as Average terrain. Replace Hiking skill with Skiing‡ 
  skill when traveling on skis. 
   
  Ice: Cold combined with moisture – due to rain, 
  sleet, snowmelt, etc. – results in ice. A coating of ice 
  halves speed in any terrain. Solid ice, such as a frozen 
  lake or river, is effectively its own terrain type; treat it 
  as Bad terrain. Exception: Treat solid ice as Good ter-
  rain for those with skates. Skating‡ skill replaces Hik-
  ing skill when traveling on skates. 
   
  Roads 
   
  In fine weather, most roads count as Average ter-
  rain, regardless of the surrounding terrain. The best 
  roads might even count as Good terrain, giving a 
  bonus.  
   
  In rain, low-quality roads – unsurfaced dirt or 
  gravel – turn to mud. Treat them as Very Bad terrain. 
  Better roads behave as Average (but never Good) ter-
  rain in the rain.  
   
  In snow or ice, treat roads as Average terrain, but 
  apply the movement penalties given under Weather 
  (above) unless the road is cleared. 
   
  Time Required and Fatigue Cost 
   
  These rules assume you spend the entire day pre-
  paring for your hike, hiking, or resting, leaving no time 
  for study or other activities. This is true however small 
  your daily mileage – the heavier your load and the 
  worse the traveling conditions, the more slowly you 
  walk and the more frequently you stop to rest.  
   
  Should you interrupt your travels for adventuring 
  matters, you will be missing FP when you stop. See 
  Fatigue, p. 230. 
   
  HOLDING YOUR BREATH 
   
  Adventurers often need to hold their breath – 
  whether to dive or to survive poison gas, strangulation, 
  vacuum, etc. Your HT determines the length of time 
  you can hold your breath, as follows: 
   
   
  No Exertion (e.g., sitting quietly or meditating): 
  HT×10 seconds. 
   
  Mild Exertion (e.g., operating a vehicle, treading 
  water, or walking): HT×4 seconds. 
   
  Heavy Exertion (e.g., climbing, combat, or run-
  ning): HT seconds. 
   
   
  These times assume you have one second to take 
  a deep breath (requires a Concentrate maneuver in 
  combat). Multiply all times by 1.5 if you hyperventilate 
  first – or by 2.5 if you hyperventilate with pure oxygen. 
  A successful roll against Breath Control skill multiplies 
  these times by a further factor of 1.5. However, if you 
  are surprised and don’t have a chance to take a deep 
  breath – e.g., when a gas grenade goes off in combat 
  – halve these times instead.  
   
  Regardless of circumstances, each level of the 
  Breath-Holding‡ advantage doubles the time you can 
  hold your breath. 
   
  At the end of this time, you start to lose 1 FP per 
  second. At 0 FP, you must make a Will roll every 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  Page 191 
  second or fall unconscious, and are likely to die unless 
  you are rescued. See Suffocation (p. 239) for details. 
   
  JUMPING 
   
  When you want to jump over something with a 
  Size Modifier 3 less than yours or smaller (which en-
  compasses most “ordinary” obstacles), the GM should 
  say, “Okay, you jumped over it,” and get on with play. 
  Such jumps succeed automatically. But when the ob-
  stacle seems really significant, or if the GM put it there 
  as a deliberate hazard, use the following rules. 
   
  Jumping Distance 
   
  Your Basic Move determines jumping distance, as 
  follows: 
   
   
  High Jump: (6 × Basic Move) – 10 inches. For ex-
  ample, a Basic Move of 6 lets you jump 26” straight 
  up. For a running jump, add the number of yards you 
  run to Basic Move in this formula. Maximum running 
  high-jump height is twice standing high-jump height. 
   
  Broad Jump: (2 × Basic Move) – 3 feet. For exam-
  ple, a Basic Move of 6 lets you jump 9 feet from a 
  standing start. For a running jump, add the number of 
  yards you run to Basic Move in this formula. Maximum 
  running broad-jump distance is twice standing broad-
  jump distance. 
   
   
  Those with the Enhanced Move (Ground) ad-
  vantage may apply their movement multiplier to Basic 
  Move before inserting it into these formulas when they 
  have a running start.  
   
  This is instead of adding the number of yards run! 
  For instance, a horse with Basic Move 6 and En-
  hanced Move 1 makes running jumps as if its Basic 
  Move were 12. 
   
  Remember that 12 inches equal one foot, and that 
  3 feet equal one yard (or one hex on a battle map). 
   
  Jumping During Combat 
   
  The jumping distance formulas assume you take 
  the time to crouch and prepare for the jump. In com-
  bat, this takes two consecutive Concentrate maneu-
  vers. Halve all distances if you jump without such 
  preparation. 
   
  If you jump over a small obstacle during a fight 
  (anything with a Size Modifier 3 less than yours or 
  smaller), you must use a Move maneuver, and the 
  jump costs one extra movement point. 
   
  To jump over a larger obstruction (e.g., a chair) or 
  onto something (e.g., a table) during a fight takes your 
  entire turn and requires a Move maneuver. Unless the 
  jump is extreme, the GM will assume you can make 
  the jump. (Don’t interrupt a battle to calculate jumping 
  distance every time somebody jumps onto a chair!) 
   
  However, you must make a DX roll when you 
  make a vertical jump or a long horizontal one. A diffi-
  cult jump (into a pit, for instance) might give -1 to -5 to 
  this DX roll. The GM determines whether you must roll, 
  and at what penalty. On a failure, you fall. It takes two 
  Change Posture maneuvers to stand up again. On a 
  critical failure, you fall off the thing you jumped onto, or 
  land badly if you were jumping down, and take normal 
  falling damage for that height (see Falling, p. 233). 
   
  To clamber onto a vertical obstacle without risking 
  a DX roll, take two consecutive Move maneuvers. 
  Success is automatic. 
   
  Jumping Skill 
   
  If you have the Jumping skill, you may substitute 
  half your skill level, rounded down, for Basic Move in 
  the distance formulas. In addition, you may roll against 
  Jumping instead of DX whenever you make a difficult 
  jump. 
   
  LIFTING AND MOVING THINGS 
   
  Basic Lift – ST×ST/5 pounds – governs the weight 
  you can pick up and move. The GM may let multiple 
  characters add their BL (not their ST) whenever it 
  seems reasonable; e.g., to carry a stretcher or pull a 
  wagon. 
   
   
  One-Handed Lift: 2×BL (takes two seconds). 
   
  Two-Handed Lift: 8×BL (takes four seconds). 
   
  Shove and Knock Over: 12×BL. Double this if you 
  have a running start. The GM can also make allow-
  ances for precariously balanced objects, to make them 
  easier to tilt. 
   
  Carry on Back: 15×BL. Thus, you can carry more 
  than you can lift by yourself ... but every second that 
  your encumbrance is over 10 x BL (that is, Extra-
  Heavy encumbrance), you lose 1 FP. 
   
  Shift Slightly: Depending on your footing and the 
  way you are braced, you could shift or rock 50×BL. 
   
  Pulling and Dragging 
   
  When you pull a load behind you unassisted, use 
  its full weight. Halve effective weight if you are pulling 
  a sledge over snow or ice, divide effective weight by 
  10 for a two-wheeled cart, and divide effective weight 
  by 20 for a four-wheeled wagon. (Remember to add 
  the weight of the sledge, cart, or wagon to that of the 
  load before dividing!) 
   
  In all cases, if the surface is smooth and relatively 
  level – for instance, a concrete floor, a proper road, or 
  a frozen lake – halve the effective weight of the load. 
  This is cumulative with the effects of a sledge, cart, or 
  wagon. 
   
  Final effective weight pulled, after all modifiers, 
  cannot exceed 15×BL if you are to have any hope of 
  moving the object at all. Determine your encumbrance 
  level using effective weight, and work out Move 
  normally. 
   
  Lifting and Moving Things During Combat 
   
  In combat, you can pick up an item that weighs no 
  more than your Basic Lift by taking a one-second 
  Ready maneuver. To pick up anything heavier requires 
  multiple, consecutive Ready maneuvers: two if using 
  one hand, four if using two hands. To pick up an un-
  willing character, you must take a second to grapple 
  
  Page 192  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  him first (see Grappling, p. 207). He may attempt to 
  break free during the time it takes you to pick him up! 
   
  To kick, body-block, shove, or otherwise shift an 
  obstacle in combat requires an Attack maneuver. You 
  can move or knock over up to 12×BL this way. If you 
  have enough space to run your full Move, you can 
  knock over twice this weight (24×BL) by slamming into 
  it at a run. This requires a Move maneuver. These 
  rules are for inanimate objects; see Slam (p. 208) for 
  rules governing attempts to knock over someone who 
  can actively resist. 
   
  If using a combat map, be sure to mark the map or 
  place a counter to indicate an object that has been 
  knocked over. This is especially important for a feature 
  that was drawn on the map! Likewise, objects picked 
  up by fighters should be removed from the map. 
   
  In all cases, if an attempt seems reasonable, do 
  not pause the battle to compare weight to BL. Use 
  common sense. Make it fun! 
   
  RUNNING 
   
  Your running speed, or ground Move, is equal to 
  your Basic Move score modified for encumbrance – 
  see Encumbrance and Move (p. 28). In combat, run-
  ning is just a series of Move maneuvers. Use the more 
  detailed rules below when it is important to know 
  whether the heroes catch the shuttle to Antares, es-
  cape the berserk Slirdarians, or whatever. 
   
  Sprinting 
   
  Sprinting is all-out running. It is very fast, but also 
  fatiguing. Use it when you need to cover a short dis-
  tance quickly, and can afford to arrive at your objective 
  somewhat fatigued.  
   
  You can sprint if you run forward for two or more 
  seconds. Add 20% to your Move after one second. For 
  instance, with a Move of 7, you could sprint at 8.4 
  yards/second after running for one second at 7 
  yards/second. 
   
  On a battle map, where movement involves dis-
  crete one-yard hexes, drop all fractions to get a round 
  Move score; in the example above, you would have 
  Move 8. Assume that even the slowest sprinter gets 
  +1 Move. Thus, sprinters with Move 9 or less can 
  move one extra hex on a battle map.  
   
  If you have Enhanced Move (Ground), you can 
  accelerate by your Basic Move every second until you 
  reach top speed. Use your Enhanced Move multiplier 
  instead of the 20% bonus above. For instance, with 
  Basic Move 7 and Enhanced Move 2, you run at Move 
  7 the first second, Move 14 the next second, Move 21 
  the third second, and your top speed of Move 28 in the 
  fourth second. 
   
  You may only move at your maximum sprinting 
  speed if the ground is good and you are running more 
  or less straight at some goal. Any deviation from “for-
  ward” movement requires you to run at normal ground 
  Move for one second before you can resume sprinting. 
   
   
   
  Paced Running 
   
  If you need to run a long distance, you will want to 
  pace yourself to avoid exhaustion. Paced running av-
  erages exactly half the sprinting speed calculated 
  above. For instance, with a ground Move of 7, you 
  would run at 4.2 yards/second on good ground; thus 
  you could run a 7-minute mile. 
   
  Fatigue Cost 
   
  After every 15 seconds of sprinting or every mi-
  nute of paced running, roll against the higher of HT or 
  Running skill. On a failure, you lose 1 FP. Once you 
  are reduced to 1/3 or less your FP, halve your Move 
  for any kind of running; see Fatigue, p. 230.  
   
  Note that since paced running is half as fast as 
  sprinting but burns FP at one-quarter the rate, you can 
  run twice as far before you run out of energy. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  SWIMMING 
   
  Unless you are Amphibious (p. 84) or Aquatic (p. 
  133), you must roll against Swimming skill any time 
  you enter water over your head; Swimming defaults to 
  HT-4. Roll when you first enter the water, and again 
  every five minutes.  
   
   
  Modifiers: +3 if you entered the water intentionally; 
  a penalty equal to twice your encumbrance level (e.g., 
  Heavy encumbrance gives -6); +1 if you are Over-
  weight, +3 if Fat, or +5 if Very Fat (see Build, p. 29). 
   
   
  On a failure, you inhale water! Lose 1 FP and roll 
  again in five seconds – and so on, until you drown, are 
  rescued (see Lifesaving, p. 193), or make a successful 
  Swimming roll and get your head above water. If you 
  successfully recover, roll again in one minute; if you 
  Flying 
   
  When flying, use the Hiking (p. 190) 
  and Running rules with these 
  changes: 
   
   
  Substitute “air Move” (equal to twice 
  Basic Speed, dropping all fractions) for 
  “ground Move” (equal to Basic Move). Ap-
  ply modifiers for encumbrance, injury, and 
  fatigue exactly as you would for ground 
  Move. 
   
  Substitute “Enhanced Move (Air)” for 
  “Enhanced Move Ground).” For high-speed 
  flight (“running”), handle acceleration with 
  Enhanced Move as described under 
  Sprinting. 
   
  Substitute “Flight skill” for “Hiking skill” 
  and “Running skill.” 
   
  Ignore terrain, but note that wind and 
  other weather conditions can have compa-
  rable effects. 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  Page 193 
  succeed, go back to making rolls five minutes apart. 
  Yes, you can shout for help!  
   
  You may try to get rid of armor, etc. after making 
  your first successful Swimming roll. Roll vs. DX for 
  each item you try to remove; roll at -4 to remove 
  shields, helmets, or torso armor. A failed roll means 
  you inhale water, with penalties as above. 
   
  Once you reach 0 FP, you must make a Will roll 
  every second or fall unconscious, and are likely to die 
  unless you are rescued. See Suffocation (p. 239) for 
  details. 
   
  Swimming Speed 
   
  Land-dwellers such as humans have water Move 
  equal to Basic Move/5 (round down), although it is 
  possible to modify this slightly; see Move in Other En-
  vironments (p. 28). Minimum water Move for such 
  characters is 1 yard/second.  
   
  Amphibious and Aquatic beings have water Move 
  equal to their full Basic Move. 
   
  When swimming long distances, use a 10-second 
  time scale. The number of yards you can swim in 10 
  seconds is equal to 10 times your water Move, modi-
  fied downward for encumbrance (see Encumbrance 
  and Move, p. 28). For instance, water Move 1 and 
  Heavy encumbrance would let you swim four yards in 
  10 seconds. 
   
  Fatigue Cost 
   
  After every minute of top-speed swimming, roll 
  against the higher of HT or Swimming skill. On a fail-
  ure, you lose 1 FP. Once you are reduced to 1/3 or 
  less your FP, halve your water Move; see Fatigue, p. 
  230).  
   
  If you are swimming slowly, or just staying afloat, 
  make this roll every 30 minutes. 
   
  Lifesaving 
   
  You can use the Swimming skill to rescue a 
  drowning person. Make a Swimming roll at -5, plus or 
  minus the difference in ST between you and the per-
  son you are rescuing. If the players think of good life-
  saving techniques, the GM may give them a bonus to 
  this roll.  
   
  On a failure, you inhale water and lose 1 FP, but 
  may try again after one minute. On a critical failure, the 
  victim nearly drowned you! This costs 6 FP, and you 
  must break off the rescue attempt. 
   
  THROWING 
   
  You can throw anything you can pick up – that is, 
  anything with a weight of 8×BL or less. If the object 
  you wish to throw is not already in your hands, you 
  must take one or more Ready maneuvers to pick it up. 
  See Lifting and Moving Things (p. 191) for details. 
   
  Throwing an object during combat – whether as an 
  attack or not – requires an Attack maneuver. You can 
  throw objects that weigh up to 2×BL using one hand; 
  heavier objects require a two-handed throw. Roll 
  against DX-3 to hit a specific target, or against DX to 
  lob something into a general area. Apply the usual 
  modifiers for target size, speed, and distance. 
   
  Throwing Distance 
   
  To avoid slowing down the game with math, the 
  GM should allow any throw he deems reasonable . . . 
  but when you need to know the exact distance you can 
  throw an object, use the following procedure: 
   
   
  1. Divide the object’s weight in pounds by your 
  Basic Lift to get the “weight ratio.” 
   
  2. Find the weight ratio in the Weight Ratio column 
  of the table below. If it falls between two values, use 
  the higher value. 
   
  3. Read across to the Distance Modifier column 
  and find the “distance modifier.” 
   
  4. Multiply your ST by the distance modifier to find 
  the distance in yards you can throw the object. 
   
  Weight 
  Ratio 
  Distance 
  Modifier 
   
  Weight 
  Ratio 
  Distance 
  Modifier 
  0.05 
  3.5 
   
  2.0 
  0.30 
  0.10 
  2.5 
   
  2.5 
  0.25 
  0.15 
  2.0 
   
  3.0 
  0.20 
  0.20 
  1.5 
   
  4.0 
  0.15 
  0.25 
  1.2 
   
  5.0 
  0.12 
  0.30 
  1.1 
   
  6.0 
  1.10 
  0.40 
  1.0 
   
  7.0 
  0.09 
  0.50 
  0.8 
   
  8.0 
  0.08 
  0.75 
  0.7 
   
  9.0 
  0.07 
  1.00 
  0.6 
   
  10.0 
  0.06 
  1.50 
  0.4 
   
  12.0 
  0.05 
   
   
  Example: You have ST 12, giving a BL of 29 lbs. 
  You need to throw a 120-lb. body over a two-yard pit. 
  Divide weight by BL: 120/29 = 4.1. This falls between 
  4.0 and 5.0 in the Weight Ratio column, so treat it as 
  5.0. The associated distance modifier is 0.12. Multi-
  plying by ST, your range is 0.12 × 12 = 1.4 yards. 
  Oops! The body just hit the bottom of the pit. 
   
  Damage from Thrown Objects 
   
  Thrown objects inflict thrust damage for your ST 
  (see Damage Table, p. 26), modified for weight as 
  shown on the following table (p. 194). Damage is usu-
  ally crushing, but the GM may rule that a sharp object 
  does cutting, piercing, or impaling damage instead. A 
  fragile object (or a thrown character) takes the same 
  amount of damage it inflicts; roll damage separately for 
  the object and target. 
   
   
  Example: You have ST 28, which gives you a BL 
  of 157 lbs. and a thrust damage of 3d-1. You hit a foe 
  with a hurled 50-lb. bag of cement. It is between BL/4 
  (39 lbs.) and BL/2 (78 lbs.). As shown on the table on 
  p. 194, it does straight thrust damage, or 3d-1. 
   
  
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  Weight 
  Damage 
  Up to BL/8 
  Thrust, -2 per die 
  Up to BL/4 
  Thrust, -1 per die 
  Up to BL/2 
  Thrust 
  Up to BL 
  Thrust, +1 per die 
  Up to 2×BL 
  Thrust 
  Up to 4×BL 
  Thrust, -1/2 per die, (round down) 
  Up to 8×BL 
  Thrust, -1 per die 
   
  Throwing Skill 
   
  When you throw an object that fits into the palm of 
  your hand – such as a bottle, rock, or grenade – you 
  may roll against Throwing skill to hit a target or a gen-
  eral area. Furthermore, if you know Throwing at DX+1 
  level, add +1 to ST before you multiply it by the dis-
  tance modifier. Add +2 to ST if you know Throwing at 
  DX+2 or better. 
   
  Thrown Weapons 
   
  The rules above are for throwing rocks, bodies, 
  televisions . . . anything but weapons. Hurled weapons 
  differ in three important ways: 
   
   
  1. Thrown weapons use Thrown Weapon skills to 
  hit, not DX or Throwing (but Throwing Art‡ does allow 
  you to throw weapons). 
   
  2. Many throwing weapons travel significantly far-
  ther than “ordinary” objects due to streamlining and 
  stabilization. Others have less range, due to the way 
  they are thrown. For instance, you can hurl a throwing 
  knife as far as these rules suggest, but the range at 
  which it will hit point-first and inflict damage is consid-
  erably shorter. 
   
  3. Throwing weapons have points, edges, dense 
  striking heads, etc. that focus the force of impact. They 
  almost always do more damage than these rules 
  would indicate. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  EXTRA EFFORT 
   
  Through sheer force of will, you can push your 
  body past its usual limits when you perform physical 
  tasks. This is called “extra effort.”  
   
  You can use extra effort to increase Basic Lift (but 
  not ST itself) when digging or lifting; daily mileage 
  when hiking; Move when running or swimming; dis-
  tance (but not Basic Move itself) when jumping; and 
  ST for the purposes of throwing, making a single ST 
  roll, or drawing or cocking a bow or crossbow that’s 
  too strong for you. You cannot use extra effort to in-
  crease the time you can hold your breath – that would 
  be self-defeating! 
   
  To apply extra effort, make a Will roll.  
   
   
  Modifiers: -1 per 5% increase in capabilities (e.g., 
  to add 10% to ST, roll at -2). If you are fatigued, apply 
  a penalty equal to the missing FP. Roll at +5 if you are 
  motivated by fear, anger, or concern for a loved one 
  (GM’s decision, but you must usually fail a Fright 
  Check or a self-control roll for a suitable disadvantage, 
  or be the victim of a successful Intimidation attempt, to 
  get this bonus). 
   
   
  Extra effort costs FP whether you succeed or fail. 
  Instantaneous feats (e.g., jumps and throws) cost a flat 
  1 FP per attempt. Ongoing tasks (digging, running, 
  swimming, etc.) require repeated extra effort rolls, and 
  cost 1 FP per roll. Hiking works differently – see p. 
  195. Pay the FP cost for extra effort immediately after 
  you attempt your Will roll. Note that the FP spent on 
  extra effort do not penalize this attempt, but give a 
  penalty to future attempts until you recover the FP. 
   
  On a success, you gain the desired increase in 
  your physical capabilities. This does not guarantee 
  success at the task at hand – you could still fail the DX 
  roll for an extra-effort jump, for instance. On a critical 
  success, you do not have to pay FP for your extra 
  effort. 
   
  On a failure, you achieve only what you would 
  have accomplished without extra effort.  
   
  A critical failure means you lose HP equal to the 
  FP spent on the attempt – including any FP the task 
  would have cost without extra effort – and the task fails 
  automatically! If you roll a natural 18, you must also 
  make an immediate HT roll to avoid acquiring a tempo-
  rary disadvantage appropriate to the task (see below 
  for examples). Handle recovery as described in Dura-
  tion of Crippling Injuries (p. 225). A sufficiently bad HT 
  roll can result in a permanent disadvantage! 
   
  Notes for Specific Physical Tasks 
   
  Instead of rolling against Will to use extra effort, 
  you may make a Will-based roll against a relevant skill 
  (Hiking, Jumping, Lifting, Running, Swimming, or 
  Throwing, as applicable), if that would be better. 
   
   
  Digging: For every hour of digging, make an extra-
  effort roll and pay 1 FP. This adds to the usual FP 
  cost. On a critical failure, the injury is to your back, and 
  will heal only with rest (not First Aid) or, in the SFU, 
  Catching 
   
  If someone throws an object at you, 
  you may make an active defense roll to 
  avoid it. However, if he deliberately throws 
  it to you – by successfully lobbing it into 
  your general area – you can try to catch it. 
  Roll against DX or a suitable Sports skill to 
  make the catch, at -4 if you are not taking a 
  Wait maneuver, but at +1 per two full 
  points by which the thrower made his roll. 
  This counts as a parry with your catching 
  hand. 
   
  You can also attempt to intercept a 
  thrown object en route to a catcher. Treat 
  this as a parry against a thrown weapon 
  (see Parrying, p. 212). On a success, you 
  snatch the thrown object out of the air. 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  Page 195 
  with the assistance of a trained physician with appro-
  priate medical equipment such is found in a ship’s 
  sickbay; on an 18, you temporarily acquire the Bad 
  Back‡ disadvantage (again, in the SFU, a trained phy-
  sician with appropriate medical equipment can heal 
  this). 
   
  Hiking: Make one extra-effort roll per day. Extra 
  effort increases the FP you suffer by two when you 
  stop on the march (see Fatigue, p. 230). Assess injury 
  due to critical failure at the end of the day, and base it 
  on the modified FP penalty. For instance, if you would 
  normally be missing 5 FP when you stopped, you 
  would be missing 7 FP if you used extra effort – and if 
  you critically failed, you would end the day with 7 HP 
  of injury! When using Hiking skill, make a single Will-
  based Hiking roll at -1 per 5% extra mileage beyond 
  the basic +20% for a successful Hiking roll (-1 for 
  +25%, -2 for +30%, and so on). 
   
  Jumping: On a critical failure, apply the injury to 
  the foot or leg (GM’s option, or roll randomly); on an 
  18, you temporarily acquire the Crippled Leg disad-
  vantage (see Lame, p. 131). 
   
  Lifting and Moving Things: For every minute of 
  continuing effort, make an extra-effort roll and pay 1 
  FP. (This cost adds to the 1 FP per second for carrying 
  encumbrance over 10×BL, if applicable.) Handle criti-
  cal failures as described for digging. When using Lift-
  ing skill, make a single Will-based Lifting roll, at -1 per 
  10% extra Basic Lift. This is instead of the usual 5% 
  bonus per point of success. 
   
  Running: For every 15 seconds of sprinting or mi-
  nute of paced running, make an extra-effort roll and 
  pay 1 FP. This adds to the FP cost for failed HT rolls 
  while running! On a critical failure, apply the injury to 
  one of your legs; on an 18, you temporarily acquire the 
  Crippled Leg disadvantage (see Lame, p. 131). 
   
  Swimming: For every minute of swimming, make 
  an extra effort roll and pay 1 FP. This adds to the FP 
  cost for failed HT rolls while swimming. 
   
  Throwing: Increases to ST affect both damage and 
  distance, but not Basic Lift for the purpose of what you 
  can throw in the first place. For that, make a separate 
  extra-effort lifting attempt! Add bonuses for Throwing 
  or Throwing Art‡ skill after those for extra effort. 
   
  SENSE ROLLS 
   
   
  “Sense rolls” include Vision rolls, Hearing rolls, 
  Taste/Smell rolls, and all rolls to use special senses 
  such as Scanning Sense and Vibration Sense.  
   
  To notice something using a given sense, roll 
  against your Perception score, modified by the appli-
  cable Acute Senses advantage: Acute Vision for Vi-
  sion rolls, Acute Hearing for Hearing rolls, and so on. 
   
   
  Comprehension Rolls: A successful Sense roll 
  means you noticed something. That is often sufficient, 
  but in some cases, the GM may require a second roll 
  to understand what you have sensed; e.g., to realize 
  that the “hiss” you heard is really a Klingon warrior’s 
  battle language, or that the faint scent you noticed be-
  longs to the flower of a man-eating plant. This roll is 
  against IQ for details that anyone could figure out, or 
  against an appropriate skill if the significance would be 
  lost on anyone but an expert. 
   
  Danger Sense: If you have the Danger Sense ad-
  vantage and fail a Sense roll or comprehension roll to 
  notice something dangerous, the GM will secretly 
  make a Perception roll for you. On a success, you 
  sense the danger anyhow! 
   
  VISION 
   
  Make a Vision roll whenever it is important that 
  you see something. 
   
   
  Modifiers: Any Acute Vision bonus; +3 for Hyper-
  spectral Vision‡; modifiers for the size and range of the 
  target (see p. 211); -1 to -9 in partial darkness. In total 
  darkness, Vision rolls are impossible without special 
  advantages or technological aids. To spot something 
  in plain sight – e.g., a car coming toward you on the 
  road – roll at +10. This does not apply to attempts to 
  spot hidden objects, read text, identify faces, etc. 
   
   
  When you try to spot something that is deliberately 
  hidden, the GM may treat this roll as a Quick Contest 
  against a concealment skill (Camouflage, Holdout, 
  etc.), and may allow – or require – a skill such as Ob-
  servation or Search to replace Perception for the roll. 
   
  Note that the curvature of a planet blocks vision 
  beyond the horizon. The normal horizon on an Earth-
  sized planet is about three miles for an observer five to 
  six feet in height. The GM should increase this for 
  taller observers or those in elevated positions. There is 
  no horizon in space! 
   
   
  Useful Advantages: Night Vision cancels -1 in par-
  tial darkness penalties per level, and Dark Vision‡ lets 
  you ignore darkness penalties. Peripheral Vision gives 
  you a Vision roll to see anything that is not absolutely, 
  positively, directly behind you – and 360° Vision‡ lets 
  you see even that! Telescopic Vision‡ cancels -1 in 
  range penalties per level. 
   
  Limiting Disadvantages: Bad Sight gives -6 to Vi-
  sion rolls to spot items more than one yard away if you 
  are nearsighted, or items within one yard if you are 
  farsighted. Restricted Vision‡ prevents you from notic-
  ing anything that isn’t in the direction you are looking. 
  Blindness means you can see nothing! 
   
   
  Federation War Destroyer 
  
  Page 196  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Different Gravity 
   
  A world’s gravity is measured in “Gs,” with 1G being Earth-normal conditions. In comparison, Mars has 
  0.38G and the Moon has 0.17G.  
   
   
  Microgravity is extremely low gravity (e.g., that of an asteroid or small moon) – for game purposes, anything 
  below 0.1G.  
   
  Zero gravity is weightlessness, or “free fall,” as found in space and aboard any spacecraft not spinning, 
  accelerating, or otherwise generating artificial gravity.  
   
   
  In higher or lower gravity, mass stays the same, but weight changes. 
   
  Encumbrance and Move in Different Gravity 
   
  If local gravity is more than 1G, multiply the sum of your body weight and the weight of everything you’re 
  carrying by (local gravity in Gs)-1. This is the extra weight you’re carrying due to high gravity. Add this to your 
  encumbrance when determining Move.  
   
   
  Example: You weigh 150 lbs. and are carrying 30 lbs. of gear. On a 1.2-G world, that amounts to an extra 
  weight of (150 + 30) × (1.2 - 1) = 36 lbs. Since you’re already carrying 30 lbs., your total encumbrance is 66 lbs. 
   
   
  If local gravity is less than 1G, multiply the weight of the gear you’re carrying by the local gravity, and use 
  the modified weight to determine your encumbrance. There is a similar reduction in your body weight; this does 
  not affect encumbrance, but it lets you jump further. In very low gravity, you may be able to move faster than 
  your Basic Move by making a series of running broad jumps instead of walking!  
   
  In zero gravity, you float in space (unless using magnetic boots, thrusters, etc.). If you can’t fly, you must 
  push off from a solid surface to move. Your Move when doing so is equal to ST/2, rounded down. You will keep 
  going at that speed until you grab or collide with something! 
   
  Actions in Different Gravity 
   
  In gravities other than 1G, the jumping rules need modification. Multiply your normal jumping distances by 
  the ratio of 1G to local gravity. For instance, under 1.25G, you jump 1/1.25 = 0.8 times as far, while under 0.2G, 
  you jump 1/0.2 = 5 times as far. (Exception: Do not multiply the bonus high-jump distance you get from a run-
  ning start!) If this lets you jump at least twice as far as normal, use the rules  under Super Jump‡ (GURPS 
  Basic Set, p. 89) to determine how fast you can move by bounding along. 
   
  When throwing, multiply distance by the ratio of 1G to local gravity, just as you would for jumping. Damage 
  from thrown objects does not change, as this is based on mass. 
   
  Gravity also affects falls. Multiply terminal velocity by local gravity. See Falling (p. 233) for what this implies. 
   
  In zero gravity, your skills and DX rolls are affected as well; see Free Fall (p. 164). This does not apply 
  when firing beam weapons (unless they have Recoil 2 or more) or operating vehicles or tools specifically de-
  signed for zero gravity (e.g., a spacecraft). 
   
  G-Increments and Attribute Penalties 
   
  If local gravity differs from your home gravity (see Home Gravity, p. 28), you might become disoriented and 
  suffer physiological effects. The change in gravity you can tolerate without penalties is your “G-Increment.” This 
  is 0.2G unless you have the Improved G-Tolerance advantage. 
   
  In higher or lower gravity than usual, count the number of G-Increments from your home gravity, rounding 
  down. This determines the penalties you suffer. For instance, an Earth native used to 1G treats 0.81G to 1.19G 
  as zero G-Increments, but 0.8G or 1.2G counts as one G-Increment. 
   
   
  DX: You are at -1 DX per G-Increment of difference (-1 per two full G-Increments, if you have the G-Experi-
  ence advantage). This applies to activities that require agility or judging ballistic trajectories; it affects Broad-
  sword, Driving, and Guns, but not Beam Weapons or Lockpicking. 
   
  IQ: You are at -1 IQ per two full G-Increments of higher gravity, due to reduced blood flow to the brain and 
  general fatigue. Lower gravity has no effect. 
   
  HT: You are at -1 HT per two full G-Increments of higher gravity, because the heart has to work harder. 
  Lower your FP score by the same amount. There is no effect in lower gravity – although microgravity or zero 
  gravity might cause space sickness (see Space Adaptation Syndrome, p. 235), or even have lasting ill effects in 
  the long term. 
   
  See Temporary Attribute Penalties (p. 225) to learn how attribute penalties affect secondary 
  characteristics and skills 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  Page 197 
  HEARING 
   
  Make a Hearing roll whenever it is important that 
  you hear a sound. The GM will often require a sepa-
  rate IQ roll to make out speech, especially in a foreign 
  language. 
   
   
  Modifiers: Any Acute Hearing bonus; +4 for Dis-
  criminatory Hearing; -4 for Hard of Hearing. The GM 
  may make this roll easier or harder, depending on the 
  loudness of the sound, surrounding noises, etc.  
   
   
  The range at which you can hear a sound at no 
  penalty is given on the table below. For each step by 
  which you are closer than this, apply +1 to the roll, 
  while for each step by which you are more distant, ap-
  ply -1. For instance, to hear normal conversation at 8 
  yards would require a roll at -3.  
   
  When you try to hear someone who is attempting 
  to move silently, the GM may treat this roll as a Quick 
  Contest against his Stealth skill. If you are actively lis-
  tening for such activity, the GM may allow you to sub-
  stitute Observation skill for Perception. 
   
   
  Useful Advantages: Parabolic Hearing allows you 
  to hear distant sounds as if they were nearby. Sub-
  sonic Hearing and Ultrahearing can detect sounds that 
  are inaudible to normal humans. 
   
  Limiting Disadvantage: If you suffer from Deaf-
  ness, you can hear nothing! 
   
  Hearing Distance Table 
  Sound 
  Range (yards) 
  Leaves rustling 
  1/4 
  Quiet conversation 
  1/2 
  Normal conversation 
  1 
  Light traffic 
  2 
  Loud conversation 
  4 
  Noisy office 
  8 
  Normal traffic 
  16 
  "Quiet" rock band 
  32 
  Heavy traffic 
  64 
  Jet takeoff 
  128 
  Very loud rock band 
  256 
  Metallica 
  512 
   
  TASTE/SMELL 
   
  Taste and smell are two manifestations of the 
  same sense. Make a Taste roll to notice a flavor, or a 
  Smell roll to notice a scent.  
   
   
  Modifiers: Any Acute Taste and Smell bonus; +4 
  for Discriminatory Smell or Taste (as applicable). The 
  GM may modify this roll for a particularly strong or 
  weak taste or odor, and may apply a penalty if it is 
  specifically disguised. 
   
   
  Useful Advantages: In addition to giving a bonus 
  to your roll, Discriminatory Smell and Discriminatory 
  Taste can reveal sufficient detail to allow you to iden-
  tify people, locations, and objects with precision equiv-
  alent to hearing or vision for a normal human. 
   
  Limiting Disadvantage: No Sense of Smell/Taste‡ 
  means that you cannot taste or smell anything. 
   
  INFLUENCE ROLLS 
   
   
  An “Influence roll” is a deliberate attempt to ensure 
  a positive reaction from an NPC. A PC with an appro-
  priate “Influence skill” can always elect to substitute an 
  Influence roll for a regular reaction roll in suitable cir-
  cumstances (GM’s decision). See Reaction Rolls (p. 
  198) for more on NPC reactions. 
   
  Decide which Influence skill you are using: Diplo-
  macy, Fast-Talk, Intimidation, Savoir-Faire, Sex Ap-
  peal, or Streetwise. Choose wisely! The GM may allow 
  other skills to work as Influence skills in certain situa-
  tions (e.g., Law skill, when dealing with a judge). Then 
  roll a Quick Contest: your Influence skill vs. the sub-
  ject’s Will.  
   
   
  Modifiers: All your personal reaction modifiers (al-
  though the GM or the skill description may rule that 
  some modifiers do not apply); any specific modifiers 
  given in the skill description; -1 to -10 for using an in-
  appropriate Influence skill (GM’s decision). 
   
   
  If you win, you get a “Good” reaction from the NPC 
  – “Very Good” if you used Sex Appeal with a 
  compatible species. On any other outcome, the NPC 
  resents your clumsy attempt at manipulation. This 
  gives you a “Bad” reaction – “Very Bad” if you 
  attempted specious intimidation. Exception: If you 
  used Diplomacy, the GM will also make a regular 
  reaction roll and use the better of the two reactions. 
  Thus, Diplomacy is relatively safe . . . 
   
  If the subject is Indomitable, you lose automati-
  cally unless you have Empathy. Intimidation attempts 
  against those with the Unfazeable advantage also fail 
  automatically. On the other hand, you win automati-
  cally – no roll required – against those with Slave 
  Mentality‡. 
   
  Influencing the PCs 
   
  Influence rolls are designed to allow PCs to affect 
  NPC reactions. The GM should not make Influence 
  rolls on behalf of NPCs and tell the players how to re-
  act. Most players form an opinion of an NPC based on 
  the GM’s portrayal of the character, and few appreci-
  ate being told that they must roleplay a good reaction 
  toward an NPC they do not like or trust. 
   
  This does not mean that NPCs cannot influence 
  PCs! When an NPC makes a successful Influence roll 
  against a PC, the GM should apply the NPC’s margin 
  of victory as a bonus or penalty (as appropriate) to the 
  PC’s die rolls when dealing with that NPC. For in-
  stance, if a beautiful spy beats the PC’s Will by 3 using 
  Sex Appeal, the hero might suffer -3 on self-control 
  
  Page 198  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  rolls for his Lecherousness and -3 to his Detect Lies 
  skill where that spy is concerned. Be creative! 
   
  Psychological Warfare 
   
  You can use Propaganda skill for media manipula-
  tion, and Psychology skill for other “psyops.” This is an 
  Influence roll. Apply your cause’s reaction modifiers 
  rather than your own, and use the average Will of the 
  target group in the Quick Contest. 
   
  REACTION ROLLS 
   
  When the PCs meet an NPC whose reaction to 
  them is not predetermined (see below), the GM makes 
  a “reaction roll” on 3d. The higher the roll, the better 
  the reaction. The GM then plays the NPC according to 
  the guidelines on the Reaction Table. 
   
  The GM should keep this roll secret from the play-
  ers. They don’t know, for instance, whether that 
  friendly-looking old farmer is giving them straight ad-
  vice or sending them into a trap. 
   
  A reaction roll is not a success roll. There are 
  three important differences: 
   
   
  1. There is no “target number” to roll against. 
   
  2. A high roll is good, not bad. 
   
  3. Reaction modifiers apply directly to the die roll. 
  A reaction bonus is any factor that will make NPCs 
  friendlier, while a reaction penalty is something that 
  will bias NPCs against the PCs. 
   
  Some common reaction modifiers: 
   
   
  Personal appearance and behavior. This is espe-
  cially true for the PC who does the talking! Above-
  average appearance gives a bonus, as do such traits 
  as Charisma, Fashion Sense, Pitiable, and Voice. In 
  most situations, so does a high apparent Status. 
  Below-average appearance and many disadvantages 
  give a penalty. 
   
  Skills. A successful roll against a skill appropriate 
  to the situation can give +2 to reactions. Examples 
  include Administration when dealing with bureaucrats, 
  Carousing when partying, and Politics when interacting 
  with politicians. In a few cases, skill 20+ gives an au-
  tomatic +2 to reactions. Diplomacy and Fast-Talk work 
  this way if you are allowed to talk – as does Merchant 
  skill, during commercial transactions. The GM may 
  give similar bonuses for other skills. 
   
  Species or empire biases. Lyrans don’t like 
  Kzintis, Tholians don’t care for lower lifeforms, and so 
  on. These are usually penalties, and take the form of a 
  Social Stigma disadvantage for the PC or an Intoler-
  ance disadvantage on the part of the NPC. 
   
  Appropriate behavior by the players! Here’s a 
  chance to reward good roleplaying. A good approach 
  should be worth +1 or more! A wholly inappropriate 
  approach that antagonizes the NPCs should give the 
  party -1 or -2 on the reaction roll. Don’t tell the players, 
  “You blew it!” – just roleplay the offended character, 
  and let them figure it out. 
   
  Random reaction rolls are great when they add a 
  note of unpredictability to the game – this is more fun 
  for the GM, too! However, never substitute random die 
  rolls for reason and logic. 
   
  Predetermined Reactions 
   
  Certain NPCs might have reaction modifiers 
  (mostly bad) worked out in advance. For instance, a 
  street gang might have a -5 reaction to anybody. 
   
  Predetermined 
  reaction 
  penalties 
  sometimes 
  come with a “best-case” reaction. Treat any reaction 
  better than the best-case reaction as the best-case 
  scenario; do not roll again. For instance, a mountain 
  man might be a loner, with a -2 reaction to any out-
  sider – and no matter what, his reaction will never be 
  better than “Neutral.” In this case, the GM would lower 
  any reaction better than Neutral to Neutral. 
   
  Predetermined bonuses and worst-case reactions 
  (e.g., “never any worse than Neutral”) are possible for 
  unusually friendly NPCs. 
   
  Second Reaction Rolls 
   
  If the players get a reaction roll they don’t like, 
  they may change their approach and try again (unless 
  the first roll started a fight!). Changes in approach in-
  clude offering a bribe, offering a better deal, having 
  someone else ask, presenting new information, and 
  using a particular skill. If the NPC, as played by the 
  GM, feels that the PCs are becoming a nuisance, ap-
  ply a cumulative -2 to each reaction roll after the first! 
  The PCs can avoid this penalty by waiting a reasona-
  ble time between requests. “Reasonable” is entirely up 
  to the GM! 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Reaction Table 
   
  Roll 3d and apply the modifiers described 
  above. 
   
  0 or less: Disastrous 
   
  General reaction: The NPC hates the 
  PCs and acts in their worst interest. 
   
  In a potential combat situation, the 
  NPCs attack viciously, asking no quarter 
  and giving none. 
   
  Commercial transactions are doomed: 
  The merchant has nothing to do with the 
  PCs. Make a “potential combat” roll at -2. 
   
  Requests for aid are denied totally. 
  Make a “potential combat” roll at -4. If 
  combat is called for but not possible, the 
  NPC works against the PCs in any way 
  possible. 
   
  Requests for information are met with 
  anger. Make a “potential combat” roll at -2. 
   
  Loyalty: The NPC hates the PCs or is 
  in the pay of their enemies, and takes the 
  first good chance to betray them. 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  Page 199 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Reaction Table (Continued) 
   
  1 to 3: Very Bad 
   
  General reaction: The NPC dislikes the PCs 
  and acts against them if it’s convenient to do so. 
   
  In a potential combat situation, the NPCs 
  attack, and flee only if they see they have no 
  chance. (A fight in progress continues.) 
   
  Commercial transactions are next to 
  impossible. The merchant asks three times the 
  fair price, or offers 1/3 the fair price. 
   
  Requests for aid are denied. Make a 
  “potential combat” roll; no reaction better than 
  “Neutral” is possible. 
   
  Requests for information are met with 
  malicious lies. 
   
  Loyalty: The NPC dislikes the PCs, and will 
  leave their service (probably taking everything he 
  can carry) or sell them out as soon as possible. 
   
  4 to 6: Bad 
   
  General reaction: The NPC cares nothing for 
  the PCs and acts against them if he can profit by 
  doing so. 
   
  In a potential combat situation, the NPCs 
  attack unless outnumbered. If they are 
  outnumbered they flee, possibly to attempt an 
  ambush later. (A fight in progress continues.) 
   
  Commercial transactions go badly. The 
  merchant asks twice the fair price, or offers half 
  the fair price. 
   
  Requests for aid are denied. The NPCs go 
  about their business, ignoring the PCs. 
   
  Requests for information are denied. NPCs 
  lie maliciously or demand payment for 
  information. If paid, the NPC gives true, but 
  incomplete, information. 
   
  Loyalty: The NPC has no respect for the 
  PCs. He leaves or betrays them given even 
  moderate temptation, and is a sluggish worker. 
   
  7 to 9: Poor 
   
  General reaction: The NPC is unimpressed. 
  He may become hostile if there is much profit in 
  it, or little danger. 
   
  In a potential combat situation, the NPCs 
  shout threats or insults. They demand that the 
  PCs leave the area. If the PCs stick around, the 
  NPCs attack unless outnumbered, in which case 
  they flee. (A fight in progress continues.) 
   
  Commercial transactions are unprofitable. 
  The merchant asks 120% of the fair price, or 
  offers 75% of the fair price. 
   
  Requests for aid are denied, but bribes, 
  pleas, or threats might work. The PCs may roll 
  again, at -2. 
   
  Requests for information are unproductive. 
  The NPCs claim not to know, or give incomplete 
  data. A bribe may improve their memory; roll 
  again if a bribe is offered. 
   
   
   
   
  Loyalty: The NPC is unimpressed with the 
  PCs or dislikes the job; he thinks he’s 
  overworked and underpaid. He’ll probably 
  betray them if offered enough, and would 
  certainly take a “better” job if he thought he 
  had one. 
   
  10 to 12: Neutral 
   
  General reaction: The NPC ignores the 
  PCs as much as possible. He is totally 
  uninterested. 
   
  In a potential combat situation, the NPCs 
  are inclined to go their own way and let the 
  PCs go theirs. (If a fight is in progress, the 
  NPCs try to back off.) 
   
  Commercial transactions go routinely. The 
  merchant buys and sells at fair prices. 
   
  Requests for aid are granted – if they are 
  simple. Complex requests are denied, but the 
  PCs can try again at -2. 
   
  Requests for information are successful. 
  The NPC gives the information requested if it is 
  simple. If the question is complex, the answer 
  is sketchy. 
   
  Loyalty: The NPC views the PCs as “just 
  another boss,” and this is just another job. He 
  works hard enough to keep them happy, but 
  no harder. He does not leave unless he is sure 
  the new job is better, and does not betray them 
  unless the temptation is very strong. 
   
  13 to 15: Good 
   
  General reaction: The NPC likes the PCs 
  and is helpful within reasonable, everyday 
  limits.  
   
  In a potential combat situation, the NPCs 
  find the PCs likeable, or else too formidable to 
  attack. The PCs may request aid or 
  information; roll again at +1. (If a fight is in 
  progress, the NPCs flee.) 
   
  Commercial transactions go pleasantly. 
  The merchant buys and sells at fair prices, and 
  volunteers useful information or small bits of 
  help if possible. 
   
  Requests for aid are granted if the request 
  is reasonable. The NPCs’ attitude is helpful. 
  Even if the request is silly and must be denied, 
  they offer helpful advice. 
   
  Requests for information are successful. 
  The question is answered accurately. 
   
  Loyalty: The NPC likes the PCs or the job. 
  He is loyal, works hard, and accepts any 
  reasonable hazard that the PCs accept. 
   
   
   
  (continued on the next page) 
   
  
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  WILL ROLLS 
   
  When you are faced with a stressful situation or a 
  distraction, the GM may require you to roll against your 
  Will to stay focused. On a success, you may act nor-
  mally. On a failure, you submit to the fear, give in to 
  the pressure, are distracted from your task, etc.  
   
  The effects of a failed Will roll in a stressful situa-
  tion are often identical to those of a failed self-control 
  roll for a mental disadvantage. This does not make Will 
  rolls and self-control rolls interchangeable. Which kind 
  of roll you must make depends on the cause of the 
  stress, not on its effects.  
   
  If a game-world event causes negative effects 
  (distraction, stunning, etc.) for anyone who fails a Will 
  roll, you roll against Will just like anyone else – even if 
  your self-control roll to resist identical effects from a 
  mental disadvantage would be easier or harder. 
   
  If a mental disadvantage causes a negative effect 
  on a failed self-control roll, you roll against your self-
  control number to resist – even if your Will roll to avoid 
  that same effect under other circumstances would 
  differ.  
   
  However, modifiers to self-control rolls and Will 
  rolls to resist a particular effect are usually inter-
  changeable. For instance, a drug that gives +2 to Will 
  rolls to resist distraction would also give +2 to self-
  control rolls to resist disadvantages that result in 
  distraction. 
   
  FRIGHT CHECKS 
   
  A Fright Check is a Will roll made to resist fear. 
  Fright Checks can occur as often or as rarely as the 
  GM wishes. In a horror campaign where ordinary peo-
  ple meet shockingly gruesome Things, Fright Checks 
  might be very common! With only minor adaptation, 
  the GM can use these rules for awe, confusion, etc. as 
  well as fear.  
   
  As a general rule, “ordinary” frightening things do 
  not require Fright Checks. Fright Checks are for 
  events so unusual and terrifying that they might stun or 
  even permanently scar someone.  
   
  What counts as “ordinary” depends on the charac-
  ters and the setting. This is one place where a char-
  acter story can be helpful! An ordinary, 21st-century 
  American might have to make Fright Checks for en-
  counters with extra-terrestrials, dead bodies, and the 
  supernatural. A battle-hardened commando in the 
  same game might not have to roll for dead bodies. And 
  in a fantasy campaign, all these things may be quite 
  normal . . . threatening, but normal. On the other hand, 
  a fantasy character might have to make a Fright Check 
  if transported to the 21st century and given a ride 
  down the interstate. 
   
   
   
  Reaction Table (Continued) 
   
  16 to 18: Very Good 
   
  General reaction: The NPC thinks highly of 
  the PCs and is quite helpful and friendly. 
   
  In a potential combat situation, the NPCs 
  are friendly. The PCs may ask for aid or 
  information (roll again at +3). Even sworn foes 
  find an excuse to let the PCs go . . . for now. (If 
  a fight is in progress, the NPCs flee if they can, 
  or surrender otherwise.) 
   
  Commercial transactions go very well. The 
  merchant accepts the PCs’ offer unless they 
  tried to buy below 80% of the fair price or sell 
  above 150% of the fair price. In that case, he 
  offers those rates. He also offers help and 
  advice. 
   
  Requests for aid are granted unless they 
  are totally unreasonable. Any useful information 
  NPCs have is volunteered freely. 
   
  Requests for information are successful. 
  The NPC answers in detail and volunteers any 
  related information he has. 
   
  Loyalty: The NPC works very hard, and 
  risks his life if need be. Under most 
  circumstances, he puts the PCs’ interests ahead 
  of his own. 
   
  19 or better: Excellent 
   
  General reaction: The NPC is extremely 
  impressed by the PCs, and acts in their best 
  interests at all times, within the limits of his own 
  ability. 
   
  In a potential combat situation, the NPCs 
  are extremely friendly. They may even join the 
  party temporarily. The PCs may ask for aid or 
  information; roll again at +5. (If a fight is in 
  progress, the NPCs surrender.) 
   
  Commercial transactions go extremely well. 
  The merchant accepts the PCs’ offer unless 
  they tried to buy below 50% of fair price or sell 
  above 200% of fair price. In that case, he offers 
  those rates. He also offers help and advice. 
   
  Requests for aid are granted. NPCs help in 
  every way within their power, offering extra aid. 
   
  Requests for information are extremely 
  successful. The question is answered 
  completely. If the NPC doesn’t know everything 
  the PCs need, he exerts himself to find out. He 
  may even offer to help: roll a request for aid at 
  +2, with no reaction worse than “Poor” possible. 
   
  Loyalty: The NPC worships the PCs or their 
  cause, works incredibly hard, puts the PCs’ 
  interests ahead of his own at all times, and 
  would even die for them. 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  Page 201 
  Fright Check Modifiers 
   
  The following modifiers are cumulative. 
   
   
  Advantages and Disadvantages: Any Fearless-
  ness bonus or Fearfulness penalty; +2 for Combat Re-
  flexes, or -2 for Combat Paralysis. Other modifiers are 
  conditional: -1 to -4 for Cowardice when your physical 
  safety is at risk; +1 for Daredevil when charging into a 
  scary situation; +1 for Higher Purpose when confront-
  ing threats you are sworn to oppose; +1 to +4 for Xen-
  ophilia when confronting monsters. Unfazeable char-
  acters don’t make Fright Checks! 
   
  Bodies: +6 for a peaceful-looking body, prepared 
  for burial; +2 for a dead body with no signs of violence; 
  no modifier for most victims of violence; and from -1 to 
  -3 for grisly mutilations. Apply another -6 if the victim 
  was your Dependent! 
   
  Heat of Battle: +5 if you are in combat when the 
  terrifying thing happens or you first notice it. 
   
  Monsters: A given monster might give a basic -1 to 
  -10 to Fright Checks. For hordes of monsters, roll at -1 
  for 5 monsters, -2 for 10, -3 for 20, -4 for 50, and -5 for 
  100 or more. This could apply to aliens (of a frighten-
  ing nature) with which your species or empire is not 
  familiar. 
   
  Physical Circumstances: -1 if the body, monster, 
  etc. touches you; +1 if you witness it at a great dis-
  tance (at least 100 yards); or +3 if you view it remotely 
  (using Clairsentience‡, closed-circuit TV, etc.). Ap-
  ply -1 if the area is physically isolated, -1 at night or in 
  the dark (or in daylight, if you’re a night-dweller!), 
  and -2 if you are (or think you are) alone. 
   
  Preparation: +1 if you have previous personal 
  experience with this kind of threat; +1 per exposure to 
  this particular threat in 24 hours; +1 to +3 (depending 
  on the quality of the report) if you learned the details of 
  this particular situation before you witnessed it. 
   
  The Rule of 14 
   
  If final, modified Will exceeds 13, reduce it to 13 
  for the purpose of the Fright Check. This means that a 
  roll of 14 or more is automatically a failure. This rule 
  does not apply to other Will rolls (resistance rolls, rolls 
  to avoid distraction, etc.) – only to Fright Checks. 
   
  Fright Check Table 
   
  When you fail a Fright Check, roll 3d, add your 
  margin of failure on the Fright Check, and consult the 
  table below. This sometimes gives implausible results. 
  The GM should either reroll these or change them to 
  something more appropriate – especially for Fright 
  Checks stemming from awe (e.g., divine beauty) or 
  mind-warping complexity (e.g., otherworldly geometry 
  or radical philosophical concepts) instead of fear. 
   
  Many of these results give a new mental quirk or 
  disadvantage. The GM assigns this trait, which must 
  be related to the frightening event. If possible, it should 
  also be related to the victim’s existing mental traits! 
  Traits acquired this way reduce the victim’s point 
  value. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  4, 5 – Stunned for one second, then recover 
  automatically. 
  6, 7 – Stunned for one second. Every second 
  after that, roll vs.  unmodified Will to snap out 
  of it. 
  8, 9 – Stunned for one second. Every second 
  after that, roll vs. Will, plus whatever bonuses 
  or penalties you had on your original roll, to 
  snap out of it. 
  10 – Stunned for 1d seconds. Every second after 
  that, roll vs. modified Will, as above, to snap 
  out of it. 
  11 – Stunned for 2d seconds. Every second after 
  that, roll vs. modified Will, as above, to snap 
  out of it. 
  12 – Lose your lunch. Treat this as retching for 
  (25 - HT) seconds, and then roll vs. HT each 
  second to recover; see Incapacitating 
  Conditions (p. 231). Depending on the 
  circumstances, this may be merely 
  inconvenient, or humiliating. 
  13 – Acquire a new mental quirk (see Quirks, p. 
  142). This is the only way to acquire more 
  than five quirks. 
  14, 15 – Lose 1d FP, and take 1d seconds of 
  stunning as per 10. 
  16 – Stunned for 1d seconds, as per 10, and 
  acquire a new quirk, as per 13. 
  17 – Faint for 1d minutes, then roll vs. HT each 
  minute to recover. 
  18 – Faint as above, and roll vs. HT immediately. 
  On a failed roll, take 1 HP of injury as you 
  collapse. 
  19 – Severe faint, lasting for 2d minutes. Roll vs. 
  HT each minute to recover. Take 1 HP of 
  injury. 
  20 – Faint bordering on shock, lasting for 4d 
  minutes. Also, lose 1d FP. 
  21 – Panic. You run around screaming, sit down 
  and cry, or do something else equally 
  pointless for 1d minutes. At the end of that 
  time, roll vs. unmodified Will once per minute 
  to snap out of it. 
  22 – Acquire a -10-point Delusion (p. 125). 
  23 – Acquire a -10-point Phobia (p. 135) or other 
  -10-point mental disadvantage. 
  24 – Major physical effect, set by GM: hair turns 
  white, age five years overnight, go partially 
  deaf, etc. In game terms, acquire -15 points 
  worth of physical disadvantages (for this 
  purpose, each year of age counts as -3 
  points). 
  25 – If you already have a Phobia or other mental 
  disadvantage that is logically related to the 
  frightening incident, your self-control number 
  becomes one step worse. If not, or if your 
  self-control number is already 6, add a 
  new -10-point Phobia or other -10-point 
  mental disadvantage. 
   
  (Continued on the next page) 
  
  Page 202  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  COMBAT 
   
   
  The GM decides when to start using the combat 
  rules. This will generally be when fighting seems likely 
  and combatants begin maneuvering for tactical ad-
  vantage. The GM may also use these rules to resolve 
  “action” situations such as chases and tournaments. 
   
  COMBAT TURN SEQUENCE 
   
  Combat takes place second by second. Each 
  character actively involved in the combat gets one op-
  portunity to act per second, referred to as his “turn.” 
  After everyone has taken his turn, one second has 
  passed. 
   
  The GM shouldn’t feel constrained by the one-sec-
  ond time scale. This is just a way of breaking a battle 
  into manageable chunks! He should feel free to drop 
  out of combat time whenever dramatically appropriate, 
  and to resume combat time when noncombat action 
  gives way to more fighting. 
   
  Active Characters 
   
  An “active character” is involved in the combat and 
  able to take action. A character who is knocked out, 
  asleep, etc. is not active. But someone who chooses 
  to do nothing is still active – “Do Nothing” is a valid 
  combat maneuver (see p. 203). 
   
  Turn Sequence 
   
  The “turn sequence” is the order in which active 
  characters take their turns. It is set at the start of the 
  fight and does not change during combat. The com-
  batant with the highest Basic Speed goes first and 
  takes his turn, then the one with the next-highest Basic 
  Speed, and so on, in descending order by Basic 
  Speed. Once every active character has taken his 
  turn, one second has passed and another second 
  begins. 
   
   
  Tied Speeds: If multiple NPCs on the same side 
  have the same Basic Speed, the GM simply decides 
  who goes first – it isn’t really important. If PCs are in-
  volved, ties go to the highest DX. If there’s still a tie, 
  GM should roll randomly at the start of the combat to 
  determine who acts first, and use that order throughout 
  the combat. 
   
  Sequence Chart: If a combat has many partici-
  pants, the GM may find it useful to make a quick list of 
  the order in which the combatants take their turns. 
   
  "Your Turn" 
   
  A given participant’s turn is the one-second period 
  that stretches from when he chooses a maneuver until 
  his next opportunity to select a maneuver. This over-
  laps the turns of other characters. 
   
  MANEUVERS 
   
  A “maneuver” is an action that you can take on 
  your turn. Each turn, you must choose one of the fol-
  lowing maneuvers: Aim, All-Out Attack, All-Out 
  Fright Check Table (Continued) 
   
  26 – Faint for 1d minutes, as per 18, and 
  acquire a new -10-point Delusion, as per 
  22. 
  27 – Faint for 1d minutes, as per 18, and 
  acquire a new -10-point mental 
  disadvantage, as per 23. 
  28 – Light coma. You fall unconscious, rolling 
  vs. HT every 30 minutes to recover. For 6 
  hours after you come to, all skill rolls and 
  attribute checks are at -2. 
  29 – Coma. As above, but you are 
  unconscious for 1d hours. Then roll vs. HT. 
  If the roll fails, remain in a coma for 
  another 1d hours, and so on. 
  30 – Catatonia. Stare into space for 1d days. 
  Then roll vs. HT. On a failed roll, remain 
  catatonic for another 1d days, and so on. If 
  you have no medical care, lose 1 HP the 
  first day, 2 the second, and so on. If you 
  survive and awaken, all skill rolls and 
  attribute checks are at -2 for as many days 
  as the catatonia lasted. 
  31 – Seizure. You lose control of your body 
  and fall to the ground in a fit lasting 1d 
  minutes and costing 1d FP. Also, roll vs. 
  HT. On a failure, take 1d of injury. On a 
  critical failure, you also lose 1 HT 
  permanently. 
  32 – Stricken. You fall to the ground, taking 2d 
  of injury in the form of a mild heart attack 
  or stroke. 
  33 – Total panic. You are out of control; you 
  might do anything (the GM rolls 3d: the 
  higher the roll, the more useless your 
  reaction). For instance, you might jump off 
  a cliff to avoid the monster. If you survive 
  your first reaction, roll vs. Will to come out 
  of the panic. If you fail, the GM rolls for 
  another panic reaction, and so on! 
  34 – Acquire a -15-point Delusion. 
  35 – Acquire a -15-point Phobia or other 
  mental disadvantage worth -15 points. 
  36 – Severe physical effect, as per 24, but 
  equivalent to -20 points of physical 
  disadvantages. 
  37 – Severe physical effect, as per 24, but 
  equivalent to -30 points of physical 
  disadvantages. 
  38 – Coma, as per 29, and a -15-point 
  Delusion, as per 34. 
  39 – Coma, as per 29, and a -15-point Phobia 
  or other -15-point mental disadvantage, as 
  per 35. 
  40+ – As 39, above, but victim also loses 1 
  point of IQ permanently. This automatically 
  reduces all IQ-based skills by 1. 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  Page 203 
  Defense, Attack, Change Posture, Concentrate, Do 
  Nothing, Evaluate, Move, Move and Attack, Ready, or 
  Wait. Your choice determines what you can do on your 
  turn, and sets your options for active defense and 
  movement. 
   
  Active Defense and Maneuvers 
   
  The maneuver you choose affects your “active 
  defenses” – your ability to dodge, parry, or block at-
  tacks (see Defending, p. 211). You only have to select 
  an active defense if you are attacked. Your most re-
  cent maneuver governs the active defenses you can 
  use. 
   
  For the purpose of active defenses, your maneu-
  ver is considered to be in effect until you select an-
  other maneuver on your next turn. For instance, if you 
  chose All-Out Defense (which gives a defensive ad-
  vantage), its benefits would apply if you were attacked 
  after you took your turn, and would persist until it was 
  your turn again and you took a different maneuver. 
   
  If you’re attacked before you’ve had a chance to 
  choose a maneuver – usually at the start of combat – 
  you’re considered to be taking a Do Nothing 
  maneuver. 
   
  Free Actions 
   
  “Free actions” are things you can do during any 
  maneuver. Some examples: 
   
   
  Talk. You can always talk. If the GM wants to be 
  realistic, he should allow only one sentence of com-
  munication per second . . . but it is usually more fun 
  when you ignore this limitation! 
   
  Maintain psi. As long as you remain active, you 
  can maintain an ongoing psi ability, no matter what 
  else you do.  
   
  Drop an item. You can drop any “ready” item at 
  any time during any maneuver. If you’re moving, you 
  may drop it at any point within your reach during your 
  movement. 
   
  Crouch. If standing, you may opt to crouch (to 
  make yourself a smaller target for ranged attacks) at 
  the beginning of your turn. This will usually slow your 
  movement speed (see Posture Table, p. 203), and you 
  cannot crouch and sprint. If you were already crouch-
  ing, it is a free action to rise from a crouching position 
  at the start of your turn. 
   
  DO NOTHING 
   
  Anyone who is just standing still is assumed to be 
  doing nothing. In particular, when combat begins, any-
  one who has not yet taken a turn is treated as if he 
  took this maneuver before entering combat. 
   
  Someone who is conscious but stunned or sur-
  prised must take this maneuver. On each turn of Do 
  Nothing, he may attempt a HT roll to recover from 
  physical stun or an IQ roll to recover from mental stun. 
  On a success, he recovers at the end of his turn – that 
  is, he Does Nothing this turn, but may act normally 
  next turn. 
   
   
  MOVE 
   
  Move, but take no other action except those speci-
  fied under Free Actions (see above). You may move 
  any number of yards up to your full Move score. Most 
  other maneuvers allow at least some movement on 
  your turn; take this maneuver if all you want to do is 
  move. 
   
  Players must tell the GM exactly where their PCs 
  move to so that he can keep track of the combat. The 
  GM decides where his NPCs move, and will inform 
  any players whose PCs are in a position to witness the 
  movement. 
   
  CHANGE POSTURE 
   
  This maneuver lets you switch between any two 
  “postures” (stances in which you can pose your body). 
  Valid postures are standing, sitting, kneeling, crawling, 
  lying prone (face down), and lying face up. Any 
  posture other than standing slows your movement and 
  penalizes your attack and defense rolls, but also 
  makes you a smaller target for ranged attacks. 
   
  You cannot stand up directly from a lying position. 
  If you are lying (prone or face up), you must take a 
  Change Posture maneuver to rise to a crawling, 
  kneeling, or sitting posture first. A second Change 
  Posture maneuver lets you stand from any of these 
  postures. (Going from standing up to lying down, 
  however, only takes one maneuver – or none at all, if 
  the change was involuntary!) 
   
  You can switch between kneeling and standing 
  (only) as the “step” portion of any maneuver that 
  allows a step – you don’t need Change Posture for 
  that. This is instead of using the step to move. Thus, 
  you could go from prone to kneeling with a Change 
  Posture maneuver on one turn, and then stand up in 
  place on your next turn by taking a maneuver that 
  allows a step. 
   
  Crouching does not require a Change Posture 
  maneuver; see Free Actions (above). 
   
  Posture Table 
  Posture 
  Attack 
  Defense 
  Target 
  Movement 
  Standing 
  Normal Normal 
  Normal 
  Normal; 
  may sprint 
  Crouching 
  -2 
  Normal 
  -2 
  2/3 (+1/2 
  per hex) 
  Kneeling 
  -2 
  -2 
  -2 
  1/3 (+2 per 
  hex) 
  Crawling 
  -4 
  -3 
  -2 
  1/3 (+2 per 
  hex) 
  Sitting 
  -2 
  -2 
  -2 
  None 
  Lying 
  Down 
  -4 
  -3 
  -2 
  1 yard/ 
  second 
   
   
  Attack: The modifier when making a melee attack 
  from this posture. 
   
  Defense: The modifier to all active defense rolls. 
   
  Target: The modifier to hit you with a ranged 
  attack. 
   
  Movement: The effect on movement. 
   
  
  Page 204  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  AIM 
   
  This maneuver is used to aim a ranged weapon 
  (or a device such as a camera or telescope). You must 
  choose a specific target. You can’t aim at something 
  that you can’t see or otherwise detect. 
   
  Specify the weapon you’re aiming with and your 
  target. If you follow an Aim maneuver with an Attack or 
  All-Out Attack with the same weapon against the same 
  target, you get a bonus to hit. Add the weapon’s Accu-
  racy (Acc) to your skill, plus any bonuses for targeting 
  systems used: sights, targeting  computers, etc. 
   
  If you brace a firearm or crossbow, you get an ex-
  tra +1 to Acc. A firearm or crossbow is braced if you 
  can rest it on a sandbag, low wall, car, etc. A one-
  handed firearm (e.g., a pistol) is considered braced if 
  used two-handed. A two-handed firearm (e.g., a rifle) 
  is considered braced if you are prone and using a 
  bipod. 
   
  If you Aim for more than one second, you receive 
  an additional bonus: +1 for two seconds of Aim, or +2 
  for three or more seconds. 
   
  Your combined bonus from all targeting systems 
  (scopes, sights, computers, etc.) cannot exceed the 
  weapon’s base Accuracy. For instance, if you add a 
  telescopic sight that gives +4 Acc to a pistol with Acc 
  2, the bonus is +2, not +4. 
   
  EVALUATE 
   
  This maneuver is the melee combat equivalent of 
  Aim. It lets you take time to study an adversary in or-
  der to gain a combat bonus on a subsequent attack. 
  You must specify one visible opponent who is close 
  enough to attack unarmed or with a ready melee 
  weapon, or whom you could reach with a single Move 
  and Attack maneuver. You are sizing him up and 
  looking for the right moment to strike. 
   
  An Evaluate maneuver gives you +1 to skill for the 
  purpose of an Attack, Feint, All-Out Attack, or Move 
  and Attack made against that opponent, on your next 
  turn only. You may take multiple, consecutive Evaluate 
  maneuvers before you strike, giving a cumulative +1 
  per turn, to a maximum of +3. 
   
  ATTACK 
   
  Use this maneuver to make an armed or unarmed 
  attack in melee combat, or to use a thrown or missile 
  weapon in ranged combat. To use a weapon to attack, 
  it must be ready. 
   
  If you are using a melee weapon or unarmed at-
  tack, your target must be within reach. Resolve the 
  attack as explained under Melee Attacks (p. 206). If 
  you took an Evaluate maneuver (above) last turn, you 
  will have a bonus to hit. If you took a Feint (below), 
  your opponent may have a penalty to defend. 
   
  If you are using a ranged weapon, your target 
  must be within the weapon’s Max range. Resolve the 
  attack according to Ranged Attacks (p. 209). If you 
  took an Aim maneuver (above) last turn, you will have 
  a bonus to hit. 
   
   
   
  FEINT 
   
  “Fake” a melee attack. You cannot Feint someone 
  unless you could have hit him with a melee attack – 
  that is, your weapon is ready and your foe is within 
  reach. This maneuver is not an attack, though, and 
  does not make your weapon unready. 
   
  When you Feint, roll a Quick Contest of Melee 
  Weapon skills with your foe; if either of you is un-
  armed, you may roll against an unarmed combat skill 
  instead. Your opponent may opt to roll against Cloak 
  or Shield skill, if he is suitably equipped and this would 
  give him a better roll. If his DX is better than his com-
  bat skills, he may roll against DX instead. 
   
  If you fail your roll, your Feint is unsuccessful. 
  Likewise, if you succeed, but your foe succeeds by as 
  much as or more than you do, your Feint fails. 
   
  If you make your roll, and your foe fails, subtract 
  your margin of success from the foe’s active defense if 
  you attack him with Attack, All-Out Attack, or Move 
  and Attack on your next turn. For instance, if your skill 
  is 15 and you roll a 12, your foe defends against you at 
  -3 next turn. 
   
  If you and your foe both succeed, but you succeed 
  by more, subtract your margin of victory from the foe’s 
  defense. For instance, if your skill is 15 and you roll a 
  10 (success by 5), and your foe’s skill is 14 and he 
  rolls 12 (success by 2), you win by 3, so he will defend 
  at -3 if your next maneuver is to attack him. 
   
  You cannot Feint if your foe is unable to observe 
  you! However, if your foe runs away, turns his back on 
  you, or loses sight of you in some way after you suc-
  cessfully Feint, he will still suffer his defense penalty if 
  you attack him on your next turn. If you lose track of 
  the foe, or cannot attack him next turn, your foe’s de-
  fense penalty vanishes. 
   
  A Feint is good for one second! But if you Feint 
  and then make an All-Out Attack (Double), the feint 
  applies to both attacks. 
   
  In all cases, your allies cannot take advantage of 
  your Feint. The defense penalty applies only to your 
  next attack. 
   
   
  Shield Feints: After you have attacked your foe 
  once by striking with your shield, you may also Feint 
  with your shield, rolling against Shield skill. 
   
  ALL-OUT ATTACK 
   
  Attack any foe with a ready weapon, making no 
  effort to defend against enemy attacks. If you are 
  making a melee attack, you must specify one of these 
  three options before you attack: 
   
   
  Determined: Make a single attack at +4 to hit! 
   
  Double: Make two attacks against the same foe, if 
  you have two ready weapons or one weapon that does 
  not have to be readied after use. Attacks with a sec-
  ond weapon held in the off hand are at the usual -4 
  (see 
  Handedness, 
  p. 
  27) 
  unless 
  you 
  have 
  Ambidexterity (p. 84). 
   
  Feint: Make one Feint (see above) and then one 
  attack against the same foe. The Feint applies to this 
  attack instead of one you make on your next turn. 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  Page 205 
   
  Strong: Make a single attack, at normal skill. If you 
  hit, you get +2 to damage – or +1 damage per die, if 
  that would be better. This only applies to melee at-
  tacks doing ST-based thrust or swing damage. 
   
   
  If you are making a ranged attack, you must spec-
  ify one of these two options before you attack: 
   
   
  Determined: Make a single attack at +1 to hit. 
   
  Suppression Fire: Take the entire turn to spray an 
  area with automatic fire. This is a full-turn maneuver, 
  and you can only choose this option if your weapon 
  has RoF 5+. See Attacking an Area (p. 221). 
   
  MOVE AND ATTACK 
   
  Move as described for the Move maneuver (p. 
  203), but during or after your move, make a single, 
  poorly aimed attack – either unarmed or with a ready 
  weapon. 
   
  You attack as described for the Attack maneuver 
  (p. 204), but at a penalty. If you are making a ranged 
  attack, you have a penalty of -2 or the weapon’s Bulk 
  rating, whichever is worse – and if you took an Aim, 
  you lose all of its bonuses. If you are making a melee 
  attack other than a slam (p. 208), you have a flat -4 to 
  skill, and your adjusted skill cannot exceed 9. 
   
  ALL-OUT DEFENSE 
   
  This is the maneuver to choose when you’re beset 
  by foes – especially foes who like All-Out Attacks! You 
  must specify one of the following two options: 
   
   
  Increased Defense: Add +2 to one active defense 
  of your choice: Dodge, Parry, or Block. This bonus 
  persists until your next turn. 
   
  Double Defense: Apply two different active de-
  fenses against the same attack. If you fail your de-
  fense roll against an attack, you may try a second, 
  different defense against that attack. For instance, if 
  you fail a block, you may try a dodge or a parry. If you 
  try a parry (armed or unarmed) with one hand and fail, 
  a parry using the other hand does count as a “different 
  defense.” 
   
  CONCENTRATE 
   
  You concentrate on one primarily mental task 
  (even it has a minor physical component, like operat-
  ing controls, gesturing, or speaking). This may be us-
  ing a psi ability, making a Sense roll to spot an invisi-
  ble warrior, making a Leadership roll to give orders, 
  making an Electronics Operation roll to operate a sen-
  sor, or any similar action, including most IQ-based skill 
  rolls. This is a full-turn maneuver. 
   
  Some activities require you to Concentrate for 
  multiple seconds. If you are forced to use an active 
  defense, knocked down, injured, or otherwise dis-
  tracted before you finish, you must make a Will-3 roll. 
  On a failure, you lose your concentration and must 
  start over. 
   
   
  READY 
   
  Take a Ready maneuver to pick up or draw any 
  item and prepare it for use; e.g., to pull a sword from 
  its sheath or a gun from its holster, or to reload a fire-
  arm. In some cases, you may also need a Ready ma-
  neuver to regain control of an unwieldy weapon after a 
  swing, or to adjust the reach of a long weapon. 
   
  You can use a Ready maneuver to perform physi-
  cal actions other than fighting: opening or closing a 
  door, picking a lock, digging, lifting, etc. 
   
  WAIT 
   
  Do nothing unless a particular event you specified 
  in advance occurs before your next turn; e.g., a foe 
  moves into range. If that happens, you may transform 
  your Wait into an Attack, Feint, All-Out Attack (you 
  must specify the option before acting), or Ready ma-
  neuver. If you are reacting to someone else, this inter-
  rupts his turn, but he can resume it after you’ve acted. 
   
  You must specify exactly what your action will be 
  when you take the Wait maneuver, and what will trig-
  ger it. For instance, “I’ll make an All-Out Attack (De-
  termined) with my dress saber on the first Klingon to 
  move toward me.” 
   
  You may take a Wait with a ready ranged weapon; 
  this is known as “covering” a target or area. If so, you 
  must specify the zone that you are covering with that 
  weapon. There is no penalty to cover a one-yard area.  
   
  You can use the Wait maneuver for any “reflex 
  action” you want to plan in advance, provided you 
  specify both the response and the action that will trig-
  ger it. This can include holding a knife at a hostage’s 
  throat, or even a noncombat action (e.g., “If Dora sees 
  any Klingon, she will pull this handle immediately – 
  otherwise, she does nothing.”). An action only qualifies 
  as a “reflex” if you could do it in a single motion. The 
  GM’s decision is final. 
   
  Finally, you can use Wait to coordinate actions 
  with slower friends. 
   
  ATTACKING 
   
  An “attack” is an attempt to hit a foe or other tar-
  get. If you execute an Attack, All-Out Attack, or Move 
  and Attack maneuver, you may try to hit a foe. You 
  can only attack with a weapon if it’s ready. 
   
  The GM always has the option of ruling, for any 
  reason having to do with the situation, that some fight-
  ers cannot attack certain opponents. For instance, 
  eight attackers could not hit one human-sized foe at 
  the same time. (Even three or four attackers at once 
  would be unlikely, unless their victim had no allies!) 
   
  There are two basic types of attacks: melee at-
  tacks (see p. 206) and ranged attacks (see p. 209). 
  Your target must be within reach if you’re making a 
  melee attack, or within range if you’re making a ranged 
  attack. Resolving either type of attack takes three die 
  rolls: 
   
   
  First is your attack roll. If your roll is successful, 
  your attack was a good one. 
  
  Page 206  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
   
  Now your foe must make a defense roll to see if 
  he can defend against your blow. If he makes this roll, 
  he evaded or stopped the attack, and is not hit. 
   
  If he misses his defense roll, your blow struck 
  home and you roll for damage. 
   
   
  Some advantages (e.g., Extra Attack) and combat 
  options (see All-Out Attack) let you attack more than 
  once. Resolve such attacks one at a time. 
   
  ATTACK ROLL 
   
  Your “attack roll” is a regular success roll. Figure 
  your effective skill (base skill plus or minus any appro-
  priate modifiers) with the weapon you are using. 
   
  If your roll is less than or equal to your “effective” 
  skill, your attack will hit unless your foe successfully 
  defends (see Defending, p. 211). If he fails to defend – 
  or if he can’t – you’ve hit him. 
   
  If your roll is greater than your effective skill, you 
  missed! 
   
  No matter what your skill, a roll of 3 or 4 always 
  hits, and is a critical hit. A roll of 5 or 6 may be a criti-
  cal hit, depending on your skill. If your effective skill is 
  15, then a roll of 5 or less is a critical hit. If your effec-
  tive skill is 16 or more, then a roll of 6 or less is a criti-
  cal hit. 
   
  On a critical hit, the blow automatically hits home – 
  your foe does not get a defense roll. As well, on an 
  attack roll of 3, you do not roll for damage – your blow 
  automatically does the most damage it could do. For 
  instance, maximum damage for a 1d+2 blow would be 
  6+2, or 8 points. Other critical hits bypass the defense 
  roll, but roll normally for damage. 
   
  Regardless of skill, a roll of 17 or 18 always 
  misses. 
   
  MELEE ATTACKS 
   
  When you take a maneuver that lets you make a 
  melee attack, you must specify who you are attacking, 
  and with what weapon. You can make a melee attack 
  using any ready melee weapon (including a natural 
  weapon such as a kick, bite, or punch). 
   
  You can use some weapons in more than one 
  way; e.g., you can swing or thrust with a shortsword. 
  Such weapons have multiple lines on the weapon ta-
  bles (pp. 276-277). When you attack with a weapon 
  like this, you must indicate how you are using it before 
  you roll. 
   
  Ready Weapons 
   
  A one-handed weapon is ready if it’s being held in 
  your hand. A two-handed weapon is ready if you are 
  gripping it with both hands. Some unwieldy weapons 
  (e.g., the poleaxe) become unready after each attack 
  unless you are extremely strong (see p. 274). 
   
  To draw a new weapon from a sheath, scabbard, 
  or sling, or to ready an unwieldy weapon that became 
  unready after an attack, you must take a Ready ma-
  neuver (p. 205). 
   
  A natural weapon (punch, kick, etc.) is always 
  ready unless the body part in question is occupied or 
  restrained; e.g., you can’t punch if you are holding a 
  weapon with the same hand. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  UNARMED COMBAT 
   
  Sometimes you have to fight without weapons, or 
  with improvised weapons. This is unarmed combat. 
  Anyone can engage in unarmed combat, but certain 
  skills make you a more effective unarmed fighter. For 
  this purpose: 
   
   
  Striking skills are Boxing (p. 155), Brawling (p. 
  156), and Karate (p. 167). 
   
  Grappling skills are Judo (p. 167), Sumo Wres-
  tling‡, and Wrestling (p. 182). 
   
  Striking 
   
  See the Melee Weapon Table (p. 276) for the 
  reach, damage, etc., of punches, kicks, bites, and 
  other unarmed strikes. And see Hurting Yourself (p. 
  214) for the effects of striking an armored target bare-
  handed . . . 
   
  Grabbing 
   
  You can grab something a foe is holding, like a 
  weapon. To do so, you must have an empty hand (but 
  Size Modifier and Reach 
   
  If your SM is greater than 0, you have a 
  longer reach with your arms. Increase the 
  upper end of the reach of any melee weapon 
  according to the table below. 
   
  You also get +1 to hit when you grapple 
  per +1 SM advantage you have over your 
  target. 
   
   
  Example: A giant being with SM +3 gets 
  +2 to the upper end of reach – a weapon 
  with reach 2-3 has reach 2-5 in his hands! If 
  he grapples a human (SM 0), he gets +3 to 
  hit. He gets no bonus to grapple another of 
  his species. 
   
  SM 
  Reach 
  +1 
  +0* 
  +2 
  +1 
  +3 
  +2 
  +4 
  +3 
  +5 
  +5 
  +6 
  +7 
  +7 
  +10 
  +8 
  +15 
  +9 
  +20 
  +10 
  +30 
  * A reach “C” weapon increases to reach 1, 
  but there are no other effects. 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  Page 207 
  some weapons, such as whips, can also grab). Make 
  an attack using DX or a grappling skill, with the usual 
  penalty to hit the hand (-4). Your opponent defends 
  normally. 
   
  If you hit, you’ve grabbed hold of your foe’s 
  weapon. On subsequent turns, you may try to wrest it 
  from him. Each attempt is a full-turn maneuver. Roll a 
  Regular Contest of ST. If you win, you take his 
  weapon away. If you lose, you lose your grip on his 
  weapon. 
   
  Grappling 
   
  “Grappling” is an attempt to grab your foe’s body. 
  You must have at least one empty hand. On a game 
  board, you must also move into your foe’s hex (“close 
  combat”). 
   
  Each attempt requires an Attack, All-Out Attack, or 
  Move and Attack maneuver. Roll against basic DX or a 
  grappling skill to hit. Your foe may defend normally – 
  he can parry, dodge, or block. You may Evaluate or 
  Feint beforehand to improve your odds of success. 
   
  Grappling does no damage, but if you successfully 
  hit, the foe has -4 to DX as long as you’re holding on. 
  He may not move away until he breaks free (see Ac-
  tions After Being Grappled, p. 208) or you let go. Ex-
  ception: If you grapple a foe of more than twice your 
  ST, you do not prevent him from moving away – you’re 
  just extra encumbrance for him! 
   
  You may grapple with any or all of your arms. If 
  you grapple with more than two arms, each arm be-
  yond the first two gives a bonus of +2 to hit. An arm 
  committed to grappling cannot make unarmed parries 
  until you let go. Letting go is a free action on your turn. 
   
  If you are holding onto your foe with all your arms, 
  the only further attacks you can make are those listed 
  under Actions After a Grapple, below. 
   
   
  Posture: To grapple a prone, kneeling, or sitting 
  opponent, you must kneel or lie down yourself, unless 
  his Size Modifier is two or more greater than yours. 
  You may do this as part of the “step” component of an 
  Attack maneuver. 
   
  Hit Location: The rules above assume that you are 
  grappling the torso. To grab another body part, apply 
  half the penalty given under Hit Location‡ (GURPS 
  Basic Set, p. 398) to your roll; see Grappling and Hit 
  Location‡, GURPS Basic Set, p. 400. If you hit, your 
  foe has -4 to DX only when using that body part. You 
  could grab a weapon arm or hand (to disarm your vic-
  tim), a leg (to trip him), or the neck (to strangle him). If 
  you grab an arm or hand, you cannot snatch a weapon 
  away, but you can force your foe to drop it by winning 
  a Regular Contest of ST – roll once per turn, as ex-
  plained under Grabbing (p. 206). 
   
  Actions After a Grapple 
   
  Once you have grappled a foe, you may attempt 
  the following moves on subsequent turns (provided 
  your opponent does not break free!). Each action re-
  quires an Attack or All-Out Attack maneuver. 
   
   
  Takedown 
   
  This is an attempt to bear your opponent to the 
  ground. You may only try this on a standing foe. Roll a 
  Quick Contest, with each contestant using the highest 
  of ST, DX, or his best grappling skill. If you are not 
  standing, you have a penalty equal to the usual pen-
  alty to hit for your posture. If you win, your victim falls 
  down next to you (on a game board, he falls in your 
  hex and any adjacent hex of your choice). If he was 
  grappling you, he loses his grip. If you lose, you suffer 
  the same effects! On a tie, nothing happens. 
   
  Pin 
   
  You may only attempt a pin if your foe is on the 
  ground and you are grappling his torso. Roll a Regular 
  Contest of Strength. The larger fighter gets +3 for 
  every point by which his Size Modifier exceeds that of 
  his foe. The fighter with the most free hands gets +3. If 
  you win, your foe is pinned and helpless. You must 
  stay there to hold him down, but you can free one of 
  your hands for other actions. If you lose or tie, nothing 
  happens. 
   
  Choke or Strangle 
   
  You must have grappled your foe by the neck. You 
  must normally use your hands, and can’t do anything 
  else with them (e.g., parry) while holding on – but if 
  you have the Constriction Attack‡ advantage, you can 
  use your body instead. Roll a Quick Contest: your ST 
  vs. the higher of your foe’s ST or HT. You are at -5 if 
  you use only one hand, but at +2 per hand after the 
  first two. If your Size Modifier exceeds your foe’s, you 
  can grapple and squeeze his torso instead, in which 
  case you roll at -5 unless you have Constriction Attack. 
  If you win, your foe takes crushing damage equal to 
  your margin of victory. DR protects normally. Multiply 
  injury to the neck by 1.5. If any damage – even blunt 
  trauma (p. 214) – penetrates the victim’s DR, you also 
  start to suffocate him! On his next turn and every sub-
  sequent turn until he escapes, he loses 1 FP; see 
  Suffocation (p. 239). 
   
  Choke Hold 
   
  If you have Judo or Wrestling skill, you may try to 
  apply a hold that can incapacitate without crushing the 
  throat or torso. See Choke Hold‡ (GURPS Basic Set, 
  p. 404). 
   
  Arm Lock 
   
  If you have Judo or Wrestling skill, you may try to 
  apply a lock to restrain or cripple your opponent’s arm. 
  See Arm Lock‡ (GURPS Basic Set, p. 403). 
   
  Neck Snap or Wrench Limb 
   
  If you grappled your foe’s neck or skull, or a limb 
  or other extremity, you can twist. See Neck Snap or 
  Wrench Limb‡ (GURPS Basic Set, p. 404). 
   
  Other Actions 
   
  You can bite or use a Striker (provided it has 
  reach C) even if all your hands are busy. If you’re not 
  using a hand to grapple your foe, you can use it to 
  
  Page 208  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  Attack or All-Out Attack (either unarmed or with a 
  reach C weapon), or to take a Ready maneuver. You 
  cannot Aim, Feint, Concentrate, Wait, or make ranged 
  attacks unless you’ve pinned your foe. You may also 
  perform the following free actions: 
   
   
  Release your grip. Let go of the foe, if you are 
  grappling or pinning him. Or you can release just one 
  hand – but this makes it easier for him to escape. 
   
  Throw away a ready weapon. This automatically 
  succeeds and takes no time. You may do this to get a 
  useless weapon out of your way, or to deprive the foe 
  of a chance to grab a useful weapon (e.g., a blackjack) 
  from you. 
   
  Drag or carry your victim. If you’ve pinned your 
  foe, you can move or step normally, dragging or car-
  rying him; see Lifting and Moving Things (p. 191) for 
  how much you can lift or drag. He counts as encum-
  brance, reducing your Move. If you haven’t pinned 
  him, moving away from him means you automatically 
  release your grip unless you have at least twice his 
  ST. If you’re that strong, you can pull or carry him with 
  you! 
   
  Slam 
   
  You can deliberately collide with an opponent. 
  This requires an Attack, All-Out Attack, or Move and 
  Attack maneuver. Roll against DX, Brawling, or Sumo 
  Wrestling‡ to hit. Note that the -4 to hit and effective 
  skill cap of 9 for a Move and Attack do not apply to 
  slams. 
   
  Your foe may block, dodge, or parry (but your 
  body counts as a heavy weapon; see Parrying Heavy 
  Weapons‡, GURPS Basic Set, p. 376). If your foe 
  dodges, you must move at least two yards past him if 
  you have enough movement. If you would hit someone 
  else, see Hitting the Wrong Target‡ (GURPS Basic 
  Set, p. 389). 
   
  If you hit, you and your foe each inflict dice of 
  crushing damage on the other equal to (HP × veloc-
  ity)/100. “Velocity” is usually just the number of yards 
  you moved this turn – but in a head-on collision, add 
  the distance your foe moved toward you on his last 
  turn (that is, use relative velocity). 
   
  If damage is less than 1d, treat fractions up to 0.25 
  as 1d-3, fractions up to 0.5 as 1d-2, and any larger 
  fraction as 1d-1. Otherwise, round fractions of 0.5 or 
  more up to a full die. You can use All-Out Attack 
  (Strong) to increase your damage! 
   
  If your damage roll equals or exceeds that of your 
  foe, he must make a DX roll or fall down. You knock 
  him down automatically if you roll twice his damage or 
  more. If he rolls twice your damage or more, though, 
  you fall down instead! 
   
  If your opponent dodged and you went past him 
  and hit a solid obstacle, apply your damage roll to 
  yourself (and to the obstacle, if it matters). 
   
  You can also slam with a vehicle or mount. Roll 
  against your vehicle-operation skill to hit with a vehicle, 
  or Riding skill to hit with a mount. Figure damage 
  based on the HP of your vehicle or mount. 
   
  For additional rules and special cases, see Colli-
  sions and Falls‡ (GURPS Basic Set, p. 430). 
   
   
  Flying Tackle: As slam, but you must have at least 
  two legs and one arm free – most animals and vehi-
  cles can’t do this! A flying tackle gives you +4 to hit 
  and an extra yard of reach, and you may opt to roll 
  against Jumping skill to hit. However, whether you 
  succeed or fail, you end up lying down (in the same 
  hex as your foe, if you are using a combat map). 
   
  Pounce: As flying tackle, but you must have four 
  or more legs. After you attack, make a DX, Acrobatics, 
  or Jumping roll. On a success, you stay on your feet! 
  This is how some animals attack, especially cats: they 
  knock down their foe and then claw or bite. If a mount 
  tries this, the rider must roll vs. Riding-4 or fall off! 
   
  Shield Rush: As slam, but you must have a shield. 
  Roll against Shield skill to hit, and add your shield’s 
  Defense Bonus to your damage roll. Your shield takes 
  damage instead of you, but you still fall down if your 
  opponent rolls twice your basic damage or more. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Actions After Being Grappled 
   
  If you have been grappled, you cannot take a 
  Move maneuver unless you have at least twice 
  your foe’s ST. Aim, Feint, Concentrate, and Wait 
  maneuvers – and ranged attacks – are completely 
  impossible. If you are pinned, you can’t take any 
  maneuver that requires physical movement! 
  Otherwise, you can do the following: 
   
  Attack or All-Out Attack 
   
  You can take either maneuver, with certain 
  limitations. You cannot use any limb that has 
  been grappled – or bite, if your neck or head was 
  grappled. You’re limited to unarmed attacks 
  (striking or grappling) or attacks using weapons 
  with reach C. You can stab with a dagger, but not 
  swing a sword! 
   
  Ready 
   
  You can Ready an item if you have a hand 
  free, but you must make a DX roll. Failure means 
  you drop the item. Ready maneuvers to switch 
  advantages off and on succeed automatically. 
   
  Break Free 
   
  If you are grappled, you cannot move away 
  until you break free by winning a Quick Contest of 
  ST. Your foe has +5 if he is grappling you with two 
  hands. If he has you pinned, he rolls at +10 if 
  using two hands or at +5 if using only one, and 
  you may only attempt to break free once every 10 
  seconds. If either of you has three or more arms, 
  each arm beyond the first two gives +2. If your foe 
  is stunned, he rolls at -4; if he falls unconscious, 
  you are automatically free! If you successfully 
  break free, you may immediately move one yard 
  in any direction. 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  Page 209 
  Shove 
   
  You can shove a foe with one or both arms. Roll 
  against DX or Sumo Wrestling‡ to hit. Your foe may 
  block, dodge, or parry. If you hit, roll thrust/crushing 
  damage – at -1 per die, if you used only one hand – 
  and double it. This inflicts knockback (see Knockback, 
  p. 215), but never actual physical injury. 
   
  RANGED ATTACKS 
   
  A “ranged attack” is any attack with a weapon 
  used at a distance, from a thrown rock to a laser rifle.  
   
  You can only make a ranged attack on a target 
  that falls within your weapon’s range. To find this, see 
  the relevant weapon table. Most ranged attacks list 
  Half Damage (1/2D) range and Maximum (Max) range, 
  in yards. Your target must be no farther away than 
  Max range; 1/2D range only affects damage. 
   
  All ranged weapons have an Accuracy (Acc) 
  statistic. This is the bonus you get if you take one or 
  more Aim maneuvers immediately before you attack. 
  When you Aim, you can receive other bonuses for ex-
  tra seconds of aim, bracing your weapon, or using a 
  scope. 
   
  “Thrown weapons” are weapons you must physi-
  cally hurl at the target: rocks, hand grenades, ninja 
  stars (shuriken), etc. You can also throw certain melee 
  weapons, such as hatchets, knives, and spears.  Treat 
  a thrown weapon just like any other ranged attack. 
   
  MISSILE WEAPON ATTACKS 
   
  “Missile weapons” are ranged attacks other than 
  thrown weapons: bows, firearms, ranged Innate At-
  tacks, and so on. They fall into two broad categories. 
   
   
  Muscle-Powered Missile Weapons: These include 
  bows, slings, and crossbows. As with thrown weapons, 
  your range and damage are determined by your ST – 
  or in the case of a bow or a crossbow, by the 
  weapon’s ST. See the Muscle-Powered Ranged 
  Weapon Table (p. 279) for details. 
   
  Firearms: These include guns, beam weapons, 
  and self-propelled projectiles. See the Firearms Table 
  (pp. 282-283) for statistics and special rules for all 
  types of high-tech missile weapons – from black-pow-
  der weapons through contemporary guns and on to 
  science-fiction weapons such as lasers. 
   
  Rate of Fire 
   
  All missile weapons have a Rate of Fire (RoF) sta-
  tistic. If RoF is 1, the weapon can fire one shot per at-
  tack. If RoF is 2 or more, the weapon is capable of 
  firing more than one shot per attack; see Rapid Fire 
  (below). 
   
   
  Examples: A bow has RoF 1; it can fire one shot 
  per attack. A .38 revolver has RoF 3; it can fire up to 
  three shots per attack. A machine gun has RoF 10; it 
  can fire up to 10 shots per attack . . . but this is still 
  one attack roll, not 10 separate attacks! 
   
   
   
  Reloading and Shots 
   
  Missile weapons also have a Shots statistic. Once 
  you have fired this many shots, you must reload before 
  you can fire the weapon again. 
    
  Reloading requires a number of Ready maneu-
  vers; see Readying Weapons and Other Gear (p. 217). 
  The time required to reload appears in parentheses 
  after the weapon’s Shots entry in the weapon tables. 
   
  Reloading restores the weapon’s full number of 
  shots. If a weapon has only one shot, this represents 
  loading a new one. If it has multiple shots, this repre-
  sents changing the magazine, belt, etc. The exception 
  to this is multi-shot weapons that have cylinders, hop-
  pers, or internal magazines. Their loading time is des-
  ignated “i” (for “individually loaded”), and is per shot 
  (unless sped up by some mechanism, such as a 
  speed loader). 
   
   
  Examples: A bow has Shots 1(2); it can fire one 
  arrow, after which it takes the archer two seconds to 
  prepare another. A .38 revolver has Shots 6(3i); it can 
  fire six shots, after which each shot takes 3 seconds to 
  reload. A machine gun has Shots 200(5); it can fire 
  200 shots, after which it takes 5 seconds to change 
  the belt. 
   
  Rapid Fire 
   
  Some missile weapons have RoF 2 or more. This 
  means they can fire multiple shots per attack, up to a 
  maximum equal to their RoF. For example, a .38 re-
  volver with RoF 3 could fire 1, 2, or 3 shots per attack. 
  Of course, you can never fire more shots than your 
  weapon currently has remaining, regardless of its RoF. 
   
  Rapid-fire weapons use the Recoil (Rcl) statistic, 
  which measures how controllable the weapon is when 
  firing multiple shots. Rcl helps determine the number 
  of hits a rapid-fire attack can inflict. The lower the Rcl, 
  the easier the weapon is to control. Rcl 1 means the 
  weapon is recoilless, like most beam weapons. 
   
  If a weapon has RoF 2 or more, you must decide 
  how many shots (up to RoF) you wish to fire before 
  you make your attack roll. Firearms fired at RoF 1-3 
  are firing one shot per trigger pull; those fired at RoF 
  4+ are usually firing “full auto” like a machine gun – 
  either in short bursts or continuously. 
   
  Firing a large number of shots per attack gives a 
  bonus to hit, as shown on this table: 
   
  Shots 
  Bonus to Hit 
  2-4 
  +0 
  5-8 
  +1 
  9-12 
  +2 
  13-16 
  +3 
  17-24 
  +4 
  25-49 
  +5 
  50-99 
  +6 
  each ×2 
  +1 to hit 
   
   
  
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  Rapid fire may score multiple hits from a single 
  attack. A successful attack means you scored at least 
  one hit – and possibly a number of extra hits, up to a 
  maximum equal to the number of shots you fired. To 
  find the number of hits you scored, compare your mar-
  gin of success on the attack roll to your weapon’s 
  Recoil. 
   
  An attack scores one extra hit for every full multi-
  ple of Recoil by which you make your attack roll. The 
  total number of hits cannot exceed shots fired. For 
  instance, if your attack had Rcl 2, success by 0-1 
  would mean one hit; success by 2-3, one extra hit; 
  success by 4-5, two extra hits; success by 6-7, three 
  extra hits; and so on. 
   
  High-RoF weapons (those with RoF 5+) can also 
  spread fire among multiple targets (see Spraying Fire, 
  p. 220) or fire lots of shots to “suppress” an area (see 
  Suppression Fire, p. 220). Other special rules apply to 
  rapid fire with certain weapons – see Special Rules for 
  Rapid Fire (p. 220). 
   
  General Attack Modifiers 
   
  Attacker’s Maneuver 
  Move and Attack: -4 
   
  Attacker’s Situation 
  Bad footing: -2 or more (GM’s option) 
  Major distraction (e.g., all clothes on fire): -3 or more 
  (GM’s option) 
  Minor distraction (e.g., part of clothes on fire): -2 
  ST below that required for weapon: -1 per point of 
  deficit 
   
  Visibility 
  Blind, target completely invisible, or in total dark-
  ness: -10 
  Cannot see foe: -6, or -4 if you know his location to 
  within 1 yard 
  Partial darkness, fog, smoke, etc.: -1 to -9 (GM’s 
  option) 
   
  Melee Attack Modifiers 
   
  Attacker’s Maneuver 
  All-Out Attack (Determined): +4 
   
  Attacker’s Situation 
  Holding a large shield: -2 
   
  Other Actions by Attacker 
  Off-hand attack: -4 (no penalty w. Ambidexterity) 
   
  Ranged Attack Modifiers 
   
  Attacker’s Maneuver 
  All-Out Attack (Determined): +1 
   
  Other Actions by Attacker 
  Aim for one turn: +Accuracy of weapon 
  Braced weapon: +1 if stationary and took a turn to Aim 
  Extra Aim: +1 for 2 seconds, +2 for 3+ seconds 
  Off-hand attack: -4 (no penalty w. Ambidexterity) 
   
  Targeting Systems 
  Scope: +1 per second of Aim, to a maximum of the 
  scope’s bonus 
   
  Size and Speed/Range Table 
   
  The main use for this table is ranged combat, but 
  the GM can also use it for Sense rolls and other suc-
  cess rolls that size, speed, or range might believably 
  affect. 
   
  This table uses the same progression for size as it 
  does for the sum of speed and range, but the modifiers 
  for size have the opposite sign from those for 
  speed/range: large size gives a bonus, while large 
  speed and range give a penalty. Thus, if a target is 
  twice as big but also twice as far away and twice as 
  fast, the net modifier to hit stays the same. 
   
   
  Size of Target: The larger the target, the easier it 
  is to hit. The modifier to hit an object due to its size is 
  its “Size Modifier” (SM). Humans have SM 0. Objects 
  larger than man-sized give a bonus to hit, while 
  smaller objects give a penalty. 
   
  Find the SM of a creature or object using the table. 
  Simply look up the being or object’s longest dimension 
  (e.g., height, for a humanoid) in the “Linear Measure-
  ment” column, and then read across to the “Size” col-
  umn to find SM. If size falls between two values, base 
  SM on the next-highest size. If an object is much 
  smaller in two of three dimensions (e.g., a steel cable 
  100 yards long but only 2” thick), use the smallest di-
  mension instead of the largest. 
   
  Target’s Speed and Range: Speed and range only 
  affect ranged combat. Add the target’s speed in 
  yards/seconds to its range in yards. Find the total in 
  the “Linear Measurement” column. Read across to the 
  “Speed/Range” column to find the speed/range modi-
  fier. If the total falls between two values, use the 
  higher; e.g., treat 8 yards as 10 yards. For fighters on 
  foot, assume speed is 0 and use range by itself; for 
  vehicles, speed in yards/second is half speed in mph. 
   
   
  Examples: A man 8 yards away is -4 to hit. A 
  motorcycle rider 40 yards away, traveling at 30 
  yards/second (60 mph), has a speed/range of 40 + 30 
  = 70 yards, which equals -9 to hit. 
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  Page 211 
  Size and Speed/Range Table 
   
   
  Speed/Range 
  Size 
  Linear Measurement 
  0 
  -15 
  1/5" 
  0 
  -14 
  1/3" 
  0 
  -13 
  1/2" 
  0 
  -12 
  2/3" 
  0 
  -11 
  1" 
  0 
  -10 
  1.5" 
  0 
  -9 
  2" 
  0 
  -8 
  3" 
  0 
  -7 
  5" 
  0 
  -6 
  8" 
  0 
  -5 
  1 ft 
  0 
  -4 
  1.5 ft 
  0 
  -3 
  2 ft 
  0 
  -2 
  1 yd 
  0 
  -1 
  1.5 yd 
  0 
  0 
  2 yd 
  -1 
  +1 
  3 yd 
  -2 
  +2 
  5 yd 
  -3 
  +3 
  7 yd 
  -4 
  +4 
  10 yd 
  -5 
  +5 
  15 yd 
  -6 
  +6 
  20 yd 
  -7 
  +7 
  30 yd 
  -8 
  +8 
  50 yd 
  -9 
  +9 
  70 yd 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Speed/Range 
  Size 
  Linear Measurement 
  -10 
  +10 
  100 yd 
  -11 
  +11 
  150 yd 
  -12 
  +12 
  200 yd 
  -13 
  +13 
  300 yd 
  -14 
  +14 
  500 yd 
  -15 
  +15 
  700 yd 
  -16 
  +16 
  1,000 yd 
  -17 
  +17 
  1,500 yd 
  -18 
  +18 
  2,000 yd (I mile) 
  -19 
  +19 
  3,000 yd 
  -20 
  +20 
  5,000 yd (2.5 miles) 
  -21 
  +21 
  7,000 yd 
  -22 
  +22 
  10,000 yd (5 miles) 
  -23 
  +23 
  15,000 yd 
  -24 
  +24 
  20,000 yd (10 miles) 
  -25 
  +25 
  30,000 yd 
  -26 
  +26 
  50,000 yd (25 miles) 
  -27 
  +27 
  70,000 yd 
  -28 
  +28 
  100,000 yd (50 miles) 
  -29 
  +29 
  150,000 yd 
  -30 
  +30 
  2000,000 yd (100 miles) 
  etc. 
  etc. 
  etc. 
   
  Continue this progression indefinitely, with each 10× 
  increase in linear measurement giving +6 to SM or -6 
  to speed/range modifier. 
   
   
   
  DEFENDING 
   
   
  If you make your attack roll, you have not (yet) 
  actually struck your foe, unless you rolled a critical hit. 
  Your attack is good enough to hit him – if he fails to 
  defend. 
   
  There are three “active defenses” that a fighter 
  can use to evade or ward off an attack: Dodge (see 
  Dodging), Parry (see Parrying), and Block (see Block-
  ing). You should calculate these active defense scores 
  in advance and record them on your character sheet. 
   
  An active defense is a deliberate attempt to avoid 
  a particular attack. It’s only possible if the defender is 
  aware of the possibility of an attack from his assailant 
  and is free to react . . . by moving out of the way of the 
  attack (a dodge), deflecting the attack with a weapon 
  or empty hand (a parry), or interposing a shield (a 
  block). 
   
  If a foe makes a successful attack roll against you, 
  you may choose one active defense and attempt a  
   
  “defense roll” against it. Exception: The All-Out De-
  fense (Double Defense) maneuver lets you attempt a 
  second defense against a particular attack if your first 
  defense fails. 
   
  The active defense you choose depends on your 
  situation – especially the maneuver you chose last 
  turn. Some maneuvers restrict the active defenses you 
  can make. You also get no active defense if you’re 
  unaware of the attack. And you get no active defense 
  if you are unconscious, immobilized, or otherwise una-
  ble to react. 
   
  ACTIVE DEFENSE ROLLS 
   
  The defender rolls 3d against his active defense 
  score. If his roll is less than or equal to his effective 
  defense, he dodged, parried, or blocked the attack. 
  Otherwise, his active defense was ineffective and the 
  attack struck home. If this occurs, roll for damage. 
  
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
   
  An active defense roll of 3 or 4 is always success-
  ful – even if your effective defense score was only 1 or 
  2! A roll of 17 or 18 always fails. 
   
   
  Your foe does not get to attempt a defense roll if 
  you rolled a critical hit against him. 
   
  If you are stunned, any active defense is at -4. 
   
  If you have a ready shield, add its Defense Bonus 
  (DB) to any Dodge, Parry, or Block roll against an at-
  tack that came from in front of you or from your shield 
  side. 
   
  DODGING 
   
  A “dodge” is an active attempt to move out of the 
  perceived path of an attack. This is often the best de-
  fense when you’re not skilled with your weapon and 
  you have no shield, or when you’re attacked multiple 
  times. 
   
  Dodge is normally the only active defense you can 
  take against firearms. This does not mean you can 
  actually dodge bullets! A dodge against this kind of 
  attack represents an attempt not to be where you think 
  your opponent will shoot, by weaving or ducking at the 
  right moment. 
   
  Your Dodge active defense is Basic Speed + 3, 
  dropping all fractions, less a penalty equal to your en-
  cumbrance level (see Encumbrance and Move, p. 28). 
  List Dodge on your character sheet for quick 
  reference. 
   
  If a single rapid-fire attack scores multiple hits, a 
  successful Dodge roll lets you avoid one hit, plus addi-
  tional hits equal to your margin of success. A critical 
  success lets you dodge all hits you took from that 
  attack. 
   
   
  Example: A machine gun gets four hits against 
  you. Your Dodge is 10. You roll an 8, succeeding by 2. 
  You dodge three of the hits; only one bullet strikes 
  you. 
   
   
  You may dodge any attack except one that you did 
  not know about! You only get one Dodge roll against a 
  given attack. You only get one active defense against 
  each attack, unless you use All-Out Defense (Double 
  Defense), but there is no limit to the number of times 
  you may dodge different attacks during your turn. 
   
  Acrobatic Dodge 
   
  If you have put at least one point into the Acrobat-
  ics skill, you can try a “fancy” dodge once during your 
  turn. You may define this as jumping over a sword 
  blow, cartwheeling away, or whatever else you like. 
  Make an Acrobatics roll before you attempt your 
  Dodge roll. (If flying, roll against Aerobatics instead.) 
  On a success, you get +2 to that Dodge roll. On a fail-
  ure, you get -2. 
   
  You can combine this option with a retreat (see 
  Retreat, p. 213). 
   
  BLOCKING 
   
  A “block” is an attempt to interpose a shield, cloak, 
  or similar large object between yourself and an attack. 
  This requires a ready shield. (If you’re strong enough 
  to grab and lift someone, you can block with his body!) 
   
  Your Block active defense is 3 + half your Shield 
  skill, dropping all fractions. For instance, Shield-11 
  would give a Block of 3 + (11/2) = 8.5, which rounds 
  down to 8. 
   
  In general, you can block any melee attack, 
  thrown weapon, projected liquid, or muscle-powered 
  missile weapon. You cannot block bullets or beam 
  weapons . . . these come too fast to be stopped this 
  way. 
   
  You may attempt to block only one attack per turn. 
   
  PARRYING 
   
  A “parry” is an attempt to deflect a blow using a 
  weapon or your bare hands. You cannot parry unless 
  your weapon is ready – or, if you are unarmed, you 
  have an empty hand. You may attempt to parry only 
  one attack per turn. 
   
  You can use most melee weapons to parry. A few 
  long, well-balanced weapons (e.g., the quarterstaff) 
  get a +1 or +2 bonus to parry due to their ability to 
  keep a foe at bay. 
   
  Your Parry active defense with a given weapon is 
  3 + half your skill with that weapon, dropping all frac-
  tions. For instance, Broadsword-13 would give a Parry 
  of 9. 
   
  A parry won’t stop anything except melee attacks 
  or thrown weapons. Exception: If a foe attacks you 
  with a missile weapon and he is within reach of your 
  melee weapon, you may parry. You’re parrying the 
  weapon, not the projectile! For example, if an attacker 
  fired a pistol at you from only one yard away, you 
  could attempt to parry barehanded. Success would 
  mean that you slapped his arm or gun aside, causing 
  him to fire wide of your body. 
   
  You can parry thrown weapons, but at a pen-
  alty: -1 for most thrown weapons, or -2 for small ones 
  such as knives, shuriken, and other weapons that 
  weigh 1 lb. or less. 
   
  If you successfully parry an unarmed attack (bite, 
  punch, etc.) with a weapon, you may injure your at-
  tacker. Immediately roll against your skill with the 
  weapon you used to parry. This roll is at -4 if your at-
  tacker used Judo or Karate. If you succeed, your parry 
  struck the attacker’s limb squarely. He gets no defense 
  roll against this! Roll damage normally. 
   
  Parrying Unarmed 
   
  If you are fighting without weapons, or with at least 
  one hand free, you may choose to parry barehanded. 
  Beings that lack hands (like most animals) can’t parry 
  unarmed – they can only dodge. (Hydrans can use 
  their tentacles as hands.) 
   
  You can use Boxing, Brawling, Judo, or Karate 
  skill – or DX, if higher – to parry with one hand. You 
  can also parry with Sumo Wrestling‡ or Wrestling skill, 
  but this requires both hands. Your Parry active de-
  fense is 3 + half your skill or DX, dropping all fractions. 
   
  There’s no penalty to parry another unarmed at-
  tack. You are at -3 to parry weapons, unless the attack 
  is a thrust or you are using Judo or Karate (in either 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  Page 213 
  case, use your full parry). See individual unarmed-
  combat skill descriptions for other limitations. 
   
  A failed parry means you are hit. If you are using 
  hit locations, a failed parry against a weapon means 
  your attacker may choose to hit his original target or 
  the arm you parried with! If your arm suffers more than 
  half your Hit Points in injury, it is automatically crippled 
  (see Crippling Injury, p. 224). 
   
  Some unarmed skills (e.g., Judo) give you special 
  options after a successful parry. See individual skill 
  descriptions for details. 
   
  ACTIVE DEFENSE OPTIONS 
   
  You can improve your odds of success with an 
  active defense by choosing one of these options to go 
  along with it. 
   
  Retreat 
   
  “Retreat” is not a separate defense, but an option 
  you may add to any active defense against a melee 
  attack. To exercise this option, you must move away 
  from your attacker: at least one yard, but not more 
  than 1/10 your Move. 
   
  Retreating gives +3 to Dodge, or +1 to Block or 
  Parry. Exception: If you parry using Boxing, Judo, Ka-
  rate, or any fencing skill (Main-Gauche, Rapier, Saber, 
  or Smallsword), a retreat gives +3 to Parry, as these 
  forms make superior use of mobility. 
   
  Your step back takes place immediately. It is as-
  sumed to occur as your foe is striking. If it would take 
  you out of your attacker’s reach, he still gets his attack. 
  If he has multiple attacks (e.g., from an Extra Attack, 
  All-Out Attack, or Rapid Strike‡), your retreat does not 
  put you beyond the reach of his remaining attacks. 
  However, you get your retreating bonus on all active 
  defense rolls against all of his attacks until your next 
  turn. 
   
  If your opponent attacked you with a maneuver 
  that allows a step, but has not yet taken his step, he 
  can choose to follow you by taking his unused step. In 
  effect, he is forcing you back!  
   
  You can retreat only once during your turn. In 
  other words, once you retreat, you may not retreat 
  again until after your next turn. 
   
  You cannot retreat while in a sitting or kneeling 
  posture, or while stunned. You also cannot retreat if 
  you moved faster than your Basic Move on your last 
  turn (that is, if you were sprinting or using Enhanced 
  Move).  
   
  You can retreat (by rolling) if you are lying down. 
   
  Dodge and Drop 
   
  When under fire, hit the dirt! You may drop to the 
  ground while dodging, earning a +3 bonus to Dodge. 
  This is a “dodge and drop.” It is similar to a retreat, but 
  only effective against ranged attacks. It also has a 
  drawback: it leaves you prone on the ground. 
   
  Like a retreat, a dodge and drop applies to all of 
  your defenses against one foe for one turn. Any cover 
  you drop behind does not count against the initial at-
  tack that inspired the dodge and drop, but is effective 
  against subsequent attacks directed at you. 
   
  Diving for Cover: You may also attempt a dodge 
  and drop if you are within the area of effect of an ex-
  plosion, cone, or area-effect attack and there is cover 
  (such as a trench) only a step away. Success means 
  you reach it in time; failure means you don’t. Even if 
  there is no cover handy, an extra yard or two of dis-
  tance from a blast can still help, since explosive dam-
  age declines with distance. If you succeed, you are a 
  step farther away; if you fail, you suffer the effect be-
  fore you make your step. 
   
  Flying or Swimming: Dodge and drop is possible 
  only if a step would take you below concealing terrain 
  (e.g., a flyer dropping below a hillcrest). You don’t end 
  up prone. You can still dive for cover to increase your 
  distance from an explosion, etc. 
   
  Defense Modifiers 
   
  Defender’s Equipment 
  Parrying with dagger or knife: -1 to Parry 
  Parrying with quarterstaff: +2 to Parry 
  Unarmed parry vs. weapon: -3 to Parry (0 vs. thrust, or 
  w. Karate) 
   
  Defender’s Maneuver 
  All-Out Attack: no defense possible! 
  All-Out Defense (Increased Defense): +2 to one of 
  Dodge, Block, or Parry 
  Move and Attack: dodge or block only; you cannot 
  parry 
   
  Defender’s Situation 
  Bad footing: -1 or more (GM’s option) 
  Can’t see attacker: -4, and a block or parry requires a 
  Hearing-2 roll 
  Distraction (e.g., clothes on fire): -1 or more (GM’s 
  option) 
  Encumbered: penalty equal to encumbrance level to 
  Dodge, or to Karate Parry 
  Stunned: -4 
   
  Nature of Attack 
  Attack from behind: no defense possible 
  Flail: -4 to Parry/-2 to Block 
  Thrown weapon: -1 to Parry, or -2 to Parry if small (1 
  lb. or less) 
   
   
  
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  DAMAGE AND INJURY 
   
  If your attack roll succeeds and your target fails his 
  defense roll (if any), you hit him! If your attack is one 
  that can do damage, you must now make a “damage 
  roll.” This tells you how much basic damage you deal 
  to your target. 
   
  Your weapon (and, for muscle-powered weapons, 
  your ST) determines the number of dice you roll for 
  damage. If your target has any Damage Resistance 
  (DR) – from armor, the Damage Resistance ad-
  vantage, etc. – he subtracts this from your damage 
  roll. If your attack has an armor divisor (see p. 109), 
  this modifies your target's DR.  
   
  If your damage roll is less than or equal to your 
  target’s effective DR, your attack failed to penetrate – 
  it bounced off or was absorbed. A cutting, crushing, 
  impaling, or piercing attack can sometimes cause 
  damage without penetrating, however. 
   
  If your damage roll exceeds your target’s DR, the 
  excess is the penetrating damage. If your foe has no 
  DR, the entire damage roll is penetrating damage.  
   
  Once you know the penetrating damage of your 
  attack, apply the wounding modifier for damage type 
  (this matters only for cutting, impaling, and certain 
  types of piercing damage; see below). This gives the 
  injury the foe suffers, which is subtracted from his Hit 
  Points. 
   
  DAMAGE ROLL 
   
  You usually make your own damage rolls, and the 
  GM rolls for NPCs. Damage rolls are expressed as a 
  number of dice, sometimes with a modifier; e.g., “6d-1” 
  or “1d+2.” A negative modifier can’t reduce damage 
  below 0 if the attack does crushing damage, or below 
  1 if it does any other type of damage. 
   
  High-damage attacks may express damage as a 
  number of dice with a multiplier. For instance, “6d×3” 
  means “roll 6d and multiply the total by 3.” If those six 
  dice came up 21, you would do 63 points of damage. 
  This is just a quick way to roll lots of dice. 
   
  The result of the damage roll (after any modifiers, 
  as explained above) is the hit’s “basic damage.” 
   
  Half Damage (1/2D) for Ranged Weapons 
   
  If a ranged weapon has two range statistics, the 
  first is its Half Damage (1/2D) range, in yards. If the 
  target is at or beyond 1/2D range, divide basic damage 
  by 2, rounding down. 
   
  Some ranged weapons (e.g., grenades) do not 
  suffer a reduction in damage; these do not list a 1/2D 
  range. The damage of an attack modified with Follow-
  Up (p. 112) is never halved, either – although its “car-
  rier” attack is subject to 1/2D effects as usual. 
   
  Finally, if an attack has a 1/2D range but requires 
  a resistance roll to avoid an affliction of some sort, add 
  +3 to the resistance roll instead of halving damage (if 
  any). 
   
  DAMAGE RESISTANCE AND PENETRATION 
   
  Damage Resistance (DR) rates the degree of pro-
  tection that natural or worn armor, a force field, tough 
  skin, etc. affords against damage. Objects and vehi-
  cles have their own DR values that protect against any 
  damage they suffer – and if you take cover behind or 
  inside them, their DR also protects you. 
   
  Subtract DR from basic damage. The result is the 
  “penetrating damage” that punched through or de-
  formed the armor enough to cause a significant injury. 
  For instance, if you are hit by an attack that inflicts 6 
  points of basic damage and you’re wearing mail with 
  DR 4, you take 2 points of penetrating damage. 
   
  In general, DR from multiple sources is additive; 
  e.g., if you have a natural DR of 2 and put on a tactical 
  vest with DR 12, your total DR is 14. Exceptions will 
  always be noted. 
   
  The DR of armor often varies by body part. If you 
  are not using the hit location rules (see GURPS Basic 
  Set, p. 389), just assume that any hit strikes the torso, 
  and apply its DR.  
   
  Finally, note that DR from certain sources may 
  provide differing degrees of protection against different 
  damage types. 
   
  Armor Divisors and Penetration Modifiers 
   
  An “armor divisor” indicates that an attack is espe-
  cially good (or bad) at penetrating Damage Re-
  sistance. Armor divisors appear on weapon tables as 
  numbers in parentheses after damage dice; e.g., 
  “3d(2) pi” means 3d piercing damage with a (2) armor 
  divisor.  
   
  A divisor of (2) or more means that DR protects at 
  reduced value against the attack. Divide the target’s 
  DR by the number in parentheses before subtracting it 
  from basic damage; e.g., (2) means DR protects at 
  half value. Round DR down. Minimum DR is 0. 
   
  Flexible Armor and Blunt Trauma 
   
  Flexible armor doesn’t stop the full force of blows it 
  stops. An attack that does cr, cut, imp, or pi damage 
  may inflict “blunt trauma” if it fails to penetrate flexible 
  DR.  
   
  For every full 10 points of cutting, impaling, or 
  piercing damage or 5 points of crushing damage 
  stopped by your DR, you suffer 1 HP of injury due to 
  blunt trauma. This is actual injury, not basic damage. 
  There is no wounding multiplier. 
   
  If even one point of damage penetrates your flexi-
  ble DR, however, you do not suffer blunt trauma. If you 
  layer other DR over flexible DR, only damage that 
  penetrates the outer layer can inflict blunt trauma. 
   
  Hurting Yourself 
   
  Any time you strike unarmed (with bare hands, 
  feet, fangs, etc.) and hit a target with DR 3+, you may 
  hurt yourself! For every 5 points of basic damage you 
  roll, you take one point of crushing damage, up to a 
  maximum equal to the DR of the target you hit. Apply 
  this damage to the body part you used to attack, if you 
  are using hit locations. Your own DR protects against 
  this damage. Exception: This rule does not apply if the 
  target’s DR has the Tough Skin limitation (see Dam-
  age Resistance, p. 85). 
   
  
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  Page 215 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  WOUNDING MODIFIERS AND INJURY 
   
  Any damage left over after subtracting DR from 
  basic damage is “penetrating damage.” If there is any 
  penetrating damage, multiply it by the attack’s 
  “wounding modifier.” This is a multiplier that depends 
  on damage type: 
   
   
  Small piercing (pi-): ×0.5. 
   
  Burning (burn), corrosion (cor), crushing (cr), fa-
  tigue (fat), piercing (pi), and toxic (tox): ×1 (damage is 
  unchanged). 
   
  Cutting (cut) and large piercing (pi+): ×1.5. 
   
  Impaling (imp) and huge piercing (pi++): ×2. 
   
   
  The damage after this multiplier determines the 
  injury: the HP lost by the target. Round fractions down, 
  but the minimum injury is 1 HP for any attack that pen-
  etrates DR at all. Reduce the victim’s current HP total 
  by the injury sustained. 
   
   
  Note that blunt trauma injury has no wounding 
  modifier. 
   
  Where you were hit may further affect the wound-
  ing modifier; see Hit Location in GURPS Basic Set, p. 
  398. The rules above assume a hit to the torso or face. 
   
  EFFECTS OF INJURY 
   
  If you are injured, subtract the points of injury from 
  your Hit Points. Usually, you are still in the fight as 
  long as you have positive HP. The most important ef-
  fects are: 
   
   
  If you have less than 1/3 of your HP remaining, 
  you are reeling from your wounds. Halve your Basic 
  Speed and Move (round up), which also reduces your 
  Dodge. 
   
  If you have zero or fewer HP left, you are hanging 
  onto consciousness through sheer willpower and 
  adrenaline. You must roll vs. HT each turn to avoid 
  falling unconscious. If you pass out, see Recovering 
  from Unconsciousness (p. 226) for how long it will take 
  to recover. 
   
  If you go to fully negative HP (for instance, -10 if 
  you have 10 HP), you risk death! You must make an 
  immediate HT roll to avoid dying. You must make an-
  other HT roll to avoid death each time you lose an ex-
  tra multiple of your HP – that is, at -2×HP, -3×HP, and 
  so on. If you reach -5×HP, you die automatically. 
   
   
  The sudden loss of HP can have additional 
  effects: 
   
   
  Shock: Any injury that causes a loss of HP also 
  causes “shock.” Shock is a penalty to DX, IQ, and 
  skills based on those attributes on your next turn 
  (only). This is -1 per HP lost unless you have 20 or 
  more HP, in which case it is -1 per (HP/10) lost, 
  rounded down. The shock penalty cannot exceed -4, 
  no matter how much injury you suffer. 
   
  Major Wounds: Any single injury that inflicts a 
  wound in excess of 1/2 your HP is a major wound. For 
  a major wound to the torso, you must make a HT roll. 
  Failure means you’re stunned and knocked down; fail-
  ure by 5+ means you pass out. 
   
  Stunning: If you’re stunned, you are -4 to active 
  defenses and cannot retreat, and must Do Nothing on 
  your next turn. At the end of your turn, attempt a HT 
  roll to recover. If you fail, you’re still stunned and must 
  Do Nothing for another turn. And so on. 
   
  SPECIAL DAMAGE 
   
  Certain attacks have “special effects”: poison, 
  electrical shocks, stunning, setting the victim on fire, 
  etc. 
   
  Follow-Up Damage 
   
  Some attacks, such as poison darts and exploding 
  bullets, have “follow-up” damage: a second type of 
  damage that occurs an instant after the primary effect. 
  The primary effect is always ordinary damage of some 
  type – piercing, impaling, etc. 
  Knockback 
   
  When you hit someone very hard, you 
  may knock him away from you! This is 
  called “knockback.” Only crushing and 
  cutting attacks can cause knockback. A 
  crushing attack can cause knockback 
  regardless of whether it penetrates DR. A 
  cutting attack can cause knockback only if 
  it fails to penetrate DR.  
   
  Knockback depends on basic damage 
  rolled before subtracting DR. For every full 
  multiple of the target’s ST-2 rolled, move 
  the target one yard away from the attacker. 
  For instance, a man with ST 10 would be 
  knocked back one yard per full 8 points of 
  basic damage. If the target has ST 3 or 
  less, knockback is one yard per point of 
  basic damage! If the target has no ST 
  score at all (like a wall), or is not resisting, 
  use its HP instead.  
   
  Anyone who suffers knockback must 
  attempt a roll against the highest of DX, 
  Acrobatics, or Judo. If he is knocked back 
  more than one yard, he rolls at -1 per yard 
  after the first. Perfect Balance (p. 99) gives 
  +4 to this roll. On a failure, he falls down.  
   
  If you knock your foe into something 
  solid, the result – including damage to him 
  and whatever he hit – is as if he had 
  collided with it at a speed equal to the 
  yards of knockback.  
   
  “Knockback Only”: Some attacks – a 
  jet of water, a shove, etc. – do knockback 
  but no damage. Roll the listed damage and 
  work out knockback as usual, but no actual 
  injury occurs (unless the target collides 
  with something!). 
   
  
  Page 216  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
   
  If the primary damage penetrates the target’s DR, 
  the follow-up effect occurs inside the target. DR has no 
  effect! Follow-up effects that occur internally never 
  inflict knockback or blunt trauma – even if their dam-
  age type usually does. 
   
  If the primary damage fails to penetrate DR, the 
  follow-up effect occurs outside the target, if appropri-
  ate, as if the target had been touched – just like a 
  linked effect (see below). Thus, poison that must enter 
  the bloodstream would have no effect if the arrow that 
  carried it failed to penetrate. On the other hand, an 
  explosive projectile would still do damage . . . but the 
  DR that stopped the primary damage would protect 
  against it. 
   
  Linked Effects 
   
  Some attacks have a linked effect. This is a sec-
  ond type of damage or other effect that occurs simul-
  taneously with the primary effect. Make one roll to hit, 
  but resolve all damage and resistance rolls separately 
  for the primary effect and the linked effect. An example 
  of a linked effect is a grenade that inflicts both a 
  crushing explosion and a blinding flash of light on det-
  onation. A person in armor might be blinded but un-
  hurt, while an unarmored person with eye protection 
  might be wounded but not blinded. 
   
  Injury to Unliving, Homogenous, and Diffuse 
  Targets 
   
  The Wounding Modifiers and Injury rules assume 
  a human, animal, or other ordinary living being. Ma-
  chines, corporeal undead, swarms, and other unusual 
  entities are much less vulnerable to certain damage 
  types: 
   
   
  Unliving: Machines and anyone with Injury Toler-
  ance (Unliving) (p. 60), such as most corporeal un-
  dead, are less vulnerable to impaling and piercing 
  damage. This gives impaling and huge piercing a 
  wounding modifier of ×1; large piercing, ×1/2; piercing, 
  ×1/3; and small piercing, ×1/5. 
   
  Homogenous: Things that lack vulnerable internal 
  parts or mechanisms – such as uniformly solid or hol-
  low objects (e.g., melee weapons, shields, and furni-
  ture), unpowered vehicles, trees, and walls – are even 
  less vulnerable! This includes animated statues, blobs, 
  and anything else with Injury Tolerance (Homoge-
  nous). Impaling and huge piercing have a wounding 
  modifier of ×1/2; large piercing, ×1/3; piercing, ×1/5; 
  and small piercing, ×1/10. 
   
  Diffuse: A target with Injury Tolerance (Diffuse) is 
  even harder to damage! This includes swarms, air el-
  ementals, nets, etc. Impaling and piercing attacks (of 
  any size) never do more than 1 HP of injury, regard-
  less of penetrating damage! Other attacks can never 
  do more than 2 HP of injury. Exception: Area-effect, 
  cone, and explosion attacks cause normal injury. 
   
   
   
   
   
  DAMAGE TO OBJECTS 
   
  For the purpose of these rules, any nonliving, 
  fabricated object is an “artifact.” Handle attacks on ar-
  tifacts just like attacks on living beings (see Damage 
  and Injury, p. 214), with the following exceptions: 
   
   
  Rolling to Hit: Roll to hit normally, applying the ob-
  ject’s Size Modifier. If an object’s SM is not given, find 
  it from the Size and Speed/Range Table (p. 211). In-
  animate objects are often motionless and don’t hit 
  back; this makes them good targets for an All-Out At-
  tack. No artifact gets a defense roll unless it is under 
  sentient control (e.g., a robot, a weapon in hand, or a 
  vehicle with a driver). 
   
  Damage Resistance (DR): An artifact has a DR 
  that represents its innate “toughness.” Wooden or 
  plastic tools, gadgets, furniture, etc. usually have DR 
  2. Small metal, metal-wood, or composite objects, like 
  guns and axes, typically have DR 4. Solid-metal melee 
  weapons have DR 6. Some artifacts may be armored; 
  for instance, a quarter-inch of mild steel is DR 14. 
   
  Injury Tolerance: Most artifacts have some level of 
  Injury Tolerance (p. 93). Complex machines are Un-
  living. Solid objects, like furniture or weapons, are 
  Homogenous. Things like nets and mattresses are 
  Diffuse. See Injury to Unliving, Homogenous, and Dif-
  fuse Targets (above) for the effects on damage. 
   
  Health (HT): This rates the likelihood the object 
  will break under stress or abuse. Most machines and 
  similar artifacts in good repair are HT 10. Swords, ta-
  bles, shields, and other solid, Homogenous objects are 
  HT 12. Cheap, temperamental, or poorly maintained 
  items get -1 to -3 to HT; well-made or rugged ones get 
  +1 or +2.  
   
  Hit Points (HP): The amount of damage the object 
  can take before it is likely to break or cease to 
  function. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  EFFECTS OF INJURY 
   
  Injury to artifacts works much like injury to living 
  beings (see Injuries, p. 223), with the addition of a few 
  special rules. 
   
  Less than 1/3 HP left – An artifact damaged this 
  badly may suffer halved (or otherwise reduced) 
  effectiveness, at the GM’s discretion. 
  0 HP or less – Roll vs. the artifact’s HT each second 
  while it is under stress (but not if it isn’t being 
   
  Detailed HP Calculation 
   
  Those who have a calculator or 
  spreadsheet program handy may wish to 
  calculate HP. HP are equal to 4 × (cube 
  root of weight in lbs.) for complex, Unliving 
  objects, and 8 × (cube root of weight in 
  lbs.) for solid, Homogenous ones (round 
  up). The GM may alter these values for 
  unusually frail or tough objects 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  Page 217 
  used): a chair rolls each second someone sits on 
  it, a car rolls each second its engine is running, 
  and so on. On a failure, the object suffers a severe 
  malfunction and is disabled. Most disabled arti-
  facts don’t function at all until repaired. Sentient 
  machines fall “unconscious.” Homogenous ob-
  jects, such as swords, bend or break, but might 
  remain partially usable. Ropes, cables, etc., are 
  cleanly severed – not chopped to bits. 
  -1×HP – Artifacts don’t “die,” as they were never truly 
  alive, but must still make HT rolls to avoid “death” 
  as described under General Injury (p. 223). On a 
  failure, the object is destroyed. For instance, a 
  sword might shatter instead of merely bending or 
  snapping. A destroyed computer loses all data 
  stored in it – including memories, if it is sapient. 
  -5×HP – The artifact is automatically destroyed, as 
  described above. 
   
   
  Shock: Most artifacts don’t feel pain, but damage 
  can temporarily disrupt their functionality unless they 
  have appropriate backup systems (represented by 
  High Pain Threshold). Apply the usual shock penalty to 
  any use of that object. For example, if a vehicle suffers 
  sufficient injury to impose a -3 shock penalty, the 
  driver has -3 to his vehicle operation skill next turn. 
   
  Major Wounds: An artifact can suffer a major 
  wound, referred to as “major damage.” When a ma-
  chine with many subsystems – like a vehicle – suffers 
  a major wound, the GM may call for a HT roll. On a 
  failure, one or more systems fail. For example, major 
  damage to a tank might knock out its gun or cause a 
  fuel leak.  
   
  Knockdown and Stunning: A non-sentient artifact 
  ignores these effects. A sentient machine (IQ 1+) can 
  suffer these results as a damage-induced malfunction. 
  For instance, stun means the machine doesn’t function 
  that turn, but can function again after it recovers. 
   
  Crippling and Hit Location: A human- or animal-
  shaped artifact uses the normal rules; see Crippling 
  Injury (p. 224). Other objects with distinct parts (e.g., a 
  vehicle with a body, turret, and wheels) can suffer 
  crippling injuries to specific hit locations. In all cases, a 
  crippled location is “disabled.” 
   
  Fragile Objects: Artifacts are often Fragile (p. 129). 
  Those made of paper, dry wood, etc. are Combustible; 
  those that contain highly flammable material, such 
  gasoline or hydrogen, are Flammable. Artifacts con-
  taining unprotected explosives, sizeable stocks of 
  ammunition, or volatile compressed gas are Explosive. 
  Objects such as glassware, pottery, and televisions 
  are Brittle. 
   
   
  Federation Heavy Cruiser 
   
  OTHER ACTIONS IN COMBAT 
   
  Combatants can perform actions other than 
  attacking and moving. Physical actions usually require 
  Ready maneuvers, while mental ones call for Concen-
  trate maneuvers. 
   
  READYING WEAPONS AND OTHER GEAR 
   
  A “ready” item is one that is in hand, ready for ac-
  tion. A weapon or other device is unready if in a hol-
  ster, scabbard, pocket, belt, or pack; on the floor or a 
  table; etc. 
   
  It generally takes a single Ready maneuver to 
  ready an item that is on your belt, in a pocket, in a 
  scabbard or holster, or slung over your back. If you 
  stand still, a single Ready maneuver also lets you 
  ready an item from a table, wall rack, etc., provided it 
  is within your reach (normally one yard). 
   
  A single Ready maneuver lets you accept one 
  item that another person is holding out to you. He must 
  be close enough to reach you (one yard, for a human), 
  and he must have taken a Ready maneuver on his 
  turn in order to hold out the item for you. You must 
  both stand still. Note that you cannot exchange two 
  items simultaneously. Each object exchanged requires 
  a separate Ready maneuver on the part of each per-
  son involved. (Recall that these rules are for combat; 
  obviously two people walking down the street can 
  hand things back and forth at will.) 
   
  Some additional rules: 
   
   
  Picking something up from the ground. You must 
  be kneeling, crawling, sitting, or lying down to do so, 
  unless you have arms with a two-yard reach! If you are 
  standing, you must first take a Change Posture ma-
  neuver to kneel, sit, etc. 
   
  Readying a weapon. You can only attack or parry 
  with a weapon that is in your hand and ready to use. 
  You must “ready” some weapons again after each at-
  tack! For instance, you must ready a poleaxe after 
  each swing, because its momentum carries it away. 
  See the weapon tables in Chapter 7 to learn which 
  weapons require readying after use. 
   
  Reloading a weapon. This requires several con-
  secutive Ready maneuvers. The number of Ready 
  maneuvers required appears in parentheses after the 
  weapon’s Shots statistic. For example, a longbow re-
  quires two Ready maneuvers: one to ready the arrow 
  by removing it from your quiver, and one to ready the 
  bow by placing the arrow to the string and drawing it. 
  That takes two turns. On the third turn, you can Aim or 
  Attack.  
   
  Readying a shield or cloak. If a shield or cloak is 
  on the ground, or slung on your back, it takes a num-
  ber of Ready maneuvers equal to its Defense Bonus to 
  prepare it for combat. It takes the same amount of time 
  to don your cloak or sling your shield again – but you 
  can drop it on the ground with a single Ready maneu-
  ver (not a free action!). For the purpose of readying, 
  treat a buckler as a weapon, not as a shield. 
   
  Long actions. Many physical actions take more 
  than one second to complete. In combat, choose the 
  
  Page 218  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  Ready maneuver each turn until you are finished. This 
  is not a specific maneuver, but a “generic” choice that 
  lets you do one second’s worth of any multi-second 
  action. The GM decides how many turns each action 
  takes; see Typical Long Actions (below) for examples. 
  Some things (like piling up rocks to stand on) can be 
  interrupted in the middle if necessary, to take any nec-
  essary maneuver or other action. Other things (like 
  ritual magic) can’t be interrupted; if you stop in the 
  middle, you must start over. 
   
  If an action takes a long time, you can help the 
  GM keep track of events by counting the seconds 
  each time you announce the maneuver. For instance, 
  to reload a weapon, you would say, “Reloading my 
  gun – one second” on your first turn, and, “Reloading 
  my gun – two seconds and finished” on your second 
  turn. 
   
   
  Action 
  Time 
  Pick up a heavy object in 
  one hand (weight up 
  to 2×BL) 
  2 sec. 
  Pick up a heavy object in two 
  hands (weight up to 
  8×BL) 
  4 sec. 
  Open an unlocked box, 
  briefcase, chest, 
  door, etc. 
  1 sec. 
  Find a loose item in a box, 
  briefcase, pack, etc. 
  (if it's not hidden) 
  2d seconds 
  Find an item in your own 
  pocket 
  1d seconds 
  Write a brief note 
  5 sec. per sentence 
  Read a brief note 
  2 sec. per sentence 
  Swallow a pill or potion 
  2 sec. 
  Light a candle, cigarette, 
  fuse, match, torch, 
  etc. 
  2 sec. 
  Action 
  Time 
  Replace a weapon in its 
  scabbard, drop a 
  small item into your 
  pocket 
  2 sec. 
  Search an unresisting 
  person fairly 
  thoroughly 
  1 min. 
  Put on a suit of armor 
  3 sec. per piece (30 
  sec./piece for a vacc 
  suit or a battle suit) 
   
  TYPICAL LONG ACTIONS 
   
  See the table above for the duration of typical long 
  actions. You must take a Ready maneuver each sec-
  ond. 
   
  The times required for long actions are realistic, 
  but they can also sideline a player – for instance, if his 
  character rummages through his backpack. If the GM 
  deems it dramatically appropriate, he may let PCs 
  shave off a few seconds by making a successful DX or 
  IQ roll, at the cost of failure having other problems 
  (e.g., dropping the backpack and spilling its contents). 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  SPECIAL MELEE WEAPON RULES 
  Garrotes 
   
  A “garrote” is a cord or wire used for strangling. 
  You can only use it on an unaware or helpless victim, 
  and you must attack from behind (this often requires 
  Stealth rolls!). 
   
  Once you are in position, roll against Garrote skill 
  to hit. You must target the neck, at the usual -5 to hit. 
  In most cases, your target is unaware, so you can 
  safely make an All-Out Attack (Determined) for +4 to 
  hit. 
   
  The victim may attempt to parry with his hand or a 
  ready close-combat weapon, but he does so at -3. 
  Unless he has Combat Reflexes, he is most likely 
  mentally stunned, for an additional -4 to his defense 
  roll. On a success, he manages to put his hand or 
  weapon between his throat and the garrote. The hand 
  takes no damage unless you are using a wire garrote.
   
  On the turn of the attack and every subsequent 
  turn, you may choke the victim, and get +3 to ST in the 
  ensuing Quick Contest. Treat the damage as crushing 
  (×1.5 to the neck) for a rope garrote, cutting (×2 to the 
  neck) for a wire one. In addition, your victim starts to 
  suffocate (see Suffocation, p. 239). To break free, the 
  victim must win a Quick Contest of ST-5, Judo-3, or 
  Wrestling-3 against your Garrote skill. 
   
  An improvised garrote (almost any piece of rope) 
  gives -2 to skill. A wire garrote must be equipped with 
  handles, or you will take thrust/cutting damage to each 
  hand! 
   
  Whips 
   
  Whips are effective disarming weapons. When you 
  strike to disarm with a whip, you get +2 in the ensuing 
  Quick Contest. 
   
  If you hit and your foe fails to defend, roll a Quick 
  Contest of weapon skills with your foe; if you’re 
   
  This completes the combat system. 
  Get out there and fight! 
   
  When you are comfortable with these 
  rules or you want to use hex-based 
  combat, consult GURPS Basic Set 
  Chapter 12, Tactical Combat. GMs may 
  also consult GURPS Basic Set Chapter 13 
  for advanced rules concerning factors that 
  might not come into play in every battle: hit 
  locations, mounted opponents, surprise 
  attacks, and various exotic weapons. 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  Page 219 
  attempting to knock away a missile weapon, your op-
  ponent rolls against DX. Either of you may opt to make 
  a ST-based skill roll instead of the standard DX-based 
  one, if that would be better. You get +2 if you use 
  Whip skill (having it is not enough!). Your foe gets +2 if 
  he is using a two-handed weapon. 
   
  If you win, you disarm your foe; his weapon flies 
  one yard in a random direction. If your foe wins or ties, 
  he keeps his weapon, but it will be unready unless he 
  won by 3 or more. 
   
  If you roll a critical failure, you are the one 
  disarmed! 
   
   
  You may try to entangle your opponent instead of 
  his weapon. This attack is at an extra -4 to hit, and 
  inflicts no damage. 
   
  If you hit the target’s arm or torso, you ensnare it. 
  On subsequent turns, you must take a Ready maneu-
  ver to keep the victim snared. Roll a Quick Contest of 
  ST on your turn. If you win, you immobilize your oppo-
  nent; if you lose, he pulls the whip from your grasp. 
   
  If you entangle the neck, use the same rules, but 
  your victim is at -5 in the Contest. If you win, the whip 
  cuts off the victim’s breathing – see Suffocation (p. 
  239). 
   
  If you entangle the foot, the target must make a 
  DX roll to remain standing (this is instead of the Con-
  test above). He rolls at -4 if he was running. If he falls, 
  he takes 1d-4 damage – or 1d-2 if he was running. On 
  subsequent turns, use the rules above to keep him 
  entangled. 
   
   
  You must keep the whip taut at all times to 
  immobilize or suffocate your victim. This requires a 
  Ready maneuver each turn.  
   
  To escape from a taut whip, cut it (DR 1, 2 HP). To 
  escape from a limp whip (including one pulled from the 
  attacker’s grasp), the victim requires a free hand, and 
  must make three successful DX rolls. Each attempt 
  counts as a Ready maneuver, during which time the 
  victim may take no other actions. 
   
  A whip takes 1 turn per 5 yards to ready after a 
  miss.  
   
  Whips are poor defensive weapons, and get -2 to 
  Parry. Whips are also unbalanced, and cannot attack 
  and parry on the same turn – and long whips actually 
  become unready after an attack or a parry. It takes 
  one turn to ready a two-yard whip, two turns to ready a 
  whip three yards or longer. Additional rules apply, de-
  pending on the type of whip: 
   
   
  Whip: You can “crack” an ordinary bullwhip – this 
  is the sound of the tip breaking the sound barrier! This 
  requires an attack at -4 to skill, but inflicts +2 damage. 
  Any whip blow is painful: anyone who suffers a whip 
  wound to his arm or hand must roll against Will, modi-
  fied by the shock penalty for the injury. On a failure, he 
  drops anything in that hand. 
   
  Fralli Pole-Whip: Only a Fralli can properly use 
  the pole-whip’s capacity to pass on a charge. Non-
  Fralli can use this weapon and cause normal whip ef-
  fects. See GURPS Federation for more on this 
  weapon and the Fralli. 
   
   
  SPECIAL RANGED COMBAT RULES 
  MALFUNCTIONS 
   
  This optional rule applies only to firearms, gre-
  nades, and incendiaries. A “malfunction” is a mechani-
  cal failure of the weapon; e.g., a misfire or a jam. Un-
  like a critical failure, a malfunction does not normally 
  endanger the user. 
   
  For the purpose of this rule, firearms, grenades, 
  and incendiaries have a “malfunction number,” or 
  “Malf.,” a function of TL. 
   
  TL 
  Malf. 
  3 
  12 
  4 
  14 
  5 
  16 
  6 or higher 
  17 
   
   
  A fine or very fine firearm gets +1 to Malf.; a cheap 
  weapon gets -1. Specific types of weapons might have 
  a higher or lower Malf., as indicated in their descrip-
  tions. The GM is free to lower a weapon’s Malf. for 
  mistreatment, lack of maintenance, or damage. 
   
  Regardless of the attacker’s skill, a weapon will 
  malfunction instead of firing on any unmodified attack 
  roll equal to or greater than its Malf. The exact effects 
  depend on the weapon. 
  Firearm Malfunction Table 
   
  When a weapon malfunctions, roll 3d on the fol-
  lowing table: 
   
  3-4 – Mechanical or electrical problem. 
  5-8 – Misfire. 
  9-11 – Stoppage. 
  12-14 – Misfire. 
  15-18 – Mechanical or electrical problem, and possible 
  explosion. 
   
  Mechanical or Electrical Problem 
   
  The weapon fails to fire. A successful Armoury or 
  IQ-based weapon skill roll (takes a Ready maneuver) 
  can diagnose the problem. Once the problem is 
  known, make an Armoury skill roll to correct it. Each 
  repair attempt takes one hour, and any critical failure 
  destroys the weapon. 
   
   
  Grenades: This represents a fusing problem: the 
  weapon detonates 1d seconds late. 
   
  Misfire 
   
  The weapon fails to fire. A successful Armory+2 or 
  IQ-based weapon skill roll (takes a Ready maneuver) 
  can identify the problem. If the weapon is a revolver, 
  
  Page 220  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  the next shot will fire normally. Otherwise, each at-
  tempt to fix the problem requires three Ready maneu-
  vers, two hands free, and a successful Armoury+2 or 
  IQ-based weapon skill roll. Critical failure causes a 
  mechanical or electrical problem. 
   
   
  Grenades: The grenade is a dud, and will never 
  explode. 
   
  Stoppage 
   
  The weapon fires one shot, then jams or otherwise 
  stops working. (Treat the fired shot as a normal at-
  tack.) Each attempt to clear the stoppage requires 
  three Ready maneuvers, two hands free, and a suc-
  cessful Armoury roll, or IQ-based weapon skill roll 
  at -4. A success fixes the weapon. Failure means it 
  isn’t fixed yet, but you can try again. Critical failure 
  causes a mechanical or electrical problem. 
   
   
  Beam weapons: Treat as a mechanical or electri-
  cal problem. 
   
  Grenades and other single-use weapons: The 
  weapon is a dud; it will never fire or explode. 
   
  Explosion 
   
  Any TL3 firearm or TL4 grenade, breechloader, or 
  repeating firearm may blow up in the gunner’s face, 
  inflicting 1d+2 cr ex [2d]. If the weapon uses an explo-
  sive warhead, use the warhead’s damage instead. 
  TL5+ weapons do not explode – treat as a mechanical 
  or electrical problem. 
   
  SPECIAL RULES FOR RAPID FIRE 
   
  The following additional rules are for use in con-
  junction with Rapid Fire (p. 209). They only apply 
  when making a ranged attack at RoF 2+. 
   
  Automatic Weapons and Full-Auto Only 
   
  Automatic weapons – firearms with RoF 4+ – use 
  the Rapid Fire rules. Most can fire both controlled 
  bursts and “full auto” (that is, for as long as the trigger 
  is held down).  
   
  Some automatic weapons (e.g., machine guns) 
  can only fire full auto; they lack a semi-automatic or 
  limited-burst setting (“selective fire”). A weapon that is 
  “full-auto only” has a “!” after its RoF statistic. The only 
  way to fire a short burst with such a weapon is to hold 
  down the trigger for a fraction of a second. Minimum 
  RoF is one-quarter full RoF (round up) or shots re-
  maining, whichever is less. 
   
  Rapid Fire vs. Close Stationary Targets 
   
  Rapid fire generally results in only a fraction of the 
  shots fired hitting the target. This is realistic . . . except 
  when the target is up close and unable to move. This 
  situation arises when shooting your way through a 
  wall, door, or parked car with a shotgun or assault rifle 
  – or when performing an execution. 
   
  If your target is totally immobile (for instance, an 
  inanimate object, or someone who is completely re-
  strained or unconscious) and has a Size Modifier high 
  enough to completely counteract the range penalty, a 
  successful attack roll means that half the shots fired 
  (round up) hit. If the attack succeeds by the weapon’s 
  Recoil or more, all of the shots hit. 
   
  Shotguns and Multiple Projectiles 
   
  A weapon with a RoF followed by a multiplier (e.g., 
  RoF 3×9) fires shots that release multiple, smaller 
  projectiles. The most common example is a shotgun. 
  The first number is the number of shots the weapon 
  can actually fire; this is how much ammunition is used 
  up. When resolving the attack, however, multiply shots 
  fired by the second number to get the effective RoF. 
   
  At extremely close range, multiple projectiles don’t 
  have time to spread. This increases lethality! At ranges 
  less than 10% of 1/2D, don’t apply the RoF multiplier 
  to RoF. Instead, multiply both basic damage dice and 
  the target’s DR by half that value (round down). 
   
  Spraying Fire 
   
  A weapon fired at RoF 5+ can attack multiple tar-
  gets. All the targets must be in the same general di-
  rection (within a 30° angle), and you must engage 
  them in succession – from right to left or from left to 
  right, your choice. 
   
  Announce how many shots you will fire at each 
  target before you roll to hit. You may split up your RoF 
  however you wish. If the targets are more than one 
  yard apart, traversing between them wastes some 
  shots. For RoF 16 or less, you lose one shot for each 
  yard between targets. For RoF 16+, you lose two 
  shots per yard. These “wasted” shots may hit unin-
  tended targets (see Hitting the Wrong Target‡ 
  (GURPS Basic Set, p. 389). 
   
  Make a separate attack roll against each target. 
  Your effective RoF for each attack is just the number 
  of shots you fired at that target. Since a weapon is 
  harder to control when you swing it to engage multiple 
  targets, add +1 to effective Recoil for your attack on 
  the second target, +2 to Recoil when you engage the 
  third target, and so on. 
   
  Suppression Fire 
   
  If you have a weapon with RoF 5+, you can lay 
  down “suppression fire.” This involves holding down 
  the trigger and “hosing down” an area with fire. This 
  will affect anyone who enters the area before the start 
  of your next turn. There needn’t be a target in the area 
  when you start! 
   
  To use suppression fire, select a target zone two 
  yards across at some point within your weapon’s 
  range, take the All-Out Attack (Suppression Fire) ma-
  neuver, and start shooting. This maneuver takes an 
  entire second; you can do nothing else that turn.  
   
  Specify how many shots you are firing, up to your 
  weapon’s full RoF. If your weapon has RoF 10+, you 
  can suppress multiple two-yard zones, as long as they 
  are adjacent and you fire at least five shots into each 
  zone. Your effective RoF in each zone is the number 
  of shots you fired into that zone, not your total shots. 
   
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  Page 221 
  Phaser Autofire 
   
  Many beam weapons, including phasers and dis-
  ruptors, can be fired continuously simply by holding 
  the trigger down. This will cause the weapon to fire at 
  its maximum RoF. 
   
  Against people and other living targets, treat such 
  an attack as a standard Rapid Fire attack. Such an 
  attack is especially effective as suppressive fire. 
   
  Against inanimate objects, this is treated as a cut-
  ting attack. Use the Damage to Objects rules (p. 216). 
  Note that when fired at an inanimate object, a phaser 
  set on stun will heat that object without destroying it 
  (up to the melting point of the object, of course). 
   
  AREA AND SPREADING ATTACKS 
   
  Area-Effect Attacks 
   
  Gas bombs, Molotov cocktails, and similar attacks 
  – including anything with the Area Effect enhancement 
  (p. 109) – affect everyone within a specified radius. 
  Damage does not usually decline with distance. On a 
  miss, use the Scatter rule (below) to determine where 
  the area is centered. Active defenses don’t protect 
  against an area attack, but victims may dive for cover 
  or retreat out of the area; see Dodge and Drop (p. 
  213). 
   
  Cone Attacks 
   
  Dragon’s fire, wide-beam microwave and sonic 
  weapons, and anything with the Cone enhancement 
  (p. 110) are examples of cone attacks. A cone attack 
  requires a roll to hit . . . but it might still catch the target 
  in the area of effect on a miss! On a hit, the cone is on 
  target; otherwise, use the Scatter rule to determine a 
  new target point. Once you know the target point, im-
  agine (or trace on a battle map) a line between the 
  attacker and that point. The cone spreads to either 
  side of this line, out to its maximum range. 
   
  A cone is one yard wide at its origin, but increases 
  in width at a “rate of spread” equal to its specified 
  maximum width divided by its maximum range. For 
  instance, a cone with a maximum range of 100 yards 
  and a maximum width of 5 yards would spread by one 
  yard per 20 yards of range; out at 60 yards, it would be 
  three yards wide. If maximum width is unspecified, 
  assume the cone spreads by one yard per yard of 
  range. 
   
  A cone affects everyone within its area, but any-
  one who is completely screened from the attacker by 
  an object or person is behind cover, which protects 
  normally. Targets may attempt a dodge defense to 
  leave the area or get to cover; see Dodge and Drop (p. 
  213). 
   
  Dissipation 
   
  Certain cone and area attacks dissipate with dis-
  tance. This is common for realistic wide-area beam 
  weapons and area-effect burning attacks. Attacks with 
  the Dissipation limitation (p. 116) also use these rules. 
   
  In the case of a damaging attack (e.g., Innate At-
  tack), damage declines with the target’s distance from 
  the center of the area or the apex of the cone. For a 
  cone, divide damage by the cone’s width in yards at 
  the target’s distance from the apex. For an area effect, 
  divide damage by the distance in yards between the 
  target and the center of the effect. 
   
  For an attack that allows a HT roll to resist (e.g., 
  Affliction), find the “damage divisor” as above, but do 
  not apply it to damage (if any). Instead, use the divisor 
  as a bonus to the HT roll to resist; e.g., two yards from 
  the center of an area effect, add +2 to HT. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Attacking an Area 
   
   
  You can deliberately attack an area of ground with 
  an area-effect or explosive attack. For a Molotov 
  cocktail, grenade, etc., this means you lobbed it in a 
  high arc. Roll to hit at +4. There’s no defense roll, but 
  anyone in the area can dive for cover. 
   
  Scatter 
   
   
  When an area-effect, cone, or explosive attack 
  misses its target, it’s important to know where it 
  actually ends up! 
   
  If you fail your attack roll, you missed your target 
  by a number of yards equal to your margin of failure, 
  to a maximum of half the distance to the target (round 
  up). If the enemy dodges, use his margin of success 
  to determine distance instead. 
   
   
   
   
  Exception: If your target was flying or underwater, 
  or you’re using the Artillery or Dropping‡ skill to fire 
  upon or bomb a target you can’t see, you miss by 
  yards equal to the square of your margin of failure. 
  This does not apply to a dodge. 
   
   
  To determine the direction of your miss, roll one 
  die. Take the direction you are facing as a roll of 1, 60° 
  clockwise (the next facing, on a hex map) as a roll of 
  2, and so on. Your attack misses in that direction, by 
  the number of yards determined above. 
   
  
  Page 222  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  EXPLOSIONS 
   
  Certain attacks, such as hand grenades and ex-
  plosive weapons, produce a blast when they hit. Such 
  attacks have the notation “ex” after their damage type: 
  “cr ex” for a crushing explosion, “burn ex” for a burning 
  explosion, and so on. 
   
  In addition to doing the listed damage to whoever 
  was struck directly, an explosion inflicts “collateral 
  damage” on everything within (2 × dice of damage) 
  yards. For instance, if an explosion does 6d×2 dam-
  age, everyone within 24 yards is vulnerable – although 
  some might be lucky enough to take little or no 
  damage.  
   
  The listed damage only applies “as is” to the target 
  struck. For everything else caught in the blast, roll this 
  damage but divide it by (3 × distance in yards from the 
  center of the blast), rounding down. Roll damage indi-
  vidually (but the GM can save time by using one roll 
  for several NPCs). Use torso armor to determine DR 
  against explosion damage. 
   
  If an explosive attack has an armor divisor, it does 
  not apply to the collateral damage. For example, the 
  shaped-charge warhead of an anti-tank rocket has an 
  armor divisor of (10), but this only reduces the DR of a 
  target it actually strikes; those nearby get their full DR 
  against the blast. 
   
  Explosions are considered incendiary attacks, and 
  can start fires; see Catching Fire (p. 235). 
   
  Anyone caught in a blast may attempt an active 
  defense roll to dive for cover from the explosion’s col-
  lateral damage and fragmentation; see Dodge and 
  Drop (p. 213). 
   
  Fragmentation Damage 
   
  Many grenades, bombs, and artillery shells have 
  metal casings designed to shatter when they explode, 
  producing a storm of sharp fragments. Some are 
  packed with extra material (pellets, nails, etc.) to en-
  hance this effect. 
   
  Fragmentation damage, if any, appears in brack-
  ets after explosive damage; e.g., “[2d]” means 2d 
  fragmentation damage. Everyone within (5 × dice of 
  fragmentation damage) yards is vulnerable. For exam-
  ple, that [2d] attack would throw fragments out to 5 × 2 
  = 10 yards. 
   
  The farther a target is from the blast, the less likely 
  the fragments are to hit him. A hit is automatic if the 
  explosive attack actually strikes the target. The frag-
  ments attack everyone else in the area at skill 15. Only 
  three modifiers apply: the range modifier for the dis-
  tance from the center of the blast to the target, the 
  modifier for the target’s posture (prone, etc.), and the 
  target’s Size Modifier. It is possible for several frag-
  ments to hit! For every three points by which the attack 
  roll succeeds, one additional fragment strikes the 
  target. 
   
  The only active defense against fragments is to 
  dive away from the explosion that produced them; see 
  Dodge and Drop (p. 213). 
   
  For each hit, roll hit location randomly. If that loca-
  tion is behind cover, the fragment hits cover.  
   
  Fragmentation damage is cutting. Note that if an 
  explosive attack has an armor divisor, this does not 
  apply to the fragments it produces. 
   
   
  Airbursts: Against an airburst, do not apply posture 
  modifiers – lying prone under an airburst does not de-
  crease the body area exposed to the rain of fragments! 
  Only overhead cover protects. 
   
  Incidental Fragmentation: An explosion with no 
  listed fragmentation damage can still create fragments 
  if there is any loose or frangible material at the explo-
  sion site. Incidental fragmentation damage ranges 
  from 1d-4 for ordinary earth to 1d for an explosion on 
  loose scrap. 
   
  Hot Fragments: White phosphorus-type smoke 
  warheads produce this effect. The fragments typically 
  inflict 1d(0.2) burning damage every 10 seconds for 
  one minute. 
   
  Demolition 
   
  Sometimes the only way to deal with a problem is 
  to blow it up! If the adventurers are using or facing ex-
  plosives, the PCs or GM should decide how many dice 
  of damage – in multiples of 6d – the blasting charge is 
  supposed to do, and what kind of explosive it is. 
   
  Explosives normally do crushing damage with the 
  Explosion modifier (p. 111) – and often the Fragmen-
  tation modifier (p. 111). 
   
   
  How Much Explosive? An explosion doing 6d×n 
  damage takes (n×n)/4 pounds of TNT. If you are using 
  an explosive other than TNT, divide the weight re-
  quired by its relative explosive force (REF) – see the 
  Relative Explosive Force Table, p. 213. 
   
  How Big a Blast? Reverse the formula to deter-
  mine how much damage a given weight of explosive 
  will do: damage is 6d × square root of (weight of ex-
  plosive in lbs. × 4 × REF). 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Explosions in Other Environments 
   
  Other Atmospheres: These rules assume Earth-
  normal air pressure. A thicker or thinner atmosphere 
  enhances or reduces the blast effect. Underwater, 
  divide collateral damage by range in yards instead of 
  3 × range in yards. In a vacuum or trace atmosphere, 
  with no medium to carry the shockwave, damage 
  comes only from the expanding gases themselves: 
  divide damage by 10 × range in yards. 
   
  Contact Explosions: A person can throw himself 
  on a grenade, etc. to protect his friends. He takes 
  maximum possible damage; his DR protects him 
  normally. Everyone else gets his torso’s DR + HP as 
  “cover DR.” 
   
  Internal Explosions: If an explosive goes off 
  inside someone – e.g., a follow-up attack penetrates 
  the target’s DR, or an Astralan Nightbloat swallows a 
  hand grenade – DR has no effect! In addition, treat 
  the blast as an attack on the vitals, with a ×3 
  wounding modifier. 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  Page 223 
   
   
  Relative Explosive Force Table 
   
  TL 
  Type 
  REF Description 
  3 
  Serpentine Powder 
  0.3 
  Standard gunpowder, pre-1600. 
  4 
  Ammonium Nitrate 
  0.4 
  Common improvised explosive. 
  4 
  Black Powder 
  0.4 
  Standard gunpowder, 1600-1850. 
  5 
  Black Powder 
  0.5 
  Standard gunpowder, 1850-1890. 
  6 
  Diesel Fuel + Nitrate Fertilizer 
  0.5 
  Common improvised explosive. 
  6 
  Dynamite 
  0.8 
  Commercially available for mining demolition. 
  6 
  TNT 
  1.0 
  The basic, stable, high explosive. 
  6 
  Amatol 
  1.2 
  TNT-ammonium nitrate. Fills bombs & shells in WWII. 
  6 
  Nitroglycerine 
  1.5 
  Unstable! If dropped, detonates on 13+ on 3d. 
  7 
  Tetryl 
  1.3 
  Common for smaller explosive shells and bullets. 
  7 
  Composition B 
  1.4 
  Another common explosive filler. 
  7 
  C4 Plastic Explosive 
  1.4 
  Standard military and covert-ops explosive. 
  9 
  Octanitrocubane 
  4 
  Theoretical advanced explosive. 
  10 
  Stabilized Metallic Hydrogen 
  6 
  Exotic science-fiction explosive. 
  11 
  Antimatter 
  20 
  Exotic science-fiction explosive. 
   
  INJURY, ILLNESS, AND FATIGUE 
   
   
  The life of an adventurer is not all song and glory. 
  You get tired. You get your clothes dirty. You might 
  actually get hurt – or even worse, killed! 
   
  Fortunately, all these problems can be cured. 
  Even death. Read on . . . 
   
  INJURIES 
   
   
   
  Wounds and ailments cause “injury”: a (usually) 
  temporary loss of Hit Points. Thus, your HP score 
  measures your ability to sustain injury; see Hit Points 
  (p. 27). 
   
  If any injury reduces you to 0 or fewer HP, you 
  will soon fall unconscious. You can even go to nega-
  tive HP . . . but if you go too far, you risk death. For the 
  average man, the difference between full HP and neg-
  ative HP is one or two sword blows or bullets. This is 
  realistic . . . and dramatic. Even in cinematic battles, 
  heroes rarely shrug off dozens of blows. Instead, they 
  avoid being hit. Armor helps . . . but fights can be 
  deadly, so think before you act! 
   
  GENERAL INJURY: LOST HIT POINTS 
   
  Repeated wounding eventually causes anyone or 
  anything to weaken and collapse, even if no single 
  injury is very great. The chart below summarizes the 
  effects of being at low or negative HP. All effects are 
  cumulative. 
   
   
   
   
  Less than 1/3 your HP left – You are reeling from 
  your wounds. Halve your Move and Dodge (round 
  up). 
  0 HP or less – You are in immediate danger of col-
  lapse. In addition to the above effects, make a HT 
  roll at the start of your next turn, at -1 per full mul-
  tiple of HP below zero. Failure means you fall un-
  conscious (or simply stop working, if you weren’t 
  truly alive or conscious in the first place); see Re-
  covering from Unconsciousness (p. 226). Success 
  means you can act normally, but must roll again 
  every turn to continue functioning. Exception: If 
  you choose Do Nothing on your turn, and do not 
  attempt any defense rolls, you can remain con-
  scious without rolling. Roll only on turns during 
  which you attempt a defense roll or choose a ma-
  neuver other than Do Nothing. 
  -1×HP – In addition to the above effects, make an im-
  mediate HT roll or die. (If you fail by only 1 or 2, 
  you’re dying, but not dead – see Mortal Wounds, 
  p. 225). If you succeed, you can still talk, fight, 
  etc., as above (until you fail a HT roll and 
  collapse). Roll again each time you suffer injury 
  equal to a further multiple of your HP, whether as 
  a result of one wound or many. For instance, if you 
  have 11 HP, you must roll to avoid death at -11 
  HP. If you survive, you must roll again at -22 HP, -
  33 HP, and so on . . . 
  -5×HP – You die immediately. You have lost a total of 
  6 times your HP! Nobody can survive that much 
  injury. 
  
  Page 224  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  -10×HP – Total bodily destruction, if this makes sense 
  given the source of the damage – 200 points of ar-
  row wounds leave a messy but recognizable 
  corpse; 200 points of fire injury leaves nothing but 
  an unrecognizable lump of charcoal. The differ-
  ence can be important in settings where resurrec-
  tion, reanimation, etc. are possible! 
   
  SHOCK 
   
  Whenever you suffer injury, reduce your DX and 
  IQ by the number of HP you lost – to a maximum pen-
  alty of -4, regardless of your injuries – on your next 
  turn only. This effect, called “shock,” is temporary; your 
  attributes return to normal on the turn after that. 
   
  Shock affects DX- and IQ-based skills, but not ac-
  tive defenses or other defensive reactions. Therefore, 
  on the turn after you are badly hurt, it is often a good 
  idea to try flight or All-Out Defense instead of an im-
  mediate counterattack! 
   
   
  High HP and Shock: If you have 20 or more Hit 
  Points, your shock penalty is -1 per HP/10 of injury 
  (drop all fractions). Thus, if you have 20-29 HP, it’s -1 
  per 2 HP lost; if you have 30-39 HP, it’s -1 per 3 HP 
  lost, and so forth. The maximum penalty is still -4. 
   
  MAJOR WOUNDS 
   
  A “major wound” is any single injury of greater 
  than 1/2 your HP. If you are using hit locations in 
  GURPS Basic Set, a lesser injury that cripples a body 
  part also counts as a major wound – see Crippling In-
  jury (below). Any major wound requires a HT roll to 
  avoid knockdown and stunning (see below). 
   
  KNOCKDOWN AND STUNNING 
   
  Whenever you suffer a major wound, and when-
  ever you are struck in the head (skull, face, or eye) or 
  vitals for enough injury to cause a shock penalty (see 
  Shock, above), you must make an immediate HT roll 
  to avoid knockdown and stunning. On a success, you 
  suffer no penalty beyond ordinary shock. 
   
  On a failure, you’re stunned; see below. You fall 
  prone (if you weren’t already), and if you were holding 
  anything, you drop it. This effect is called “knockdown.”  
   
  On a failure by 5 or more, or any critical failure, 
  you fall unconscious! See Recovering from Uncon-
  sciousness (p. 226).  
   
  Those with Injury Tolerance (p. 93) suffer reduced 
  effects: No Brain means that skull, face, and eye inju-
  ries don’t cause knockdown or stunning unless they 
  are major wounds – and even then, the roll is at no 
  special penalty. No Vitals means that vitals and groin 
  injuries don’t cause knockdown or stunning unless 
  they are major wounds, in which case the roll has no 
  special penalties. Homogenous and Diffuse include No 
  Brain and No Vitals. 
   
  Effects of Stun 
   
  A failed knockdown roll can cause “stun,” as can 
  phaser weapons, certain critical hit results and some 
  afflictions. If you are stunned, you must Do Nothing on 
  your next turn. You may perform any active defense 
  while stunned, but your defense rolls are at -4 and you 
  cannot retreat. 
   
  At the end of your turn, you may roll against HT. 
  On a success, you recover from stun and can act nor-
  mally on subsequent turns. On a failure, you remain 
  stunned; your next maneuver must also be Do Noth-
  ing, but you get another roll at the end of that turn . . . 
  and so on, until you recover from stun. 
   
  Mental Stun: If you are surprised, you might be 
  mentally stunned; see Surprise Attacks and Initiative 
  (GURPS Basic Set, p. 393). This sort of stunning 
  works as described above, but you must make an IQ 
  roll, not a HT roll, to snap out of it. You’re not hurt – 
  you’re confused! 
   
  CRIPPLING INJURY 
   
  When using hit locations (GURPS Basic Set), 
  sufficient injury to a limb, extremity, or eye may cripple 
  it. This requires a single injury that exceeds a certain 
  fraction of the target’s HP. For humans and human-
  oids, these thresholds are: 
   
   
  Limb (arm, leg, wing, striker, or prehensile tail): 
  Injury over HP/2. 
   
  Extremity (hand, foot, tail, fin): Injury over HP/3. 
   
  Eye: Injury over HP/10. 
   
   
  It is sometimes possible to cripple a body part with 
  less damage or no damage at all; e.g. with a specific 
  critical hit result.  
   
  A blow to a limb or extremity can never cause 
  more injury than the minimum required to cripple that 
  body part. For example, if a man has 10 HP and suf-
  fers 9 points of injury to his right arm, he loses only 6 
  HP — the minimum required to cripple his arm. Ex-
  ception: No such limit applies to the eyes! 
   
   
  Dismemberment: If injury to a body part before 
  applying the above limit was at least twice what was 
  needed to cripple it, the body part is not just crippled 
  but destroyed. A cutting attack or explosion severs a 
  limb or extremity; otherwise, it’s irrevocably crushed, 
  burned, etc. 
   
  Crippling Extra Limbs 
   
  If you have more than two of a particular limb 
  (arm, leg, etc.), a crippling blow is injury over 
  HP/(number of limbs of that kind); e.g., if you have four 
  arms, injury over HP/4 cripples an arm. 
   
  If you have more than two of a given extremity 
  (hand, foot, etc.), a crippling blow is injury over HP/(1.5 
  × number of extremities of that kind); e.g., if you have 
  four feet, injury over HP/6 cripples a foot. 
   
  Effects of Crippling Injury 
   
  Any crippling injury is also a major wound, and 
  requires a HT roll for knockdown and stunning; see 
  Knockdown and Stunning (above). Below are some 
  additional effects specific to particular body parts; all 
  these effects apply to dismemberment as well. These 
  last until the fight is over, and possibly longer – see 
  Duration of Crippling Injuries (p. 225). 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  Page 225 
   
  Hand: You drop anything you were carrying in that 
  hand. If you were using two or more hands to hold an 
  object, roll vs. DX to avoid dropping it. You cannot hold 
  anything (e.g., a weapon) in that hand. You can wear a 
  shield on that arm and use it to block, but you cannot 
  attack with it. Until healed, you have the One Hand‡ 
  disadvantage. 
   
  Arm: As for a crippled hand . . . but while someone 
  with a crippled hand could at least carry something in 
  the crook of the arm, you cannot use a crippled arm to 
  carry anything! You do not drop a shield on that arm 
  (unless the arm is severed), but you cannot use it to 
  block – and since it’s just hanging in front of you, re-
  duce its usual Defense Bonus by one. Until healed, 
  you have the One Arm disadvantage (p. 134). 
   
  Foot: You fall down! You cannot stand or walk 
  without a crutch or something to lean on. You can still 
  fight if you brace yourself against a wall. If you have 
  nothing to lean on, you may assume a kneeling or sit-
  ting posture. Until healed, you have the Lame (Crip-
  pled Legs) disadvantage (p. 121). 
   
  Leg: You fall down! You can still fight if you as-
  sume a sitting or lying posture. Until healed, you have 
  the Lame (Missing Legs) disadvantage (p. 131). 
   
  Eye: You are blind in that eye. Until healed, you 
  have the One Eye‡ disadvantage – or Blindness (p. 
  122), if you lose all your eyes – unless you have some 
  substitute for eyes. 
   
  Nonhuman Body Parts 
   
  Extra Arms: If you have three or more arms, a 
  crippled arm (hand) simply reduces the number of 
  arms (hands) you can use. You only suffer an actual 
  disadvantage if reduced to fewer than two arms 
  (hands). 
   
  Extra Legs: If you have three or more legs, see 
  Extra Legs (p. 90) for the effects of a crippled foot or 
  leg. 
   
  Striker: You cannot use your Striker to attack. If 
  your Striker is also a wing or a tail, see below for addi-
  tional effects. 
   
  Tail: Any advantages the tail provides (e.g., Extra 
  Arm or Striker) no longer function. As well, your bal-
  ance is off: -1 DX, except for close manual tasks. If 
  you’re a swimmer or winged flyer, the DX penalty is -2 
  and you are at half your usual water or air Move 
  (which will also halve your top speed with Enhanced 
  Move). 
   
  Wing: If you have Flight (Winged), you cannot fly – 
  and if you were airborne, you fall. If your wing is also a 
  Striker, you cannot use it to attack. 
   
  Duration of Crippling Injuries 
   
  If you suffer a crippling injury, make a HT roll to 
  see how serious it is. For battlefield injuries, roll at the 
  end of combat. Success means the crippling is tempo-
  rary, failure means it’s lasting, and critical failure 
  means it’s permanent. Dismemberment is automati-
  cally permanent - don’t bother rolling! 
   
   
  Temporary Crippling: Until you are back at full HP, 
  you suffer the disadvantages described under Effects 
  of Crippling Injury, p. 224. Once you are fully healed, 
  these effects disappear. 
   
  Lasting Crippling: You suffered a broken bone, 
  badly torn (or burned) muscle, or other lingering dam-
  age. Roll 1d. This is the number of months it will take 
  for the injury to heal fully. (If the injury is treated by a 
  physician, subtract 3 from the roll at medical TL7+, 2 
  at TL6, or 1 at TL5 — but the period of healing is never 
  less than one month.) 
   
  Permanent Crippling: You lose the use of that 
  body part. It is either nonfunctional or gone. Either 
  way, you acquire a new disadvantage (One Hand, 
  Lame, etc., as appropriate). You get no extra character 
  points for this! It simply lowers your point value. In 
  some settings, even this degree of injury is curable; 
  see Repairing Permanent Crippling Injuries (p. 227). 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  MORTAL WOUNDS 
   
  If you fail a HT roll to avoid death by 1 or 2, you 
  don’t drop dead, but suffer a “mortal wound.” This is a 
  wound so severe that your internal injuries might kill 
  you even after you stop bleeding. 
   
  If you are mortally wounded, you are instantly in-
  capacitated. You may or may not be conscious (GM’s 
  decision). If you suffer further injury and must make 
  another HT roll to avoid death, any failure kills you. 
   
  While mortally wounded, you must make a HT roll 
  every half-hour to avoid death. On any failure, you die. 
  On a success, you linger for another half-hour – then 
  roll again. On a critical success, you pull through mi-
  raculously: you are no longer mortally wounded (but 
  you are still incapacitated). 
  Temporary Attribute Penalties 
   
  Shock, afflictions, and many other 
  things can temporarily lower your 
  attributes. ST reductions affect the damage 
  you inflict with muscle-powered weapons. 
  IQ penalties apply equally to Will and Per. 
  However, there are no other effects on 
  secondary characteristics; for instance, ST, 
  DX, and HT reductions do not affect HP, 
  Basic Speed, Basic Move, or FP. 
   
  An attribute penalty always reduces 
  skills governed by the lowered attribute by 
  a like amount. For example, -2 to IQ would 
  give -2 to all IQ-based skills (and to all Per- 
  and Will-based skills, since IQ reductions 
  lower Per and Will). 
   
   
  Exception: Defensive reactions that 
  don’t require a maneuver to perform – 
  active defenses, resistance rolls, Fright 
  Checks, etc. – never suffer penalties for 
  attribute reductions. For instance, -2 to DX 
  would not affect Block, Dodge, or Parry. 
   
   
  Note that permanent attribute losses 
  require recalculation of all secondary 
  attributes and skills! 
   
  
  Page 226  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
   
  You can also recover from a mortal wound with a 
  successful HT roll whenever medical treatment or 
  magical healing restores any number of hit points – 
  even if you’re still in the negatives. 
   
  If you’re alive but mortally wounded, surgery may 
  be able to stabilize your condition – see Stabilizing a 
  Mortal Wound (p. 227). At TL6+, “trauma mainte-
  nance” can keep you alive while waiting for surgery. 
  This involves CPR, oxygen, transfusions, etc. Instead 
  of rolling vs. HT every half-hour, roll against the higher 
  of your HT or your caregiver’s Physician skill every 
  hour – or every day, if you are on a heart-lung ma-
  chine or similar life support. You do not need to roll at 
  all if you’re put into magical or ultra-tech suspended 
  animation! 
   
  If you recover from a mortal wound, make a HT 
  roll. On a failure, you lose a point of HT permanently. 
  On a critical failure, the GM may apply an appropriate 
  disadvantage (p. 119) or some other effect (e.g., re-
  duced appearance due to scarring). 
   
  DEATH 
   
  If your character is killed, you may still wish to 
  keep track of further injury. In certain futuristic or 
  magical worlds, the dead can be brought back to life 
  by prompt treatment, as long as the body is mostly 
  intact (not reduced to -10×HP). 
   
  Decapitation, a cut throat, etc. can kill anyone, 
  regardless of HT and HP. If a helpless or unconscious 
  person is attacked in an obviously lethal way, he’s 
  dead. Don’t bother to roll for damage, calculate re-
  maining HP, etc. Just assume that he drops to -5×HP. 
   
  This does not apply to a merely unaware victim. If 
  you sneak up behind a sentry with a knife, you can’t 
  automatically kill him. Game it out realistically. Since 
  it’s a surprise attack, he won’t be hitting back: make an 
  All-Out Attack! Your attack roll will almost certainly 
  succeed. Your victim gets no active defense at all. You 
  will probably inflict enough injury to incapacitate or kill 
  him. But it isn’t automatic. 
   
  When a PC or important NPC is killed in any but 
  the most sudden and thorough fashion, the GM should 
  allow a “dying action.” If this is a final blow at the en-
  emy, it should take no more than a turn. If it’s a death-
  bed speech, the GM should stretch time a little bit for 
  dramatic purposes! This has nothing to do with real-
  ism, but it’s fun. 
   
   
  RECOVERY 
   
   
  The Injuries rules may seem harsh, but don’t des-
  pair . . . you can get better! 
   
  RECOVERING FROM UNCONSCIOUSNESS  
   
  Failure by 5 or more on a knockdown roll, a failed 
  HT roll to stay conscious at 0 HP or less, and many 
  other things can leave you unconscious. It is up to the 
  GM to decide whether you are truly unconscious or 
  just totally incapacitated by pain and injury – but either 
  way, you can’t do anything. You recover as follows: 
   
   
  If you have 1 or more HP remaining, you awaken 
  automatically in 15 minutes. 
   
  At 0 HP or worse, but above -1×HP, make a HT 
  roll to awaken every hour. Once you succeed, you can 
  act normally. You do not have to roll against HT every 
  second to remain conscious unless you receive new 
  injury. But since you are below 1/3 your HP, you are at 
  half Move and Dodge. 
   
  At -1×HP or below, you are in bad shape. You get 
  a single HT roll to awaken after 12 hours. If you suc-
  ceed, you regain consciousness and can act as de-
  scribed above. But if you fail, you won’t regain con-
  sciousness without medical treatment – use the rules 
  given under Stabilizing a Mortal Wound (p. 227). Until 
  you receive help, however, you must roll vs. HT every 
  12 hours; if you fail, you die. 
   
  NATURAL RECOVERY 
   
  Rest lets you recover lost HP, unless the damage 
  is of a type that specifically does not heal naturally (for 
  an example, see Disease, p. 233). At the end of each 
  day of rest and decent food, make a HT roll. On a suc-
  cess, you recover 1 HP. The GM may give a penalty if 
  conditions are bad, or a bonus if conditions are very 
  good. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  Page 227 
  FIRST AID 
   
  The two main uses for First Aid skill (p. 163) are 
  bandaging and treating shock. 
   
  Bandaging 
   
  It takes one minute to apply pressure or a tourni-
  quet to stop bleeding. This restores 1 HP. 
   
  Treating Shock 
   
  After bandaging, the aid-giver may take extra time 
  to apply a more elaborate dressing and treat the victim 
  for shock. He must keep the victim warm, comfortable, 
  calm, and still. After the time indicated on the First Aid 
  Table below, he may roll against First Aid skill. 
   
  On a success, the medic rolls as indicated on the 
  table to see how many HP the victim recovers – mini-
  mum 1 HP. A critical success restores the maximum 
  possible HP! This roll includes the 1 HP for bandaging; 
  thus, a roll of 1 HP restores no further HP. 
   
  On a critical failure, the victim loses 2 HP instead 
  of recovering any HP at all! 
   
  First Aid Table 
  Tech 
  Level 
  Time per 
  Victim 
  HP 
  Restored 
  0-1 
  30 minutes 
  1d-4 
  2-3 
  30 minutes 
  1d-3 
  4 
  30 minutes 
  1d-2 
  5 
  20 minutes 
  1d-2 
  6-7 
  20 minutes 
  1d-1 
  8 
  10 minutes 
  1d 
  9+ 
  10 minutes 
  1d+1 
   
  SURGERY 
   
  Surgery can physically repair damage to the body, 
  but it’s risky at low TLs – especially prior to the inven-
  tion of anesthesia (mid-TL5) and blood typing (TL6). 
  See Surgery skill (p. 180) for general modifiers and for 
  the effects of a failed skill roll. Some additional rules: 
   
   
  Equipment: Basic equipment gives -6 at TL1, -5 at 
  TL2-3, -4 at TL4, -2 at TL5, and +(TL-6) at TL6+. 
  Equipment quality further modifies the roll; see Equip-
  ment Modifiers (p. 186). The modifiers for TL5+  sur-
  gery assume that anesthetic is available. If it isn’t, ap-
  ply a -2 penalty to skill. This is instead of the usual -1 
  for a missing item. 
   
  Infection: Before TL5 (and, at the GM’s option, 
  even during much of TL5), antiseptic practice is poor. 
  Check for infection (see Infection, p. 236) after any 
  surgery. 
   
  Stabilizing a Mortal Wound 
   
  Each attempt takes one hour. The roll is at -2 if the 
  patient is at -3×HP or worse, or -4 if he’s at -4×HP or 
  worse. On a failure, repeated attempts are allowed, at 
  a cumulative -2 per attempt. If the victim dies on the 
  table, resuscitation may be possible; see Resuscitation 
  (p. 228). 
   
  Repairing Lasting Crippling Injuries 
   
  It is possible to fix a lasting crippling injury (see 
  Duration of Crippling Injuries, p. 225) through surgery 
  rather than leaving it to heal on its own. This takes 2 
  hours. On a success, measure the injury’s remaining 
  recovery time in weeks rather than months. But on a 
  critical failure, the injury becomes permanent! 
   
  Repairing Permanent Crippling Injuries 
   
  Radical surgery can fix certain permanent crippling 
  injuries at TL7+; exact details are up to the GM. This 
  often requires prosthetic or transplant parts, which 
  might be costly or hard to find. At TL7-8, the procedure 
  might only restore partial functionality. This kind of 
  operation is also tricky: -3 or worse to skill. On a fail-
  ure, the patient needs 1d months to recover before 
  another attempt is possible. 
   
  MEDICAL CARE 
   
  Anyone under the care of a competent physician 
  (Physician skill 12+) gets +1 on all rolls for natural 
  recovery.  
   
  The healer may also make a Physician roll to cure 
  the patient. Only one physician may roll per patient, 
  but a single physician can care for up to 200 patients. 
  The exact number of patients a physician can attend to 
  and the frequency with which he may roll to cure them 
  depend on the TL of his Physician skill; see the Medi-
  cal Help Table, below. On a success, the patient re-
  covers 1 HP; on a critical success, he recovers 2 HP. 
  This is in addition to natural healing. However, a criti-
  cal failure costs the patient 1 HP! 
   
  High-tech physicians depend heavily on equip-
  ment but still receive good basic training; therefore, a 
  TL6+ physician performs as though he were TL6 if he 
  has to make do without the gadgetry to which he is 
  accustomed, as long as the surroundings are clean. 
   
  Medical Help Table 
  Medical 
  TL 
  Frequency  
  of Rolls 
  Patients 
  per Doctor 
  0 
  There are no physicians.  
  Get well by yourself 
  1-3 
  Weekly 
  10 
  4 
  Every 3 days 
  10 
  5 
  Every 2 days 
  15 
  6 
  Daily 
  20 
  7 
  Daily 
  25 
  8 
  Daily 
  50 
  9 
  2 × daily 
  50 
  10 
  3 × daily 
  50 
  11 
  4 × daily 
  100 
  12+ 
  5 × daily 
  200 
   
   
   
  
  Page 228  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  RESUSCITATION 
   
  Reviving a drowning, asphyxiation, or heart attack 
  victim requires resuscitation. Make a successful Phy-
  sician/TL7+ roll – or a First Aid/TL7+ roll at -4. Each 
  attempt takes one minute. Repeated attempts are 
  possible, but there is almost always a time limit. 
   
  Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and rescue 
  breathing, widely taught after 1960, are more effective 
  than earlier forms of resuscitation. First Aid rolls (but 
  not default rolls) to revive victims of drowning or as-
  phyxiation are at -2 instead of -4. 
   
  INTERSPECIES MEDICINE 
   
  Without exception, all medical skills are special-
  ized by species. With rare exceptions, medical profes-
  sionals are initially trained to treat members of their 
  own species, and only after gaining proficiency do they 
  receive training for other species. So for all medical 
  skills, it is assumed that the character learns them first 
  for his own species; exceptions to this must be cleared 
  with the GM during character creation and may require 
  an Unusual Background. 
   
  Once a character has received initial skill training 
  for his own species, application of his medical skills 
  and/or training for other species is handled by Im-
  proving Skills by Default (p. 150) – each medical skill 
  per species is considered a separate skill; for example, 
  Surgery (Human) is a different skill than Surgery (Vul-
  can). In the remainder of this rule section, the skill 
  “Surgery” will be used in examples. It should be clearly 
  understood that these rules apply to all medical skills, 
  not just Surgery! 
   
  Some species are very similar to each other, while 
  some are very alien. The table on p. 229 classifying 
  species into groups and subgroups was first proposed 
  by Doctor Zorski of New Texas and has been updated 
  as new species have been discovered. In it, Groups 
  are designated by Roman numerals, and subgroups 
  within a group have letters appended after the group 
  number. 
   
  Default Modifiers 
   
  When attempting a medical skill by default for a 
  different species than your own for the first time, the 
  minuses that are applied to your skill level are as 
  follows: 
   
   
  within a subgroup: -1. Examples: Human to Deian 
  (both are Group I-a), Romulan to Vulcan (both are 
  Group III-a), or Gorn to Hilidarian (both are group V-b). 
   
  within a Group: -2. Examples: Human to Prellarian 
  (both are Group I but in different subgroups), Dunkar 
  to Klingon (both are Group II), Vulcans to Andorian 
  (both are Group III but in different subgroups), or 
  Ranel to Phelan (both are Group IV but in different 
  subgroups). 
   
  between Groups I, II, III, or IV: -5. 
   
  between Group V and Groups I through IV: -10. 
   
  between Groups I-V and any of Groups VI-IX: -15. 
   
  between any of Groups VI-IX: -15. 
   
   
  Group “X” species are the exception to this rule. 
  Medical skills for these species cannot be learned “by 
  default” and may only be learned normally. 
   
   
  Example: A Dunkar doctor with Surgery (Dunkar) 
  21 attempting to treat a Klingon patient would do so at 
  Surgery (Klingon) 19. Attempting to treat a Pronhoulite 
  patient, he would do so at Surgery (Pronhoulite) 11. 
  That doctor could not treat a Tholian patient with 
  Surgery, as Tholians are Group X; he would first have 
  to learn Surgery (Tholian) as a new skill. 
   
   
  If the patient is of a completely unknown species 
  then the modifier is doubled. Note that this doubling is 
  only applied during unusual circumstances, such as 
  the emergency treatment of an enemy casualty during 
  a First Contact event. (This is sometimes referred to 
  as the “What the devil is this on my operating table, 
  Captain?” rule.) A successful roll on an Expert Skill 
  (Xenology) skill would cut the normal penalties in half; 
  round fractions up. 
   
  Finally, if the medical skill modifier is greater than 
  the medical skill itself (i.e., the modified skill level is 
  zero or negative) then the doctor does not have suffi-
  cient skill to treat the patient. 
   
  As stated elsewhere, once you have a learned a 
  skill (even “by default”) you are allowed to spend 
  character points in order to improve it, even during 
  character creation. (Be sure to do it; your buddies will 
  love you for it!) 
   
  First Aid and Interspecies Medicine 
   
  Because First Aid mostly treats obvious injuries 
  and symptoms and is intended to stabilize a patient 
  until a real doctor is available, it is not penalized as 
  severely as surgery or internal medicine would be. Any 
  doctor within Groups I, II, III, and IV could treat any 
  other species within those groups at First Aid-0. This 
  includes such things as stop bleeding, set broken 
  bones, or restore breathing. (Think of it this way, any 
  human Boy Scout could manage to bandage a cut on 
  his own dog to keep it from bleeding to death until they 
  can reach a veterinarian.) Outside of Groups I-IV, the 
  normal medical penalties would apply to First Aid. 
   
  Improving the Patient’s Odds 
   
  With access to a medical library covering the pa-
  tient’s species (or subspace communication with a 
  doctor familiar with the patient’s species), a few hours 
  of study, and a success roll against IQ or the relevant 
  medical skill, the penalty can be reduced by 33% to 
  67%. (The GM will decide the extent of penalty reduc-
  tion based on the difference in species and available 
  knowledge.) 
   
  Hybrids 
   
  These are individuals composed of mixed species, 
  for example a half-Human/half-Vulcan. The GM has 
  two options as to how to handle these characters. 
   
  Treat the patient (for penalties) as being of the 
  most different type. Thus, a Human-Klingon hybrid 
  would be treated as a different group by a Deian. 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  Page 229 
   
  The character in question is a hybrid whose 
  composition is uncommon and/or unique. In this case, 
  the medical skill modifier is calculated as follows: cal-
  culate the medical skill modifier for each species the 
  patient is composed of, and determine the worst-case 
  modifier. Then double that worst-case modifier and 
  subtract 1; this is the applicable medical skill modifier 
  for that doctor and patient. 
   
  Example: A Deian doctor wishes to treat a Hu-
  man/Klingon patient. The modifier for Deian-Human is 
  -1 (both are subgroup I-a), while the modifier for 
  Deian-Klingon is -5 (one group different). Thus the 
  worst case modifier is -5, which doubled becomes -10, 
  and -1 gives a final medical skill modifier of -11. 
  Therefore, if this doctor had Surgery (Deian) 21, he 
  would default to Surgery (Human/Klingon) 10. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Notes 
   
  Group I species are all moderately compatible in 
  terms of blood and biochemistry. (Alpha-Centaurans 
  are genetically human.) All members of Subgroup I-b 
  are treated (to each other) as members of the same 
  group, not the same subgroup. 
   
  Group II species are dissimilar in biochemistry to 
  Group I species, and/or have significant internal 
  differences including extra or unique internal organs. 
   
  Group III species all have copper-based blood. 
   
  Group IV species are all mammalian with 
  moderately compatible biochemistries but have 
  significant internal and external differences. 
   
  Group V are reptilian; Paravians are in fact 
  descended from the original Gorn species. 
   
  Group VI, loosely described as exoskeletal, is a 
  “catch all” group of unrelated species. Every species in 
  that group should be considered a separate group 
  unrelated to other species but still one group for 
  purposes of determining how many groups apart other 
  groups are. 
   
  Group VII species do not have individual internal 
  organs or their equivalents, and include plantlike 
  species. 
   
  Group VIII species do not breathe oxygen and 
  come from sub-zero climate worlds, while Group IX 
  species come from worlds with cryogenic 
  temperatures. 
   
  Group X species are highly unique, so different 
  from any others that they defy classification; 
  essentially, “Group X” is a catch-all equivalent to “none 
  of the above”. 
   
  Groups VI through X are simply “general 
  categories” and reflect totally different biologies rather 
  than a range of variations such as Groups I through V. 
  As such, any doctor would treat any species in Groups 
  VI through IX as the maximum difference (-15). 
   
  Some of the subgroups listed above are currently 
  empty; they just haven’t been discovered (well, 
  published in GURPS Prime Directive products) . . . 
  yet. 
   
   
  † The original Zorski table listed the Korlivilar in 
  subgroup IV-a and the Carnivons in subgroup IV-b, but 
  this was proven wrong once DNA testing was done. In 
  fact, the “cat” Kzintis and Lyrans, and the “dog” 
  Carnivons, all descended from a common ancestor, 
  while the “cat” Korlivilar (from the opposite end of the 
  Alpha Sector) are only superficially felinoid; their 
  internal structure and blood chemistry are different 
  from the other “cat species.” 
   
  ‡ The Satha’hai are technically Subgroup I-ar with 
  the “r” meaning they require ionizing radiation to live. 
   
   
  Medicine is not an exact science and assuming 
  that an alien who is superficially like some other spe-
  cies is internally similar to that species can be very 
  dangerous. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Zorski’s Interspecies Compatibility Table 
  Group I-a (humans): Alpha-Centaurans, Deians, 
  Humans, Rigellians 
  Subgroup I-ar: Satha’hai‡ 
  Group I-b (near-human): Brecon, Cygnans, 
  Prellarians, Yitlians, Zoolies 
   
  Group II (other iron-blooded humanoids): Arcturians, 
  Bargantines, Cromargs, Dunkars, Klingons, 
  Mantorese, Tellarites, Veltressai 
   
  Group III-a (copper-blooded): Romulans, Vulcans 
  Group III-b (copper-blooded): Andorians, Antareans, 
  Fralli, Orions 
   
  Group IV-a (felinoid mammals): Carnivons, Kzintis, 
  Lyrans† 
  Group IV-b (other felinoid mammals): Korlivilar† 
  Group IV-c (omnivores): Ranel, Slirdarians 
  Group IV-d (aquatic mammals): Phelan, Rovilians 
  Group IV-e (flying mammals): none yet known 
   
  Group V-a (avians): Paravians 
  Group V-b (cold-blooded reptiles): Gorns, Gurlunians, 
  Hilidarians, Pronhoulites 
  Group V-c (warm-blooded reptiles): Skoleans, Vudar 
   
  Group VI-a (crustaceans): Vergarians 
  Group VI-b (insectoids): Seltorians 
  Group VI-c (invertebrates): Jindarians, Mynieni 
   
  Group VII (undifferentiated): none yet known 
   
  Group VIII-a (chlorine-breathers): Q’Naabians 
  Group VIII-b (ammonia-breathers): none yet known 
  Group VIII-c (fluorine-breathers): none yet known 
   
  Group IX-a (methane-breathers): Hydrans 
  Group IX-b (hydrogen-breathers): none yet known 
   
  Group X (uniques): Tholians 
   
  
  Page 230  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  FATIGUE 
   
  Running or swimming long distances, being suffo-
  cated, and many other things can cause “fatigue”: a 
  temporary loss of Fatigue Points. Your Fatigue Points 
  (FP) score starts out equal to your HT, but you can 
  modify this; see Fatigue Points (p. 27). Just as injury 
  represents physical trauma and comes off of HP, fa-
  tigue represents lost energy and reduces FP. When 
  you lose FP, keep track of it on your character sheet. 
   
  LOST FATIGUE POINTS 
   
  The chart below summarizes the effects of being 
  at low or negative FP. All effects are cumulative. 
   
  Less than 1/3 your FP left – You are very tired. Halve 
  your Move, Dodge, and ST (round up). This does 
  not affect ST-based quantities, such as HP and 
  damage. 
  0 FP or less – You are on the verge of collapse. If you 
  suffer further fatigue, each FP you lose also 
  causes 1 HP of injury. To do anything besides talk 
  or rest, you must make a Will roll; in combat, roll 
  before each maneuver other than Do Nothing. On 
  a success, you can act normally. If you are 
  drowning, you can continue to struggle, but you 
  suffer the usual 1 HP per FP lost. On a failure, you 
  collapse, incapacitated, and can do nothing until 
  you recover to positive FP. On a critical failure, 
  make an immediate HT roll. If you fail, you suffer a 
  heart attack; see Mortal Conditions (p. 232). 
  -1×FP – You fall unconscious. While unconscious, you 
  recover lost FP at the same rate as for normal 
  rest. You awaken when you reach positive FP. 
  Your FP can never fall below this level. After this 
  stage, any FP cost comes off your HP instead! 
   
  FATIGUE COSTS 
   
  The following activities commonly result in FP 
  loss. 
   
  Fighting a Battle 
   
  Any battle that lasts more than 10 seconds will 
  cost FP – you expend energy quickly when you fight 
  for your life! Those who make no attack or defense 
  rolls during the fight are exempt from this fatigue, but 
  other actions (e.g., casting magic spells) still have their 
  usual FP cost. At the end of the battle, assess a cost 
  of 1 FP plus a number of FP equal to the encum-
  brance modifier. 
   
  These costs are per battle, not per 10 seconds of 
  battle. A very long battle may cost more (GM’s deci-
  sion), but it would have to run for 2 or 3 minutes (120 
  to 180 turns!) before extra FP costs would be realistic. 
   
  Hiking 
   
  Use the FP costs for fighting a battle, but assess 
  them per hour of road travel; e.g., one hour of march-
  ing with light encumbrance costs 2 FP. 
   
   
   
  Overexertion  
   
  Carrying more than extra-heavy encumbrance, or 
  pushing/pulling a very heavy load, costs 1 FP per sec-
  ond (see Lifting and Moving Things, p. 191). For FP 
  costs for other forms of heavy exertion, see Extra Ef-
  fort (p. 194) 
   
  Running or Swimming  
   
  Every 15 seconds of sprinting, or minute of paced 
  running or swimming, requires a HT roll to avoid losing 
  1 FP. Encumbrance has no direct effect on this, but 
  you run or swim more slowly. See Running (p. 192) 
  and Swimming (p. 192). 
   
  STARVATION AND DEHYDRATION 
   
  When you buy equipment, don't forget food! 
   
  Starvation  
   
  A human needs three meals per day. For each 
  meal you miss, take 1 FP. You can only recover “star-
  vation” fatigue with a day of rest: no fighting or travel, 
  and three full meals. Each day of rest makes up for 
  three skipped meals. 
   
  Dehydration  
   
  A human needs 2 quarts of water a day – 3 in hot 
  climates, 5 in the heat of the desert! If you get less 
  than you need, you lose 1 FP every eight hours. If you 
  drink less than a quart a day, you lose an extra 1 FP 
  and 1 HP per day. You can regain all FP lost to dehy-
  dration after a day of rest with ample water supplies. 
  You recover lost HP at the usual rate. 
   
  MISSED SLEEP  
   
  The average human can function for a 16-hour 
  “day.” He must then rest for an eight-hour “sleep pe-
  riod.” Less Sleep (p. 95) shortens this sleep period, 
  thereby increasing useful day length; Extra Sleep (p. 
  128) and Sleepy (p. 138) do the opposite. Getting less 
  sleep than your sleep period costs FP that you can 
  only recover by sleeping.  
   
  Interruptions, noise, and disadvantages such as 
  Chronic Pain‡, Insomniac‡, Light Sleeper (p. 132), and 
  Nightmares‡ can reduce the quality of your sleep. In 
  game terms, your sleep counts as fewer hours – or 
  none at all.  
   
  Those who have the Doesn’t Sleep advantage (p. 
  88) can ignore this entire section! 
   
  Staying up Late 
   
  If you’ve been awake for more than your normal 
  day (typically 16 hours), you start to get tired. You lose 
  1 FP if you fail to go to sleep, and 1 FP per quarter-
  day (usually four hours) you stay awake after that. 
   
  If you’ve lost half or more of your FP to lack of 
  sleep, you must make a Will roll every two hours you 
  spend inactive (e.g., standing watch). On a failure, you 
  fall asleep, sleeping until you are awakened or get a 
  full night’s sleep. On a success, you have -2 to DX, IQ, 
  and self-control rolls. 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  Page 231 
   
  If you’re down to less than 1/3 your FP due to lack 
  of sleep, roll as above once per 30 minutes of inaction 
  or two hours of action. This can be very dangerous! 
   
  Getting Up Early 
   
  If you sleep for less than your full sleep period, 
  you’ll still be tired when you wake up. Subtract twice 
  the hours of missed sleep from your day to determine 
  how long you can stay awake. 
   
  RECOVERING FROM FATIGUE 
   
  You can recover “ordinary” lost FP by resting qui-
  etly. Reading, talking, and thinking are all right; walk-
  ing around, or anything more strenuous, is not. Lost 
  FP return at the rate of 1 FP per 10 minutes of rest. 
  The GM may allow you to regain one extra FP if you 
  eat a decent meal while resting. Certain drugs can re-
  store missing FP. 
   
  You can only recover from fatigue caused by 
  missed sleep by sleeping for at least one full sleep 
  period. This restores 1 FP. Further uninterrupted sleep 
  restores 1 FP per hour. 
   
  You need food or water to recover FP lost to star-
  vation or dehydration; see p. 230. 
   
  HAZARDS 
   
  Besides the ordinary combat risks of swords, 
  guns, and spells, adventurers commonly face other 
  hazards. 
   
  AFFLICTIONS 
   
  An “affliction” is a harmful effect other than direct 
  injury or fatigue, usually the result of an attack, hazard, 
  illness, magic spell, or toxin. In most cases, the victim 
  gets a HT roll to resist, and only suffers the affliction 
  on a failure. Duration depends on the cause; see the 
  relevant disease, hazard, poison, or weapon descrip-
  tion for details. 
   
  Irritating Conditions 
   
  Coughing or Sneezing: You are at -3 to DX and -1 
  to IQ, and cannot use Stealth. 
   
  Drowsy: You are on the verge of falling asleep. 
  Make a Will roll every two hours you spend inactive. 
  On a failure, you fall asleep, and sleep until you are 
  awakened or get a full night’s sleep. On a success, 
  you have -2 to DX, IQ, and self-control rolls. 
   
  Drunk: You are highly intoxicated: -2 to DX and IQ, 
  and -4 to self-control rolls except those to resist Cow-
  ardice. Reduce Shyness by two levels, if you have it. 
   
  Euphoria: You have a -3 penalty to all DX, IQ, skill, 
  and self-control rolls. 
   
  Nauseated: You have -2 to all attribute and skill 
  rolls, and -1 to active defenses. As well, roll vs. HT 
  after you eat, are exposed to a foul odor, fail a Fright 
  Check, or are stunned, and every hour in free fall or in 
  any situation where you might suffer motion sickness. 
  A rich meal in the past hour gives -2; anti-nausea rem-
  edies give +2. On a failure, you vomit for (25 - HT) 
  seconds – treat as Retching, p. 232. 
   
  Pain: You have a penalty to all DX, IQ, skill, and 
  self-control rolls. This is -2 for Moderate Pain, -4 for 
  Severe Pain, and -6 for Terrible Pain. High Pain 
  Threshold halves these penalties; Low Pain Threshold 
  doubles them. 
   
  Tipsy: You are slightly intoxicated: -1 to DX and 
  IQ, and -2 to self-control rolls except those to resist 
  Cowardice. Reduce Shyness by one level, if you have 
  it. 
   
  Incapacitating Conditions 
   
  All of these afflictions prevent you from taking vol-
  untary action for the duration. In addition to their other 
  effects, you’re effectively stunned (-4 to active de-
  fenses). In combat, you must Do Nothing on your turn. 
  If an affliction lets you drop, you can sit, kneel, go 
  prone, etc. if standing, or go prone if kneeling or sit-
  ting. If it lets you stagger, you can drop, change facing, 
  or step or crawl one yard. In all cases, you are still ef-
  fectively stunned. 
   
   
  Agony: You are conscious but in such terrible pain 
  that you can do nothing but moan or scream. If stand-
  ing or sitting, you fall down. While the affliction en-
  dures, you lose 1 FP per minute or fraction thereof. 
  After you recover, anyone who can credibly threaten 
  you with a resumption of the pain gets +3 to Interroga-
  tion and Intimidation skill rolls. Low Pain Threshold 
  doubles the FP loss and torture bonus. High Pain 
  Threshold lets you overcome the agony enough to 
  function, but at -3 to DX and IQ.  
   
  Choking: You are unable to breathe or speak. You 
  may do nothing but drop. While the choking endures, 
  you suffer the effects of suffocation (see Suffocation, 
  p. 239). If you have an object lodged in your throat, a 
  friend can try a First Aid roll to clear it; roll at -2 before 
  TL7. Each attempt takes 2 seconds. If you have 
  Doesn’t Breathe or Injury Tolerance (Homogenous), 
  you cannot choke! 
   
  Daze: You are conscious – if you are standing, 
  you remain upright – but you can do nothing. If you are 
  struck, slapped, or shaken, you recover on your next 
  turn. 
   
  Ecstasy: You’re incapacitated with overwhelming 
  pleasure. Treat as Agony, but neither Low Pain 
  Threshold nor High Pain Threshold has any effect – 
  and instead of a bonus for torture, someone offering to 
  continue the pleasure gets +3 to any Influence roll! If 
  you have Killjoy‡, you’re immune. 
   
  Hallucinating: You can try to act, but you must roll 
  vs. Will before each success roll. On a success, you 
  merely suffer 2d seconds of disorientation. This 
  gives -2 on success rolls. On a failure, you actually 
  hallucinate for 1d minutes. In this case, the penalty is -
  5. The GM is free to specify the details of your 
  hallucinations, which need not be visual. On a critical 
  failure, you “freak out” for 3d minutes. You might do 
  anything! The GM rolls 3d: the higher the roll, the more 
  dangerous your action. 
   
  Paralysis: You cannot move any voluntary mus-
  cles, and fall over if you are not in a balanced position. 
  
  Page 232  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  You remain conscious, and can still use advantages or 
  spells that require neither speech nor movement. 
   
  Retching: You are conscious but vomiting (or suf-
  fering dry heaves). You can try to act, but you will be 
  at -5 to DX, IQ, and Per, and automatically fail at any 
  action that requires a Concentrate maneuver. At the 
  end of the retching spell, you lose 1 FP. You gain no 
  benefit from recent meals or oral medication – you’ve 
  thrown it up. 
   
  Seizure: You suffer a fit of some kind. Your limbs 
  tremble uncontrollably, you fall down if standing, and 
  you cannot speak or think clearly. You can do nothing. 
  At the end of the seizure, you lose 1d FP. 
   
  Unconsciousness: You are knocked out, just as if 
  you had suffered injury. 
   
  Mortal Conditions 
   
  Coma: You collapse just as if you had been 
  wounded to -1×HP or below and passed out; see Re-
  covering from Unconsciousness (p. 226). You get a 
  single HT roll to awaken after 12 hours. On a failure, 
  you won’t recover without medical treatment. Until you 
  receive treatment, roll vs. HT every 12 hours. On any 
  failure, you die. 
   
  Heart Attack: Your heart stops functioning (“car-
  diac arrest”). You immediately drop to -1×FP. Re-
  gardless of your current HP, you will die in HT/3 
  minutes unless resuscitated – see Resuscitation (p. 
  228). If you survive, you will be at 0 HP or your current 
  HP, whichever is worse. Missing HP heal normally. If 
  you die and it matters what your HP total was, treat 
  this as death at -1×HP or your current HP, whichever 
  is worse. Injury Tolerance (Diffuse, Homogenous, or 
  No Vitals) grants immunity to this affliction. 
   
  ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE 
   
  Regardless of its composition, an atmosphere may 
  be difficult or impossible to breathe if its pressure is 
  wrong. We measure air pressure in “atmospheres” 
  (atm.); 1 atm. is air pressure at sea level on Earth. 
   
   
  Trace (up to 0.01 atm.): Treat an atmosphere this 
  thin as vacuum (see Vacuum, p. 240). 
   
  Very Thin (up to 0.5 atm.): The air is too thin to 
  breathe. Earth’s atmosphere becomes “very thin” 
  above 20,000’. If you lack protection (e.g., the Doesn’t 
  Breathe advantage, or a respirator and oxygen tanks), 
  you suffocate – see Suffocation (p. 239). Vision rolls 
  are at -2 without eye protection. 
   
  Thin (0.51-0.8 atm.): Earth’s atmosphere is “thin” 
  between 6,000’ and 20,000’. Thin air is breathable if 
  oxygen is present in Earthlike percentages, but it is 
  hard on unprotected individuals. Increase all fatigue 
  costs for exertion by 1 FP. Vision rolls are at -1 without 
  eye protection. Finally, anyone who breathes thin air 
  for an hour or more must check for “altitude sickness.”  
  Make a daily HT roll at +4. Critical success means ac-
  climatization – do not roll again. Success means no 
  effect today. Failure means headaches, nausea, etc., 
  giving -2 to DX and IQ. Critical failure means the victim 
  falls into a coma after 1d hours; see Mortal Conditions 
  (above). Roll against Physician skill once per day to 
  revive the victim before he dies. 
   
  Dense (1.21-1.5 atm.): The air is breathable, with 
  some discomfort: -1 to all HT rolls, unless you have a 
  pressure suit. If the air contains more than 50% oxy-
  gen, you must wear a “reducing respirator” that lowers 
  oxygen partial pressure, or suffer -2 to DX due to 
  coughing and lung damage. 
   
  Very Dense (1.51+ atm.): As “dense,” but a reduc-
  ing respirator is required if the air is more than 10% 
  oxygen. Usually quite hot from greenhouse effects. 
   
  Superdense (10+ atm.): As “very dense,” but the 
  atmospheric pressure is so great that it can actually 
  crush someone who is not native to it, unless he has 
  Pressure Support or an armored suit that provides this 
  advantage; see Pressure (p. 237). Visitors to Venus, 
  or deep inside Jupiter, experience hundreds of atmos-
  pheres of pressure! Such atmospheres are often poi-
  sonous, which presents a separate problem. 
   
   
  These rules assume you are native to 1 atm. and 
  can function normally at 0.81-1.2 atm. If your native 
  pressure differs from 1 atm., multiply all the pressure 
  ranges above by your native pressure in atm. For ex-
  ample, if you’re native to 0.5 atm., a “dense” atmos-
  phere for you would be 0.61-0.75 atm. and a “thin” one 
  would be 0.26-0.4 atm. 
   
  COLD 
   
  Cold can be deadly. Armor must be insulated or 
  heated to shield against prolonged exposure to ambi-
  ent cold. 
   
  Make a HT roll every 30 minutes in “normal” freez-
  ing weather. For most humans, this means tempera-
  tures below 35°F. In light wind (10+ mph), roll every 15 
  minutes. In strong wind (30+ mph), roll every 10 
  minutes. Additionally, strong wind can dramatically 
  reduce the effective temperature (the “wind chill fac-
  tor”). Also see the modifiers below: 
   
  Situation 
  Modifier to HT Roll 
  Light or no clothing 
  -5 
  Ordinary winter clothing 
  +0 
  "Arctic" clothing 
  +5 
  Heated suit 
  +10 
  Wet clothes 
  additional -5 
  Every 10° below 0°F 
  effective temperature 
  -1 
   
   
  Failure costs 1 FP. As usual, once you go below 0 
  FP, you will start to lose 1 HP per FP. Recovery of FP 
  or HP lost to cold requires adequate shelter and a heat 
  source (flame, electric heat, body warmth, etc.). 
   
  COLLISIONS AND FALLS 
   
  An object or person’s Hit Points and velocity deter-
  mine collision damage. “Velocity” is how fast the char-
  acter or object is moving in yards per second (2 mph = 
  1 yard per second). 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  Page 233 
   
  An object in a collision inflicts dice of crushing 
  damage equal to (HP × velocity)/100. If this is less 
  than 1d, treat it as 1d-2. 
   
  If a moving object hits a stationary object that is 
  too big to push aside – like the ground, a mountain, or 
  an iceberg – it inflicts its usual collision damage on 
  that object and on itself. If the obstacle is breakable, 
  the moving object cannot inflict or take more damage 
  than the obstacle’s HP + DR. 
   
  Falling 
   
  A fall is a collision with an immovable object: the 
  ground. Find your velocity (in yards per second) when 
  you hit using the following table: 
   
  Falling Velocity Table 
  Fall  
  Velocity 
   
  Fall  
  Velocity 
  1 yard 
  5 
   
  20 yards 
  21 
  2 yards 
  7 
   
  30 yards 
  26 
  3 yards 
  8 
   
  40 yards 
  30 
  4 yards 
  9 
   
  50 yards 
  33 
  5 yards 
  10 
   
  75 yards 
  40 
  10 yards 
  15 
   
  100 yards 
  47 
  15 yards 
  18 
   
  1,000 yards 
  146 
   
  Alternatively, calculate velocity in yards per 
  second as the square root of (21.4 × g × distance 
  fallen in yards), where g is the local gravity in Gs (g = 
  1 on Earth). Round to the nearest whole number. 
   
   
  Controlled Falls: If you are free to move, you can 
  use Acrobatics skill to land properly. On a success, 
  reduce falling distance by five yards when calculating 
  velocity. If falling into water, you can do this or attempt 
  a proper dive (see above) – decide which first! 
   
  Terminal Velocity: “Terminal velocity” is the maxi-
  mum speed a falling object can achieve before air re-
  sistance negates further acceleration under gravity. Air 
  resistance is relatively negligible for distances shown 
  on the table, but increases drastically for longer falls. 
   
  Terminal velocity varies greatly by object. For hu-
  man-shaped 
  objects 
  on 
  Earth, 
  it 
  is 
  60-100 
  yards/second. Use the low end for a spread-eagled 
  fall, the high end for a swan dive. For dense objects 
  (e.g., rocks) or streamlined objects, it can be 200 
  yards/second or more! 
   
  The terminal velocity rules assume Earth-normal 
  gravity (1G) and atmospheric pressure (1 atm.). Multi-
  ply terminal velocity by the square root of gravity in Gs. 
  Then divide it by the square root of pressure in atm. 
  Thus, gravity under 1G, or pressure above 1 atm., re-
  duces terminal velocity; gravity over 1G, or pressure 
  below 1 atm., increases it. Note that terminal velocity 
  is unlimited in a vacuum! 
   
  Damage from Falling Objects 
   
  If an object falls on someone, find its velocity on 
  the table above and calculate damage as for an ordi-
  nary collision. 
   
  A falling object with a Size Modifier equal to or 
  greater than that of whoever it lands on impedes the 
  victim’s movement. He may move only one yard on his 
  next turn, and his active defenses are -3. These pen-
  alties result from bulk, not mass, so ST is irrelevant. 
   
  DISEASE 
   
  Maladies and strange diseases may affect adven-
  turers in far-off lands . . . or even at home. The search 
  for a cure – whether for the Princess’ wasting disease, 
  an alien plague, or a terrorist’s bioweapon – is a won-
  derful plot device. Technological items, the Resistant 
  advantage (p. 101), and high HT can all protect you 
  from disease. However, if you catch something, you 
  won't know until the symptoms start to show . . . the 
  GM makes your roll to avoid it! 
   
  Defining a Disease 
   
  The important things to know about a given dis-
  ease are: 
   
   
  Vector: How the disease spreads. Diseases are 
  generally blood, contact, digestive, or respiratory 
  agents. These terms mean just what they do for poi-
  sons; see Delivery (p. 237). 
   
  Resistance Roll: The HT roll to avoid the disease. 
  Most diseases allow a roll at HT to HT-6. On a suc-
  cess, the victim does not contract the disease. On a 
  failure, he does, but he gets further rolls – once per 
  “cycle” – to throw off the disease. 
   
  Delay: This is the incubation period – the time be-
  tween initial exposure to the disease and the appear-
  ance of the first symptoms in those who fail to resist. 
  This is 24 hours for a “generic” disease, but can vary 
  considerably for real-life diseases. 
   
  Damage: The disease’s effects in game terms. 
  This is typically 1 point of toxic damage, but it might be 
  higher – up to 1d – for virulent diseases. DR does not 
  protect against disease! Symptoms (fever, sneezing, 
  coughing, spots, rash, etc.) appear after the subject 
  starts to suffer injury. Injury from disease will not heal 
  naturally until the victim makes his HT roll to recover! 
   
  Cycles: A disease damages its victim at regular 
  intervals until he makes a HT roll or a maximum num-
  ber of cycles passes. The “default” interval between 
  HT rolls is one day. The number of cycles varies with 
  the deadliness of the disease; for instance, a poten-
  tially fatal disease might only inflict 1 HP per cycle but 
  endure for 20-30 cycles. 
   
  Symptoms: A disease can cause attribute penal-
  ties, temporary disadvantages, etc. after the victim 
  loses a specified fraction (typically 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, or all) 
  of his HP to it. 
   
  Contagion: Some diseases are mildly or highly 
  contagious – although sometimes not until after the 
  incubation period. 
   
   
  The combination of resistance roll, damage, and 
  cycles determines “deadliness.” By carefully selecting 
  these statistics, the GM can distinguish between a vir-
  ulent but mild flu that ends in a day or two (24-hour 
  delay, HT-2, 1 point of toxic damage, 12-hour interval, 
  
  Page 234  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  six cycles) and a slower but usually fatal disease (72-
  hour delay, HT-5, 1 point of toxic damage, daily inter-
  val, 30 cycles). 
   
  Diagnosis 
   
  Once the symptoms of a disease become appar-
  ent, identify it with a roll against Diagnosis or Expert 
  Skill (Epidemiology) – or Veterinary, for an animal ill-
  ness. This cannot identify a totally new illness, but a 
  good roll might give enough information to allow 
  treatment. 
   
  Treatment 
   
  Appropriate remedies – herbs, drugs, etc. – can 
  provide a bonus to the cyclic HT rolls to shake off cer-
  tain diseases. At TL6+, antibiotics (e.g., penicillin) give 
  +3 to recover from most bacterial diseases. At any TL, 
  a physician’s care provides the same bonuses to re-
  cover from disease that it gives to recover from injuries 
  (see Medical Care, p. 227). 
   
  Immunity and Susceptibility 
   
  Differential Susceptibility: Members of a given eth-
  nicity, sex, or species may be more or less susceptible 
  to a particular disease. For instance, the GM might 
  decide that Klingons are immune to the Purple 
  Shakes, and that Cygnans get +2 on their HT rolls 
  against it . . . but that the mortality rate among male 
  Cromargs is 100% unless they are treated within two 
  days. A successful Diagnosis or Physician roll reveals 
  differential susceptibility, if applicable. 
   
  Natural Immunity: Some individuals are simply 
  immune to a specific disease. If the GM rolls a 3 or 4 
  for your first attempt to resist a disease, you are im-
  mune! He should note this fact and not tell you – under 
  normal circumstances, you have no real way of know-
  ing about your immunity. 
   
  Acquired Immunity: Anyone who survives a given 
  disease may be immune in the future. This depends 
  on the illness. You only catch measles once, for in-
  stance – but mumps can come back over and over. 
   
  Vaccination: Vaccination won’t cure disease, but it 
  provides almost certain immunity. At TL5, vaccines 
  exist for a few diseases – notably smallpox – but aren’t 
  widespread. At TL6+, new vaccines appear constantly, 
  and most can be stored for long periods of time, like 
  other medicines. Developing a new vaccine is difficult 
  and time-consuming. At TL10+, exotic treatments can 
  give individuals or entire societies the Resistant to 
  Disease advantage. 
   
  DRINKING AND INTOXICATION 
   
  If you drink too much alcohol in a short period of 
  time, you may become intoxicated. Keep track of how 
  many “drinks” you consume each hour. For simplicity, 
  one drink is a full mug or can of beer (12 oz.), a full 
  glass of wine (4-5 oz.), or a shot of spirits (1.5 oz.). 
   
  At the end of any hour during which you consume 
  more than ST/4 drinks, roll against the higher of HT or 
  Carousing. If you continue to drink, continue to roll 
  once per hour. 
  INJURIES, ILLNESS, AND FATIGUE 439 
   
  Modifiers: -1 per drink over ST/4 that hour; -2 on 
  an empty stomach, or +1 if you have recently eaten; 
  +2 for the Alcohol Tolerance perk (p. 108), or -2 for the 
  Alcohol Intolerance quirk‡. 
   
   
  Each failure shifts you one level from sober to 
  tipsy to drunk to unconscious (drunken stupor) to 
  coma; see Afflictions (p. 231) for details. A critical fail-
  ure drops you two levels: sober to drunk, tipsy to un-
  conscious, or drunk to coma. If penalties reduce your 
  roll to 2 or less, critical failure means you drop three 
  levels! Remember that any roll 10 or more above ef-
  fective skill is a critical failure; e.g., a roll of 11+ 
  against a modified HT of 1. 
   
   
  Pink Elephants: If you are drunk, make one addi-
  tional HT+4 roll. On a failure, you are also hallucinat-
  ing (see Incapacitating Conditions, p. 231). 
   
  The Heaves: If you are drunk and keep drinking, 
  your body will try to purge itself of the alcohol (which is 
  a toxin, after all!). When a failed HT roll indicates that 
  you would fall unconscious or into a coma, make a 
  second, unmodified HT roll. On a success, you vomit 
  up the alcohol instead of passing out; treat this as 
  retching (p. 232). On a critical failure, however, you 
  pass out and then retch; treat this as choking (p. 231). 
   
  Sobering Up: To sober up, you must first stop 
  drinking. After half as many hours as the total number 
  of drinks you consumed, roll vs. HT. Various remedies 
  may give a bonus. On a success, you move one step 
  toward sober. Continue to roll each time this many 
  hours pass until you are sober. Exception: To recover 
  from a coma, you need medical help! 
   
  Hangovers: If you are tipsy or worse, you must roll 
  vs. HT when you stop drinking, at -2 if you’re drunk 
  or -4 if you’re unconscious. On a failure, you will suffer 
  a hangover. This kicks in 1d hours after the end of the 
  drinking session – or on awakening, if you pass out or 
  fall asleep before this time – and lasts hours equal to 
  your margin of failure. During this time, you will suffer 
  from moderate pain (see Irritating Conditions, p. 231) 
  and acquire Low Pain Threshold (or lose High Pain 
  Threshold, if you have it). The GM may decide that 
  preventative treatment (including drinking plenty of 
  water and possibly taking a mild analgesic) gives you 
  a bonus to this roll. 
   
  ELECTRICITY 
   
  If an uninsulated person is exposed to electricity, 
  he may receive a shock. The effects of electric shock 
  are highly variable, ranging from momentary stunning 
  to instant death! This section helps the GM assess 
  these effects if a character receives a shock during an 
  adventure. If a specific attack or scenario gives differ-
  ent rules, they override the guidelines below. 
   
  All electrical damage falls into one of two classes: 
  nonlethal or lethal. Against either, metallic armor (e.g., 
  plate armor) provides only DR 1 – and if the wearer is 
  grounded, he actually attracts electrical attacks, giving 
  the attacker +2 to hit. 
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  Page 235 
  Nonlethal Electrical Damage 
   
  High-voltage, low-power shocks are unlikely to kill, 
  but can stun the victim or even render him uncon-
  scious. This is called “nonlethal electrical damage.” 
  Examples include electric stun weapons, realistic 
  electric fences, and static shocks on a cool, dry day. 
  The GM should require an immediate HT roll when-
  ever someone is zapped. 
   
   
  Modifiers: From +2 for a short circuit in a battery-
  powered gadget down to -3 or -4 for a specially de-
  signed stun weapon. Nonmetallic armor gives a bonus 
  equal to its DR – but surface shocks (e.g., from a cat-
  tle prod) tend to flow over armor rather than through it, 
  and have an armor divisor of (0.5), while energy 
  weapons designed to arc through armor have an ar-
  mor divisor of (2) or even (5). 
   
   
  On a failure, the victim is stunned. An instantane-
  ous jolt (static electricity, electrolaser, etc.) stuns for 
  one second, after which time the victim may roll vs. HT 
  once per second to recover. A continuous shock (stun 
  gun, electric fence, etc.) stuns for as long as the victim 
  is in contact with the source, and for (20 - HT) seconds 
  after that, with a minimum of 1 second. After this time, 
  the victim may roll vs. HT each second to recover. The 
  basic HT modifier for the strength of the shock (but not 
  for DR) applies to all recovery rolls. 
   
   
  Electromuscular Disruption (EMD): Some ultra-
  tech weapons deliver a more powerful current that in-
  duces convulsions. The HT roll is at -5, and if the vic-
  tim fails, he is knocked down and paralyzed instead of 
  merely stunned. Otherwise, the effects are as above. 
   
  Lethal Electrical Damage 
   
  High-power shocks cook flesh and inflict real dam-
  age; they can even stop the victim’s heart! This is 
  called “lethal electrical damage.” Examples include 
  power mains and lightning. 
   
  Lethal electric shocks inflict burning damage: only 
  1d-3 to 3d around the house, but 6d on up for light-
  ning, transmission lines, etc. A victim who suffers any 
  injury must make a HT roll at -1 per 2 points of injury 
  suffered. On a failure, he falls unconscious for as long 
  as the current is applied, and for (20 - HT) minutes 
  afterward, with a minimum of 1 minute. He will be at -2 
  DX for another (20 - HT) minutes when he recovers. 
  Failure by 5 or more, or any critical failure, results in a 
  heart attack; see Mortal Conditions (p. 232).  
   
   
  Localized Injury: Attacks that don’t affect the tar-
  get’s entire body – including most magical electricity 
  attacks – cause pain and burns, but not unconscious-
  ness or cardiac arrest. Treat this as normal burning 
  damage, except that the victim must make a HT roll at 
  -1 per 2 points of injury suffered. On a failure, he is 
  stunned for one second, after which time he may roll 
  vs. HT once per second to recover. If the injury is to 
  the arm or hand, he must also make a Will roll or drop 
  anything carried in that hand. 
   
  FLAME 
   
  If you spend part of a turn in a fire (e.g., running 
  through the flames), you take 1d-3 burning damage. If 
  you spend all of a turn in a fire of ordinary intensity – 
  or if you are on fire – you take 1d-1 damage per sec-
  ond. Very intense fires inflict more damage; for in-
  stance, molten metal or a furnace would inflict 3d per 
  second! 
   
  Continued exposure to a fire can result in intense 
  heat that can rapidly fatigue you even if the flames 
  themselves cannot penetrate your DR. See Heat (p. 
  236). 
   
  Catching Fire 
   
  A single hit that inflicts at least 3 points of basic 
  burning damage ignites part of the victim’s clothing. 
  This does 1d-4 burning damage per second and is 
  distracting (-2 to DX, unless the damage simply cannot 
  harm the target). To put out the fire, the victim must 
  beat it with his hands. This requires a DX roll, and 
  each attempt takes a Ready maneuver. 
   
  A single hit that inflicts 10 or more points of basic 
  burning damage ignites all of the victim’s clothes. This 
  does 1d-1 burning damage per second and is very 
  distracting (-3 to DX, except when rolling to put out the 
  fire). To put out the fire, the victim must roll on the 
  ground. This requires a DX roll, and each attempt 
  takes three Ready maneuvers. Jumping into water 
  takes only one second, and automatically extinguishes 
  the fire. In all cases, remember to apply shock penal-
  ties to DX if the flame inflicts injury! 
   
  GRAVITY AND ACCELERATION 
   
  A change in gravity can be harmful. These rules 
  describe health effects; see Different Gravity (p. 196) 
  for the effects of gravity on common tasks. 
   
  Space Adaptation Syndrome (“Space Sickness”) 
   
  Those who are not native to micro- or zero gravity 
  (“free fall”) may become nauseated and disoriented by 
  the constant falling sensation. Roll against the higher 
  of HT or Free Fall when you first enter free fall. The 
  Space Sickness disadvantage (p. 139) gives -4. 
   
  On a success, you are unaffected. On a failure, 
  you are nauseated (see Afflictions, p. 231), which may 
  trigger vomiting. If you begin to retch while wearing a 
  vacc suit, you may choke; treat this as drowning (see 
  Swimming, p. 192). Roll against the better of HT or 
  Free Fall every 8 hours to recover. If you suffer from 
  Space Sickness, you cannot adapt! 
   
  High Acceleration 
   
  Make a HT roll whenever you experience a sud-
  den acceleration (“G-force”) of at least 2.5 times your 
  home gravity. Treat a home gravity under 0.1G as 
  0.1G for this purpose. 
   
   
  Modifiers: -2 per doubling of acceleration (-2 at 5× 
  home gravity, -4 at 10×, and so on); +2 if seated or 
  lying prone, or -2 if upside down. 
   
  
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
   
  On a failure, you lose FP equal to your margin of 
  failure. On a critical failure, you also black out for 10 
  seconds times your margin of failure. 
   
  A sudden acceleration may throw you against a 
  solid object. If this happens, treat it as a collision with 
  that object at a velocity equal to 10 × G-force of the 
  acceleration. 
   
  HAZARDOUS ATMOSPHERES  
   
  Earth’s atmosphere is 78% nitrogen and 21% oxy-
  gen (plus 1% comprising a number of other gases). 
  Visitors to other planets (and victims of lab accidents 
  or death traps) might encounter other atmospheres, 
  most of which are unsafe for humans without proper 
  protection. Of course, “breathable air” for humans 
  might be deadly for nonhumans, and vice versa! 
   
   
  Corrosive: The atmosphere reacts with exposed 
  flesh. Those with the Sealed advantage are safe; 
  those in sealed suits might be safe, but some gases 
  eat away at seals. Small concentrations in otherwise 
  breathable air require a roll at HT to HT-4 every minute 
  to avoid 1 point of corrosion damage. Victims suffer 
  coughing (see Afflictions, p. 231) after losing 1/3 their 
  HP, blindness (as the disadvantage) after losing 2/3 
  their HP. Atmospheres made up mostly of corrosive 
  gases have effects comparable to immersion in acid 
  and count as suffocating. Corrosives include ammonia 
  and nitrides. Chlorine and fluorine are extremely cor-
  rosive and toxic! 
   
  Toxic: The atmosphere is poisonous. Individuals 
  without respirators, Doesn’t Breathe, Filter Lungs, etc. 
  are susceptible. Ordinary airborne industrial pollutants 
  might require a daily HT roll to avoid 1 point of toxic 
  damage. Lethal gases would call for a HT-2 to HT-6 
  roll every minute to avoid 1 point of toxic damage. If 
  such gases make up most of the atmosphere, they 
  inflict at least 1d toxic damage per 15 seconds (no re-
  sistance possible) and count as suffocating. A typical 
  toxic gas is carbon monoxide. Chlorine and fluorine 
  are deadly in tiny concentrations, and also corrosive. 
   
  Suffocating: The atmosphere is unbreathable. For 
  humans, this means it lacks oxygen. Those without 
  Doesn’t Breathe or an air supply start to suffocate (see 
  Suffocation, p. 239). Hydrogen, methane, and nitrogen 
  are all suffocating. As noted above, an atmosphere 
  made up mostly of corrosive or toxic gases is suffo-
  cating as well – but these usually kill so rapidly that 
  suffocation becomes irrelevant. 
   
  HEAT 
   
  In ordinary hot weather, you will experience no ill 
  effects if you stay in the shade and don’t move around 
  much. But if you are active in temperatures in the top 
  10° of your comfort zone or above – over 80°F, for 
  humans without Temperature Tolerance (p. 106) – 
  make a HT or HT-based Survival (Desert) roll, which-
  ever is better, every 30 minutes. 
   
   
  Modifiers: A penalty equal to your encumbrance 
  level (-1 for Light, -2 for Medium, and so on); -1 per 
  extra 10° heat. 
   
  Failure costs 1 FP. On a critical failure, you suffer 
  heat stroke: lose 1d FP. As usual, if you go below 0 
  FP, you start to lose 1 HP per FP. You cannot recover 
  FP or HP lost to heat until you move into cooler 
  surroundings. 
   
  In addition, at temperatures up to 30° over your 
  comfort zone (91-120° for humans), you lose an extra 
  1 FP whenever you lose FP to exertion or dehydration. 
  At temperatures up to 60° over your comfort zone 
  (121-150° for humans), this becomes an extra 2 FP. 
   
   
  Intense Heat: Human skin starts to burn at 160°; 
  see Flame (p. 235) for damage. Even if no damage 
  penetrates your DR, you will rapidly overheat if the 
  ambient temperature is more than 6 × your comfort 
  zone’s width over your comfort zone (e.g., in a fire). 
  After 3 × DR seconds, make a HT roll every second. 
  On a failure, you lose 1 FP. Your DR provides its usual 
  protection against burning damage, but it has no effect 
  on this FP loss. 
   
  Sunburn: After a day of full sun on unprotected 
  skin, an albino will be near death and a light-skinned 
  Caucasian will be very uncomfortable (1d-3 damage). 
  Darker-skinned individuals may itch, but aren’t in much 
  danger. Details are up to the GM. 
   
  Armor: Armor prevents sunburn and provides its 
  full DR against burning damage – but only armor that 
  provides Temperature Tolerance (through insulation or 
  a cooling system) can prevent FP loss due to heat. 
  This feature is standard on battlesuits and TL9+ com-
  bat armor. 
   
  INFECTION 
   
  A microorganism that attacks open wounds may 
  cause an “infection.” Infections are possible anywhere, 
  but some places (especially jungles) may harbor es-
  pecially severe forms of infection. 
   
  Open wounds treated with antibiotics (TL6+) never 
  become infected except on a critically failed First Aid 
  or Physician roll. People wounded under less-than-
  clean circumstances (GM’s decision) and who do not 
  receive treatment must make a HT+3 roll, modified as 
  follows: 
   
  Ordinary “clean” dirt in wound: +0. 
  Dung or other infected matter in wound: -2. 
  Locale harbors a special infection: -3. 
   
   
  These modifiers are cumulative. 
   
  On a failure, the wound is infected. Treat this as 
  any other disease. A typical infection requires a daily 
  HT roll, modified as above, with failure indicating the 
  loss of 1 HP. Most infections progress until the victim 
  either makes a HT roll, ending the infection, or takes 
  so much injury that he dies. 
   
  Treatment with antibiotics (TL6+) gives +3 to HT 
  rolls. This usually halts the infection before serious 
  injury can occur. 
   
  If drugs are unavailable, or if the patient doesn’t 
  respond, a surgeon can cut out the infected tissue if 
  the injury from infection hasn’t progressed beyond a 
  certain point. On the head or torso, this limit is the pa-
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  Page 237 
  tient’s HP/2. On a limb or extremity, it is the amount of 
  injury required to cripple the body part. Surgery cannot 
  help infections more severe than this. 
   
  The surgeon must make a Surgery roll. This in-
  flicts 2d of injury to the head or torso, or amputates a 
  limb or extremity. On a success, it cures the infection. 
  On a failure, damage or amputation occurs but the 
  patient remains infected. 
   
  POISON 
   
  Poison can show up on weapons; on darts, nee-
  dles, or spikes in traps; in food or drink offered by a 
  treacherous foe; and anywhere else you did not expect 
  it. The important things to know about a given poison 
  follow. 
   
  Delivery 
   
  A given poison might reach its victim in any of sev-
  eral ways: 
   
   
  Blood Agent: The poison must reach a mucous 
  membrane (eyes, open mouth, nose, etc.) or an open 
  wound. If it is sprayed or spat, it must actually strike 
  one of these vulnerable areas (so a spitting cobra 
  must target the face). If it is delivered as a gas or wide-
  area spray, only those with the Sealed advantage (p. 
  102) – or with one of Doesn’t Breathe (p. 88) or Filter 
  Lungs (p. 91) and one of Nictitating Membrane (p. 97) 
  or Protected Vision‡ – are immune. These advantages 
  might be natural or provided by equipment. 
   
  Contact Agent: The poison must be inhaled or 
  touch skin to take effect. If it is used to poison a melee 
  weapon, the weapon must hit an unarmored and un-
  clad hit location for the poison to affect the target. If it 
  is delivered as a gas or wide-area spray, it affects eve-
  ryone in the area who lacks the Sealed advantage 
  (whether natural or provided by a suit, vehicle, etc.). 
   
  Digestive Agent: The victim must swallow the poi-
  son. This is typical of poisonous plants and toxic sub-
  stances such as arsenic. If the poison has a slight but 
  distinctive taste (e.g., cyanide), the GM can allow the 
  victim a Taste roll or Perception-based Poisons roll – 
  at a basic -2, but +2 per doubling of dosage – to notice 
  it in time. Poisons that are easier to detect give a bo-
  nus; those that are harder to detect, or whose taste is 
  masked by suitable food or drink, give a penalty. To 
  force someone to swallow a poison rather than spit it 
  out, you must grapple him by the head or neck and 
  maintain your hold for 10 seconds. 
   
  Follow-Up Poison: The poison must be placed on 
  a piercing or impaling weapon, or injected using a 
  hollow projectile, hypodermic needle, etc. If the 
  weapon penetrates DR and does any damage, it de-
  livers the poison. Most “follow-up” poisons are simply 
  blood or contact agents injected into the body. 
   
  Respiratory Agent: The poison is a gas that only 
  affects those who inhale it into their lungs. Delivery is 
  usually via an area or cone attack (e.g., gas grenade, 
  spray gun, or dragon’s breath), but an entire atmos-
  phere could be poisonous! Only Doesn’t Breathe and 
  Filter Lungs protect completely against respiratory 
  agents – but a victim who makes a Sense roll to notice 
  the poison in time may hold his breath (see Holding 
  Your Breath, p. 190). Unconscious or stunned victims 
  inhale automatically. An improvised mask, such as a 
  wet towel over the face, gives +1 to HT to resist. 
   
  Sense-Based Agent: The poison affects the victim 
  through a specific sense. It has no effect on those who 
  lack that sense or have appropriate protection. A 
  smell-based agent is usually a foul stench that induces 
  nausea; suitable protection is nose plugs, a respirator, 
  or the Protected Sense (Smell)‡ advantage. A vision-
  based agent is generally a cloud of gas that irritates 
  the eyes; appropriate protection is a gas mask, gog-
  gles, or the Protected Sense (Vision)‡ advantage. See 
  Sense-Based (p. 114). 
   
  Delay 
   
  Most poisons require a few seconds to several 
  hours to take effect. This is nearly always true for di-
  gestive agents. 
   
  Resistance Roll 
   
  Some poisons give the victim a HT roll to resist. 
  Make this roll after the delay, if any, has passed. There 
  is often a modifier: a mild poison might call for a HT+2 
  roll, while one that is almost impossible to resist might 
  require a HT-8 roll! HT to HT-4 is typical. DR never 
  affects this roll. 
   
  If you’re in a poisonous environment (like a gas 
  cloud or toxic atmosphere) and make your initial HT 
  roll, you must roll again once per second until the poi-
  son affects you or you leave the area. If the poison has 
  a delay, roll after each delay period instead. 
   
  Some poisons are specific to certain species and 
  do not affect others. Others are easier or harder for 
  particular species to resist. These effects are up to the 
  GM. 
   
  Effects of Poison 
   
  The most common effect of poison is toxic or fa-
  tigue damage. Mild poisons might only inflict 1 HP or 
  FP; more severe poisons might inflict 1d or more. DR 
  has no effect on this damage. These HP and FP 
  losses heal normally. 
   
  Some poisons cause effects other than injury or 
  fatigue, including attribute penalties, irritating or inca-
  pacitating conditions (see Afflictions, p. 231), tempo-
  rary disadvantages, or even the removal of existing 
  advantages (e.g. a poison that disorients the victim, 
  removing Absolute Direction.) The victim usually gets 
  a resistance roll against these effects, and the effects 
  always have a specific duration. The default duration is 
  a number of minutes equal to the margin of failure on 
  the resistance roll. In a poisonous environment, a 
  failed resistance roll means the effects last for as long 
  as you’re in the environment plus the duration. 
   
  PRESSURE 
   
  Adventurers are most likely to encounter extreme 
  pressure in super-dense atmospheres (see Atmos-
  pheric Pressure, p. 232) or deep underwater (where 
  pressure increases by about 1 atmosphere per 33’ of 
  depth). Pressures in excess of your native pressure – 
  
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  1 atm., for a human – are not always immediately le-
  thal, but present serious risks. 
   
   
  Over 2 × native pressure: You risk “the bends” 
  (see below) if you experience over 2 × native pressure 
  and then return to normal pressure. With Pressure 
  Support 1, the bends are only a risk when returning 
  from over 10 × native pressure. With Pressure Support 
  2 or 3, you are immune to the bends. 
   
  Over 10 × native pressure: You may be crushed! 
  On initial exposure and every minute thereafter, roll vs. 
  HT at a basic +3, but -1 per 10 × native pressure. If 
  you fail, you suffer HP of injury equal to your margin of 
  failure. If your Size Modifier is +2 or more, multiply in-
  jury by SM. With Pressure Support 2, read this as 
  “Over 100 × native pressure” and “-1 per 100 × native 
  pressure.” With Pressure Support 3, you are immune 
  to pressure. 
   
  The Bends 
   
  When you are breathing air that has been com-
  pressed (e.g., using scuba gear), your blood and tis-
  sues absorb some of the nitrogen gas in the com-
  pressed air. When you return to normal pressure, or 
  “decompress,” this nitrogen escapes, forming small 
  bubbles in the blood and muscles. This can result in 
  joint pains, dizzy spells, possibly even death. These 
  symptoms are known as “the bends.” 
   
  You risk the bends if you return to normal pressure 
  after experiencing pressure greater than twice your 
  native pressure (or 10 times native pressure, with 
  Pressure Support 1). To avoid this, you must decom-
  press slowly, spending time at intermediate pressures 
  to allow the nitrogen to escape harmlessly. 
   
  Divers and mountaineers use precise tables to 
  determine decompression times based on time spent 
  at a given pressure. For game purposes, at up to 2 
  atm. (about 33’ underwater), a human can operate for 
  any amount of time and return without risk. At up to 2.5 
  atm. (50’ depth), a human can safely operate for up to 
  80 minutes and return without requiring slow decom-
  pression. Greater pressures reduce the safe time 
  without slow decompression: at 4 atm. (100’ depth), 
  it’s about 22 minutes; at 5.5+ atm. (150’ depth), there 
  is no safe period. 
   
  Safe decompression involves slowly lowering the 
  pressure, either naturally (e.g., a diver deliberately 
  taking hours to reach the surface) or in a decompres-
  sion chamber. The time required increases with both 
  pressure and exposure time. It can be several hours – 
  or even days. 
   
  If you fail to decompress slowly enough, make a 
  HT roll. Critical success means no ill effects. Success 
  means severe joint pain, causing agony (see Incapac-
  itating Conditions, p. 231); roll vs. HT hourly to re-
  cover. Failure means unconsciousness or painful pa-
  ralysis; roll vs. HT hourly to regain consciousness, with 
  each failure causing 1d of injury. Once conscious, you 
  suffer joint pain, as described above. Critical failure 
  results in painful death. Recompression to the highest 
  pressure experienced lets you roll at HT+4 every five 
  minutes to recover from all effects short of death. 
   
  An instant pressure reduction can also result in 
  explosive decompression; see Vacuum (p. 240) for 
  details. All effects are cumulative! 
   
  RADIATION 
   
  Radiation threatens high-tech heroes in the form 
  of solar flares, cosmic rays, nuclear accidents, radio-
  active materials, and lethal weapons (nuclear bombs, 
  particle beams, etc.). Exposure is measured in rads. 
  The more rads received, the greater the chance of ill 
  effects. 
   
  Whenever a character is exposed to radiation, the 
  GM should note both the dose and the date. Each 
  dose diminishes separately from all others; it starts to 
  heal after 30 days, at the rate of 10 rads per day. 
  However, 10% of the original dose never heals (except 
  via ultra-tech, magic, etc.). Note that some species 
  may have Radiation Tolerance (p. 100). 
   
  Effects of Radiation on Living Things 
   
  When a living being accumulates at least 1 rad 
  (but no more than once per day, for continued expo-
  sure to a given source), he must make a HT roll. On 
  the Radiation Effects Table, below, find his current 
  accumulated dose in the “Accumulated Dose” column. 
  Apply the modifier in the “HT” column to his HT roll. 
  Then roll the dice. Use the first result in the “Effects” 
  column on a critical success, the second on a success, 
  the third on a failure, and the last on a critical failure. 
   
  Radiation Effects Table 
  Accumulated Dose 
  HT 
  Effects 
  1-10 rads 
  +0 
  –/–/A/B 
  11-20 rads 
  +0 
  –/A/B/C 
  21-40 rads 
  +0 
  A/B/C/D 
  41-80 rads 
  -1 
  A/B/C/D 
  81-160 rads 
  -3 
  A/B/C/D 
  161-800 rads 
  -4 
  A/B/C/D 
  800-4,000 rads 
  -5 
  C/D/E/E 
  Over 4,000 rads 
  -5 
  D/E/E/E 
  –: The dose has no obvious effect, but 
  doses continue to accumulate. 
   
   
  A: Radiation burns and chronic “somatic” damage. 
  HT hours after irradiation, suffer 1d of injury and gain 
  Low Pain Threshold for one week (those with High 
  Pain Threshold lose this instead). If you recover, make 
  two more HT rolls with the modifier on the table: one to 
  avoid sterility, the other to avoid gaining the Terminally 
  Ill (1 year) disadvantage. Gain either condition only on 
  a critical failure. 
   
  B: Hematopoietic syndrome. As A, but as well, 
  after HT hours you are nauseated (see Irritating Con-
  ditions, p. 231) for a further (40 - HT) hours; lose 1d 
  each from DX, IQ, and FP; and acquire the Hemo-
  philia‡ disadvantage. Each day, make a HT roll with 
  the modifier on the table. On a critical success, you 
  heal 2 points each of DX, IQ, and FP; on a success, 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  Page 239 
  you recover 1 point of each; on a failure, there is no 
  improvement; and on a critical failure, you lose 1 point 
  of each and are nauseated that day. After recovering 
  all lost DX, IQ, and FP, you no longer suffer from He-
  mophilia or need to make daily HT rolls. 
   
  C: Gastrointestinal syndrome. As B, but in 1d/2 
  weeks, you also lose all body hair and must make 
  daily HT rolls. On a critical failure, you suffer 1d points 
  of injury; on a failure, 2 points of injury; on a success, 
  1 point of injury; and on a critical success, injury stops 
  and normal recovery can occur (and hair starts to grow 
  back). Until injury stops, you have Susceptible to Dis-
  ease -3 (p. 140) and suffer from nausea. If you lose 
  more than 2/3 of your HP to radiation, your teeth and 
  nails start to fall out.  
   
  D: Terminal radiation sickness. As C, except HP 
  loss begins in 1d/2 days, and even a critical success 
  won’t stop daily HP loss – it only postpones it for a 
  day. Death is certain. 
   
  E: Rapid cerebrovascular death. After one hour, 
  you lose 1d from each of DX, IQ, and FP; take 1d of 
  injury; gain Hemophilia‡, Low Pain Threshold, and 
  Susceptible to Disease-3; and are nauseated. Make 
  an hourly HT roll. Critical failure means instant death 
  from brain hemorrhage; failure means loss of another 
  2 points of DX, IQ, and FP, and 2 more points of injury; 
  success means 1 extra point of each; critical success 
  means no decline that hour. 
   
  Other Effects: In addition to these effects, a single 
  dose of 200+ rads causes sterility and blindness for 1d 
  months; a dose of 500+ rads makes it permanent. An 
  accumulated dose of 100+ rads increases the risk of 
  birth defects. Should you become a parent, make a HT 
  roll, at +3 if you are male. On a failure, the child has 
  some sort of birth defect (GM’s option). 
   
   
   
   
  Radiation Protection 
   
  Any material between you and the radiation 
  source grants a Protection Factor (PF) that reduces 
  your received dose. Divide your dose by PF; e.g., PF 
  100 means 1/100 the dose. Half an inch of lead, 1.5 
  inches of steel, or 750 yards of air has PF 2; a yard of 
  water has PF 8; a yard of earth has PF 27; and a yard 
  of concrete has PF 64. 
   
  Shielding protects differently against certain types 
  of radiation. Radiation from solar flares and planetary 
  radiation belts (like the Van Allen belt) is mostly free 
  electrons and alpha particles: multiply PF by 20. 
  Against cosmic rays, divide PF by 100! 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Radiation Treatment 
   
  All costs below are per treatment. 
   
   
  At TL7, drugs are available that can halve your 
  effective rad dosage if a dose ($500) is taken 1-3 
  hours in advance. Chelating drugs are also available 
  to get radioactive fallout out of your system; a dose 
  ($500) halves exposure after 3 days and eliminates it 
  entirely after a week. This has no effect on radiation 
  already absorbed! 
   
  At TL8, advanced chelating drugs ($500) encapsu-
  late and remove fallout in 12 hours. 
   
  At TL9, advanced anti-radiation drugs or cell-re-
  pair nanotechnology ($1,000) can give +3 to all HT 
  rolls vs. radiation for 2 weeks. 
   
  At TL10+, cell-repair nanotech or rejuvenation 
  technology might be able to completely repair the rav-
  ages of radiation, provided the victim is still alive. 
   
  SUFFOCATION 
   
  If you completely lack air you lose 1 FP per sec-
  ond. If you are drowning after a failed Swimming roll, 
  you can get some air, but you also inhale water: roll 
  Radiation Hazards 
   
  Cosmic Rays: A constant hazard for 
  space travelers. Inflict 1 rad/week. Only 
  massive shielding protects people.  
   
  Fallout: Small radioactive particles, such 
  as those produced by a ground-burst nuclear 
  bomb. Inflicts 2-5 rads/minute within a few 
  hours of the blast, and several rads/hour over 
  the next day. If you breathe or swallow fallout 
  (in contaminated food or water), the ingested 
  material delivers a continuing dose (see p. 
  238). 
   
  Fission Plant Accident: 1,000 rads/hour or 
  more! This is only in close proximity (e.g., the 
  reactor room); divide dose by the square of 
  the distance in yards from the source. 
   
  Ingested Radioactive Material: Plutonium, 
  radium-226, uranium-235, etc. Even tiny 
  doses can cause 1 rad/day to several 
  rads/minute, depending on the isotope. (Some 
  radioactive materials, such as plutonium, are 
  also extremely toxic!) 
   
  Innate Attack: An attack with the 
  Radiation damage modifier (p. 111) delivers 
  one rad per point of damage rolled. 
   
  Nuclear Blast: One-megaton fission air or 
  space burst at 2,000 yards: 6,600 rads! 
   
  
  Page 240  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  vs. Swimming every five seconds; failure costs 1 FP 
  (see Swimming, p. 192). 
   
  At 0 FP, make a Will roll every second or fall 
  unconscious. Regardless of FP or HP, you die after 
  four minutes without air.  
   
  If you get clean air before you die, you stop losing 
  FP and start to recover FP at the usual rate (see Re-
  covering from Fatigue, p. 231). If you are unconscious, 
  you awaken once you have 1 FP. If you were drown-
  ing, a rescuer must also make a First Aid roll to get the 
  water out of your lungs in order to save you. 
   
  If you went without air for more than two minutes, 
  roll vs. HT to avoid permanent brain damage: -1 to IQ. 
   
  VACUUM 
   
  Vacuum is the absence of air – but these rules 
  also apply in trace atmospheres, where there is almost 
  no air. If you are exposed to vacuum without protection 
  (e.g., a vacc suit or the Vacuum Support advantage), 
  the following rules apply. 
   
   
  Breathing Vacuum: You can’t hold your breath in 
  vacuum – and you may rupture your lungs if you try 
  (1d of injury). If you exhale and leave your mouth 
  open, you can operate on the oxygen in your blood for 
  half the time listed under Holding Your Breath (p. 190). 
  After that, you begin to suffocate (see Suffocation, p. 
  239). 
   
  Explosive Decompression: When an area sud-
  denly goes from normal pressure to little or none (a 
  “blowout”), body fluids boil, blood vessels rupture, and 
  eardrums pop. Take 1d of injury immediately, and roll 
  vs. HT to avoid the bends (see The Bends, p. 238). 
  Also roll vs. HT+2 for each eye; failure means One 
  Eye or Blindness, as appropriate. Finally, roll vs. HT-1 
  to avoid Hard of Hearing. Use the Duration of Crippling 
  Injuries rules (p. 228) to determine how long these 
  disadvantages last. 
   
  Extreme Temperatures: Vacuum itself is neither 
  “cold” nor “hot,” but in the absence of air, surfaces in 
  shadow will eventually grow very cold, while those in 
  sunlight will become extremely hot. For example, on 
  the moon – with its month-long “day” – the tempera-
  ture can range from -243°F (at night) to 225°F (at 
  noon). 
   
  AGE AND AGING 
   
  As discussed under Age (p. 31), you can start your 
  adventuring career at any age that falls within the 
  usual lifespan of your species. However, unless you 
  are Unaging‡, you will experience gradual decline 
  once you age past a certain point. 
   
  Beginning at age 50 (or at the age specified in the 
  description for your species), make a series of “aging 
  rolls” each year to see if old age is taking its toll. (If you 
  did not note an exact birthday, roll on the first day of 
  every game year.) At age 70, roll every six months. At 
  age 90, roll every three months! 
   
  If you have Extended Lifespan (p. 89), each level 
  doubles the age at which you must make aging rolls 
  (50 years), the ages at which aging rolls become more 
  frequent (70 and 90 years), and the time intervals be-
  tween aging rolls (1 year, 6 months, and 3 months). If 
  you have Short Lifespan (p. 138), each level halves 
  these numbers. 
   
  Aging rolls are a series of four HT rolls – one for 
  each of your four basic attributes, in the following or-
  der: ST, DX, IQ, HT. You may not use any form of 
  Luck‡ on these rolls. 
   
  Modifiers: Your world’s medical tech level minus 3; 
  e.g., -3 at TL0, or +4 at TL7. +2 if you are Very Fit, +1 
  if Fit, -1 if Unfit, or -2 if Very Unfit. 
   
   
  On a failure, reduce the attribute in question by 
  one level. A critical failure, or any roll of 17 or 18, 
  causes the loss of two levels. Exception: If you have 
  Longevity (p. 95), treat any roll of 16 or less as a suc-
  cess, and treat a 17 or 18 as an ordinary failure – and 
  if your modified HT is 17+, only an 18 fails! 
   
  When you lose an attribute level to age, reduce 
  your point value accordingly. Reduce all secondary 
  characteristics and skills based on that attribute to re-
  flect its new level. For instance, if aging reduces your 
  IQ by one, your Perception, Will, and skills based on 
  any of those three quantities also drop by one. If any 
  attribute reaches 0 from aging, you die a “natural” 
  death. 
   
  At the GM’s option, you may lose advantages or 
  gain disadvantages of equivalent point value instead of 
  losing an attribute point. For example, your Appear-
  ance could decline, or you could gain Hard of Hearing. 
   
  Artificial Youth 
   
  In some settings, technology can halt or reverse 
  aging. Should you become younger through any 
  means, you regain all attribute levels lost between 
  your new age and your old one. This simply increases 
  your point value; you do not have to “buy back” the 
  recovered attribute levels. Even without high technol-
  ogy, you can spend earned character points to raise 
  your attributes to combat aging. 
   
  GAME TIME 
   
  “Game time” is the time that passes in the game 
  world, as determined by the GM. It rarely passes at the 
  same rate as time in the real world. 
   
  Time During Adventures 
   
  Combat is played in “slow” time. A turn in combat 
  equals one second, but it might take a minute or more 
  in the real world to resolve that turn, especially if the 
  players are inexperienced or the battle is a large one. 
  Since combat is usually a life-or-death situation, you 
  need to give your players time to think. 
   
  Conversations, planning sessions, attempts to 
  escape from traps, and similar situations are played in 
  “real” time. If the players spend 10 minutes discussing 
  how to best approach an NPC merchant . . . their 
  characters spent 10 minutes talking outside the shop. 
   
  Routine travel, long tasks, etc., are handled in 
  “fast” time. Tell the players when they meet someone, 
  when they enter a town, when night falls, and so on. 
  Just compress the rest of the time. Under some cir-
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  Page 241 
  cumstances – a long sea or space voyage, for in-
  stance – the GM could compress months of uneventful 
  time into “Nothing happens until July, unless you make 
  it happen yourself.” This is a good time for the char-
  acters to dream up some interesting deviltry, or for 
  study and self-improvement.  
   
  Time Between Sessions 
   
  If you can’t finish an adventure in one session, just 
  “pause” the game until the next session. For instance, 
  if the party confronts a rampaging terilek boar just be-
  fore the session ends, the terilek boar gets no closer in 
  the real-world week before you can play again. 
   
  Time Between Adventures 
   
  If you are running a continuing campaign, you 
  should keep track of time between adventures, so 
  characters can study, travel, and age. This can always 
  be the same amount of time, or the GM and players 
  can simply agree on a “logical” time to pass between 
  the end of one adventure and the beginning of the 
  next. It is often a good idea to let a month or two go 
  by, to allow time for healing, earning money at “ordi-
  nary” jobs, and study of new skills. 
   
  Military personnel will not need to “earn money” 
  between adventures (other than pocket money) but will 
  sometimes have the opportunity to take education or 
  training during the normal course of their duties. A 
  starship officer or crewman would have some free time 
  between duty shifts, and would be encouraged to 
  spend it studying various subjects on a computer ter-
  minal. In some cases, a character might be sent away 
  for a short while to take a special training course (if the 
  GM wants him to have that skill). 
   
  ECONOMICS 
   
   
  Each game world has its own economic situation. 
  But money, in some form or another, is important in 
  almost every setting. Money is anything you can ex-
  change for what you want. It varies from one game 
  world to the next. In a high-tech world, everything 
  might be done by credit card. In a low-tech world, gold 
  and silver may be king. For the sake of convenience, 
  GURPS prefixes all prices with a dollar sign – $ – in all 
  settings. The GM is welcome to translate this to cred-
  its, copper farthings, Astranian foomphra, or whatever 
  he feels is appropriate to the game world; see Tech 
  Level and Starting Wealth (p. 35). 
   
  In a low-tech world, jewelry is also money. It might 
  not have a set value imprinted on it, but it is small and 
  portable, and easily traded for coins or bartered di-
  rectly for needed goods. In fact, many societies exist 
  largely by barter – which can be a test of the players’ 
  ingenuity. 
   
  Bankrolls and Possessions 
   
  List the money a character has on his person on 
  his character sheet, just like his other possessions. If a 
  lot of transactions are taking place, it might be wise to 
  record money on a separate sheet of paper to avoid 
  erasing a hole in the character sheet! 
   
  List the money a character does not carry with him 
  separately, along with its location. The GM may ar-
  range floods, bank robberies, tax increases, and other 
  entertainments to deprive the PCs of their savings – or 
  at least make them work to get their money back. The 
  same is true of all other possessions the heroes do not 
  carry with them. 
   
  WEALTH AND STATUS 
   
  Wealth (p. 35) and Status (p. 36) are separate but 
  related traits. It is up to the GM to determine the de-
  tails of the relationship. 
   
  In many game worlds, those with high social 
  standing must buy up Wealth by one level past Aver-
  age per Status level above 0, but can have high 
  Wealth without high Status. In others, wealthy char-
  acters must buy an additional level of Status per level 
  of Wealth past Average, but can purchase high Status 
  without Wealth. The GM might even enforce both re-
  quirements and rigidly associate Status levels with 
  Wealth levels – but this excludes many good character 
  concepts. In all game worlds, it is common for those 
  with negative Status to have Wealth one level below 
  Average per Status level below 0. 
   
  To keep things fun, the GM should forbid high Sta-
  tus to poor characters or high Wealth to low-Status 
  ones only if the setting absolutely demands it! 
   
   
  Cost of Living 
  Your monthly “cost of living” is an average of your typi-
  cal expenses for one month. It covers food, housing, 
  clothing, and entertainment . . . and, at Status 1 or 
  higher, servants, if this is customary in your society. 
   
  Your cost of living depends on your Status (p. 36). 
  The Cost of Living Table (p. 242) gives a “generic” 
  
  Page 242  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  cost of living for each Status level; you must normally 
  pay this at the beginning of each month. However, the 
  GM is free to vary both the amount of money involved 
  and the payment scheme; for instance, he could ask 
  for half at the start of the month and half in the middle. 
   
  For the status of Star Fleet Universe officers 
  based on rank, see the Promotion/Grade Table (p. 39). 
  It is assumed the pay received covers the usual status 
  for the rank. 
   
  In most game worlds, you may opt to pay the cost 
  of living for a Status level higher or lower than your 
  own (but never more than Status 8 or less than Status 
  -2). This affects how NPCs react to you, and may have 
  other effects as well. 
   
  Living below your Status saves you money, but 
  has negative repercussions. Depending on the level 
  you drop to, these might include unpaid servants quit-
  ting, threats from your landlord, malnutrition, eviction, 
  or anything else the GM feels appropriate. 
   
  The GM may also reduce your effective Status to 
  the level you’re supporting in any situation where your 
  reduced circumstances would cause a negative reac-
  tion; e.g., at a “society” function or when meeting 
  strangers who do not recognize your face. Living 
  above your Status costs more, but gives you a more 
  comfortable lifestyle. It might even let you pose as 
  someone of higher Status – although the GM is free to 
  require a Savoir-Faire (High Society) skill roll as well. 
  But be aware that claiming more Status than you actu-
  ally possess can lead to a reaction penalty! Actually 
  living above your Status can earn you a bad Reputa-
  tion – or even qualify as an Odious Personal Habit. 
   
  Status 
  Examples 
  Cost of Living 
  8 
  Emperor, god-king, 
  overlord 
  $600,000,000 
  7 
  King, pope, president 
  $60,000,000 
  6 
  Royal family, governor 
  $6,000,000 
  5 
  Great noble, multinational 
  corporate boss 
  $600,000 
  4 
  Lesser noble, 
  congressional 
  representative 
  $60,000 
  3 
  Landed knight, guild 
  master, big city mayor 
  $12,000 
  2 
  Landless knight, mayor, 
  business leader 
  $3,000 
  1 
  Squire, merchant, priest, 
  doctor 
  $1,200 
  0 
  Freeman, apprentice, 
  ordinary citizen 
  $600 
  -1 
  Bondsman, poor citizen 
  $300 
  -2 
  Serf, street person 
  $100 
   
  If you get Status free from Rank (p. 37), you need 
  only pay the cost of living for your Status before this 
  bonus, not for your final Status level. Someone else – 
  your organization, the taxpayers, etc. – covers the 
  difference. 
   
   
  Cost of Living and Status 
   
  Each PC must pay the monthly “cost of living” for 
  his Status or accept the consequences, as explained 
  under Cost of Living (p. 241). Assume the PCs are 
  Status 0 – or “middle class” – unless they buy their 
  Status up or down. 
   
  To calculate how much money a character has for 
  discretionary use each month, subtract his cost of liv-
  ing and that of noncontributing dependents from his 
  monthly pay (see Jobs, below). In a campaign that 
  does not use jobs, either subtract cost of living from 
  the PCs’ adventuring income or ignore this rule 
  entirely! 
   
  JOBS 
   
  Not every character will be a member of the mili-
  tary. Many will be civilians who have a need for 
  money, and the means to earn it. It’s up to the GM to 
  define the jobs available in his game world. 
   
  The table on p. 244 defines many typical jobs in 
  the Star Fleet Universe. The GM can define more as 
  they are needed. The ones provided will give you a 
  general guideline by which other jobs can be rated. 
   
  Several things define a job and these are ex-
  plained below. 
   
  Description 
   
  The job’s title and exactly what the job entails.  
   
  Prerequisites  
   
  The skills needed to do the job (if any), and the 
  minimum required level in each. The candidate must 
  have at least one point in the skill – default skill will not 
  suffice! Some jobs also have prerequisite advantages.  
   
  Job Success Roll 
   
  At the end of every month in which a character 
  works, he must roll against one of the prerequisite 
  skills (PR) for his job (as per the jobs table) –  possibly 
  at a penalty, for difficult jobs. Jobs without prerequi-
  sites may have a flat success roll (e.g., all characters 
  roll vs. 12) or require an attribute roll (e.g., ST or IQ).  
   
  If you roll anything but a critical success or critical 
  failure, just collect the monthly pay (below) and go on. 
  On a critical success, you get a 10% permanent raise 
  in income. Results of a critical failure vary; see Critical 
  Failure (p. 243) for the results. 
   
  Monthly Pay 
   
  The amount of money earned on a successful roll. 
  Remember that unless the economy is under some 
  sort of stress or outside control, jobs will never be 
  high-paying unless they are difficult (hard success 
  roll), dangerous (severe consequences on a failed 
  success 
  roll), 
  highly 
  trained 
  (difficult 
  skill 
  prerequisites), or privileged (difficult Status or Wealth 
  prerequisites; e.g., see Wealth Level, p. 35).  
   
  It should be noted that, by a tradition that is univer-
  sal, all military personnel receive free meals (if you like 
  mess hall food, feel lucky), housing (e.g., a cabin or 
  bunk on a starship or barracks), medical care (as-
  suming you can get to a military medical facility, most 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  Page 243 
  major units have these), education (if you apply for 
  and are picked for a course), and a minimum number 
  of duty uniforms. As such, military pay tends to be 
  about 2/3 of civilian pay due to these “benefits.” (There 
  are retirement benefits as well, but these do not gen-
  erally concern the players.) 
   
  The original source material included two contra-
  dictory theories of money. One was that the Federa-
  tion did not need, have, or use money, and the other 
  that Star Fleet personnel were paid in “credits.” We 
  long ago decided that the Federation uses money and 
  pays its military, and that all references to “not having 
  money” were in fact references to the Federation using 
  a system of credit records and not having very much 
  “currency” in their pockets at a given time. Having 
  money (in the bank) is one thing; it could be hard to 
  spend in spaceport bars. 
   
   
   
   
  Some empires are stronger economically than oth-
  ers, which has a direct effect on your income. Adjust 
  your monthly pay per your allegiance, as follows: 
   
   
  Ethnic Orion (non-pirate): ×125%. 
   
  Tellarites: ×125%. 
   
  Other Federation, WYN: ×120%. 
   
  Lyrans, Tholians: ×110%. 
   
  Ethnic Klingon military personnel: ×80%. 
   
  Ethnic Klingon civilians: ×75% 
   
  All Dunkars: ×85%. 
   
  Other Klingon subject race military personnel: 
  ×75%. 
   
  Other Klingon subject race civilians: ×50%. 
   
  Romulan House Nobility: ×125%. 
   
  Romulan House Member: ×100%. 
   
  Other Romulans: ×80%. 
   
  Seltorian Workers: ×33%. 
   
  All others: no adjustment. 
   
   
  Remember that if a character’s time spent adven-
  turing is part of his job, his income should depend 
  mainly on money earned adventuring, not job rolls! 
  This table is best applied when a character does not 
  adventure during some period, and it is necessary to 
  determine income during that time. 
   
  Critical Failure 
   
  On a critical failure of the Job Success roll, roll 
  again. If the second roll is not another critical failure 
  then apply the penalties listed BEFORE the “/” (slash), 
  but if you roll a critical failure a second time then apply 
  the penalties AFTER the “/”. 
   
  Critical Failure key: 
   
  “i” indicates lost income for however many months 
  – you were fined, forced to pay damages, had 
  to replace equipment, etc. 
   
  “d” indicates dice of damage – you were in an 
  accident, fight, etc. 
   
  “LJ” stands for Lost Job – you were fired, de-
  moted, or lost your license. 
   
  Unstated Benefits and Restrictions 
   
  The Jobs Table cannot accommodate endless 
  notes about obvious, and not-so-obvious restrictions 
  placed upon, and fringe benefits of, various jobs. A 
  shop clerk may not sound glamorous but does get to 
  meet a lot of people. Military personnel have time off 
  for personal pursuits, but if the starship you are as-
  signed to is leaving port, you won’t be around for next 
  week’s festival. Military starship personnel, despite 
  being better paid, have more restrictions than civilian 
  personnel in what they can bring onto the ship in their 
  personal baggage. Corporate executives may be un-
  der contractual restrictions regarding private deals and 
  trades. Government employees may have restrictions 
  on what gifts they can accept and what they can and 
  can’t do when on duty, but then they may also have 
  access to government records and databases. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Large Q-Ship 
   
   
  
  Page 244  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  JOB TABLE 
  Job Description [Prerequisites] Monthly Income 
  Success Roll 
  Critical Failure 
   
   
   
  Poor Jobs 
   
   
  Welfare Recipient [none] $300 
  10 
  -1i / -6i 
   
   
   
  Struggling Jobs 
   
   
  Unemployed Actor/Actress [Acting 10+] $50 × PR 
  PR 
  -3i / LJ, 1d 
  Colonist [any useful craft or outdoor skill 10+, Survival 
  (matching land type) 11+] $40 × best skill 
  Best PR 
  -2i, 1d / -4i, 4d 
  Servant [appropriate skill 12+] $60 × best skill 
  PR 
  -2i, 1d / LJ, 3d 
  Laborer [ST 10+] $550 
  ST 
  LJ / LJ, 5d 
  Shop Clerk [Merchant 10+] $600 
  IQ + Reaction 
  LJ   
  Cargo Handler [Freight Handling 10+] $550 
  PR 
  LJ / LJ, 4d 
   
   
   
  Average Jobs 
   
   
  Bounty Hunter [Weapon 12+, Survival 10+, Tracking 13+] 
  $100 × worst PR 
  Worst PR -2 
  LJ, 2d / LJ, 6d 
  Courtesan [Sex Appeal 13+] $100 × skill 
  PR + Appearance 
  -2i / -4i, 2d 
  Criminal Enforcer [ST 12+, Beam Weapons or Guns 12+, 
  Brawling, Judo, or Karate 12+] $90 × IQ 
  Best PR -4 
  LJ, 3d / 8d 
  Journalist [Research 12+, Photography or Writing 12+] $70 
  × best PR 
  Best PR   
  -3i, 1d / LJ, 3d 
  Pirate [Beam Weapon or Guns 12+, Free Fall 11+, Spacer 
  12+] $120 × IQ 
  10 + Reputation 
  -3i, 4d / 2d, imprisoned 
  Asteroid Prospector [Prospecting 12+, Spacer 12+] $100 x 
  best skill 
  Worst PR   
  -3i, 1d / LJ, 3d 
  Civilian Starship Crew [Rank 0+, Professional Certification 
  (any)] (Best skill × $100) + ($200 × Rank) 
  Best Professional 
  Certification Skill 
  LJ, 2d / LJ, 8d 
  Guard (Civilian/Paramilitary) [Rank 0+, combat skill 10+] 
  $1,000 + ($200 × Rank) 
  Best PR -2 
  -2i, 2d / -5i, LJ 
   
   
   
  Comfortable Jobs 
   
   
  Technician [appropriate skill 14+] $250 × worst PR 
  Worst PR 
  -1i / LJ, -3i 
  Corporate Executive [Administration 23+, Status 1+] $3,000 
  + ($100 × Status) 
  PR 
  -2i / LJ, -4i 
  Diplomat [Diplomacy 12+, Administration 10+, Status 0+] 
  $1,000 + (worst skill × $500) 
  Worst PR 
  -2i, LJ / -6i, 2d, LJ 
  Free Trader [Merchant 12+, Spacer 12+, Professional 
  Certification] $1,000 + ((worst PR-11) × $100) 
  Merchant -2 
  -1i, 1d / -4i, 2d, LJ 
  Military Starship Crew [Rank 1+, Professional Certification, 
  Spacer 12+] $500 × Rank 
  Worst PR 
  -1i, 2d / 4d, LJ 
  Smuggler [Spacer 12+, Holdout 10+, Streetwise 10+] 
  $3,000 + ($100 × Reputation) 
  Worst PR 
  -2i,2d / -12i, 4d, imprisoned 
  Dock Pilot [Piloting (Starship) 12+, Piloting (Shuttlecraft) 
  12+] $300 × Worst PR 
  Best PR 
  -2i, 2d, LJ / -4i, 4d, LJ 
  No-Limit Klingon Hold-Em Professional [Fast-Talk 12+, 
  Gambling 15+] $2,000 × (Worst PR-10) 
  Gambling + Charisma 
  Bonus 
  -6i / -12i, 2d 
   
   
   
  Wealthy Jobs 
   
   
  Research Scientist [Research 12+, any scientific skill 15+, 
  Status 1+] $1,000 × (best skill -12) 
  Worst PR 
  -3i / -6i, LJ 
  Starship Captain [Leadership 12+, Rank or Status 3+, 
  Tactics (space) 12+] $1,000 × Rank or Status 
  Worst PR 
  -3i, 2d / -6i, 3d, LJ 
  Medical Doctor [Physician 15+, any other medical skill 15+, 
  Status 2+] $1,000 × (worst skill -12) 
  Worst PR 
  -3i / -6i, LJ 
  Planetary Rulership [Status 5+, Administration 15+] $5,000 
  × (Status -3) 
  Worst PR 
  -3i / 1d, LJ, imprisoned 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  Page 245 
  LAWS AND CUSTOMS 
   
   
  Each world has its own laws and customs. 
  Furthermore, laws and customs vary from place to 
  place (and time to time) within each world. In some 
  worlds, it is possible to research these things in ad-
  vance (the Law skill helps here). In other worlds, you 
  must learn them the hard way (Law helps here, too, if 
  you specifically investigate; Streetwise can find out 
  “informally”). 
   
  As a rule, the use of force or the threat of force is 
  illegal or improper wherever you go. The stronger the 
  local government (see Control Rating, below), the 
  more true this is; government usually considers the 
  use of force to be its own right and monopoly. Self-
  defense is sometimes an exception – but not always!  
   
  Note that public display of non-customary weap-
  ons is a “threat of force,” and leads to bad reactions 
  even if it’s technically legal. If you beam down into a 
  Federation colony in Klingon powered battle armor, 
  disruptor carbines at the ready, the colonists will be 
  very suspicious of your motives.  
   
  In general: 
   
   
  Violating a law usually leads to some sort of trial 
  and possible punishment. (The GURPS Prime Di-
  rective sourcebooks have sections on what happens 
  when you violate a law in those areas.) 
   
  Violating someone’s rights might lead to a “civil” 
  trial and a fine – or just an informal beating. 
   
  Violating a custom gives you a reaction penalty – 
  possibly a big one – whenever you try to deal with a 
  local. The offended locals might not even tell you what 
  you are doing wrong! 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  CONTROL RATING 
   
  “Control Rating” (CR) is a general measure of the 
  control exercised by a government. The lower the CR, 
  the less restrictive the government and the freer the 
  people. Government type does not absolutely deter-
  mine CR – it is possible to have a very free monarchy, 
  or a democracy where the voters have saddled them-
  selves with thousands of strict rules. 
   
  Assign CR according to the following guidelines: 
   
  CR0 – Anarchy. There are no laws, taxes, or controls. 
  CR1 – Very free. Nothing is illegal save use of force or 
  intimidation against other citizens. Taxes are light 
  or voluntary. Only access to LC0 items is con-
  trolled (see Legality, p. 246). 
  CR2 – Free. Some laws exist; most benefit the individ-
  ual. Taxes are light. Access to items of LC0 and 
  LC1 is controlled. 
  CR3 – Moderate. There are many laws, but most ben-
  efit the individual. Taxes are moderate and fair. 
  Access to items of LC0 through LC2 is controlled. 
  CR4 – Controlled. Many laws exist; most are for the 
  convenience of the state. Broadcast communica-
  tions are regulated; private broadcasts (like CB) 
  and printing may be restricted. Taxation is often 
  heavy and sometimes unfair. Access to items of 
  LC0 through LC3 is controlled. 
  CR5 – Repressive. There are many laws and regula-
  tions, strictly enforced. Taxation is heavy and often 
  unfair. There is strict regulation of information 
  technology: computers, photocopiers, printing 
  presses, transmitters, etc. All goods are effectively 
  controlled; you can’t buy anything without the ap-
  propriate ration coupons or paperwork. 
  CR6 – Total control. Laws are numerous and complex. 
  The individual exists to serve the state. Many of-
  fenses carry the death penalty, and trials – if there 
  are any at all – are a mockery. Taxation is crush-
  ing, taking most of an ordinary citizen’s income. 
  Censorship is common, and private ownership of 
  any information technology is forbidden. All goods 
  are controlled, and the government might even 
  withhold basic necessities. 
   
   
  If a question of legality arises, or if you need to 
  determine how severely the government checks and 
  harasses newcomers, roll 1d. If the result is lower than 
  the CR, then the act is illegal, or the authorities harass, 
  delay, or even arrest the PCs. If it is higher, either the 
  act is legal or the authorities overlook it. If it equals the 
  CR, the situation could go either way: play out an en-
  counter or make a reaction roll. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
  Page 246  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev How to Play the Game 
  LEGALITY 
   
  Each item of equipment has a “Legality Class.” 
  Some modern-day examples include: 
   
  LC0 – Banned. Weapons of mass destruction; strate-
  gic missiles; orbital weapons platforms; interconti-
  nental bombers. 
  LC1 – Military. Heavy weapons; air defense radar; 
  sensor jammers; armed vehicles; land mines. 
  LC2 – Restricted. Light assault weapons; silencers; 
  surveillance technology (wiretaps, etc.); armored 
  cars; burglar’s tools (e.g., lockpicks); explosives; 
  dangerous drugs. 
  LC3 – Licensed. Handguns; hunting guns; radio 
  transmitters; most unarmed vehicles; ordinary 
  drugs and medical equipment. 
  LC4 – Open. Nonlethal weapons (e.g., stunners); 
  home computers; radio and television receivers; 
  cameras; most tools; first-aid kits. 
  Control Rating and Legality Class 
   
  Legality Class interacts with Control Rating as 
  follows: 
   
   
  LC = CR + 1 or more: Any citizen may carry the 
  item. 
   
  LC = CR: Anyone but a convicted criminal or the 
  equivalent may carry the item. Registration may be 
  required, but there is no permit fee. 
   
  LC = CR - 1: A license is required to own or carry 
  the item. To get a license, one must show a legitimate 
  need or work for the government. Generally, a license 
  costs 1d x 10% of the price of the item itself. 
   
  LC = CR - 2: Prohibited except to police SWAT 
  teams, military units, and intelligence services. 
   
  LC = CR - 3 or worse: Only permitted to the mili-
  tary or secret police. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Will you be a member of a Prime Team? 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev End Game Awards 
  Page 247 
   
   
  CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT 
   
   
  Your character will improve – or simply change – 
  with time. The longer you play your character, the 
  more 
  opportunities 
  you 
  will 
  have 
  for 
  such 
  development. 
   
  IMPROVEMENT THROUGH 
  ADVENTURE 
   
   
  At the end of each gaming session, the GM may 
  award characters for good play. “Good play” is any-
  thing that advances your mission or shows good 
  roleplaying (including adherence to your disad-
  vantages and quirks) – preferably both! These awards 
  are listed below. 
   
  Reputation Points 
   
  GMs may award both Professional Reputation 
  points and/or Heroic Reputation points to individual 
  characters at the end of an adventure, but the char-
  acters will have had to have earned them! (See p. 36 
  for more about Heroic Reputation and Professional 
  Reputation.) HR and PR points are awarded sepa-
  rately. Each requires that the character performed in 
  such a way to deserve awarding these points. Addi-
  tional points of Reputation also raise the point value of 
  the character. 
   
  An award of more than one point of each per gam-
  ing session should be very, very difficult to achieve. 
  For example, capturing an enemy starship, taking it 
  back in time, and bringing back an extinct lifeform in 
  order to save your homeworld from destruction, all in 
  the course of ONE adventure, would be something 
  worth three Heroic Reputation points, but no one 
  would get that many points for anything less impres-
  sive! And of course, poor performance on the part of a 
  character may result in Reputation points being taken 
  away. Negative point totals are usually accompanied 
  by courts-martial and/or criminal records. See p. 39 for 
  the effect that Professional Reputation has upon Mili-
  tary Rank. 
   
  Medals are awarded to the character in a manner 
  parallel to the reputation points. A player cannot “buy a 
  medal” for his character. He could buy a level of repu-
  tation (if the GM approves) and the character would be 
  given a suitable service award in an appropriate cere-
  mony. If the character did something heroic in an ad-
  venture, he would be given the medal by the GM along 
  with bonus character and reputation points. 
   
  Seniority Points 
   
  Generally, 
  each 
  character 
  is 
  automatically 
  awarded one Seniority Point at the end of each ad-
  venture. Longer adventures may earn more than one 
  point, but those are often withheld until that longer ad-
  venture is completed. See p. 39 for how Seniority af-
  fects Military Rank. 
   
  Bonus Points  
   
  After each game session, the GM will award you 
  “bonus” character points – the same kind of points you 
  used to create your character. You may spend these 
  points immediately to improve your character, or you 
  can save them. You can save unspent points for as 
  long as you like, but you should ignore them when you 
  add up your character’s point value. 
   
  The following rules apply when you spend bonus 
  character points: 
   
   
  To add a new trait with a positive point cost, pay 
  points equal to the trait’s usual point cost. 
   
  To improve an existing trait that comes in levels, 
  pay points equal to the difference in cost between the 
  new level and the old level. 
   
  To remove an existing trait with a negative point 
  cost, pay points equal to the bonus originally earned 
  when you took the trait. 
   
   
  In all cases, increase the point value of your char-
  acter by the number of points spent. Some additional 
  rules apply to specific classes of traits. 
   
  Improving Attributes and Secondary 
  Characteristics 
   
  For each level by which you wish to improve a 
  basic attribute (ST, DX, IQ, or HT) or a secondary 
  characteristic (HP, Will, Perception, FP, Basic Speed, 
  or Basic Move), you must spend character points 
  equal to the cost to raise that score by one level. 
   
  If you improve an attribute, secondary characteris-
  tics and skills based on that attribute improve as well. 
  For instance, if you raise your HT by one, you gain 1 
  FP and 0.25 point of Basic Speed (which might in turn 
  increase Basic Move), and all your HT-based skills go 
  up by one! 
   
  Increases in ST do not affect height (except for a 
  child), but if you wish, you may gain additional weight 
  to go with higher ST. 
  
  Page 248  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev End Game Awards 
  Adding and Improving Social Traits 
   
  To improve social traits, you need an in-play justifi-
  cation in addition to the expenditure of sufficient 
  points. Some examples: 
   
   
  Allies, Contacts, and Patrons: You must meet 
  such NPCs during your adventures and earn their trust 
  through your actions. You cannot hire true Allies, 
  Contacts, or Patrons. 
   
  Clerical Investment, Legal Enforcement Powers, 
  Rank, Security Clearance, Status, etc.: An individual in 
  a position of relative authority must bestow such privi-
  leges. This might require a background check, qualifi-
  cation course, valor in combat, years of service, or a 
  large bribe. 
   
  Reputation: You must earn this through deeds and 
  works. You cannot buy a Reputation until you have 
  done something to merit it! (Reputation Points may be 
  used to buy this.) 
   
  Tech Level: You can raise your personal TL (see 
  Technology Level, p. 33) by living in a society of a 
  higher TL than your own – but only if you are free to 
  attend that society’s schools and benefit from its con-
  veniences (being an alien abductee, prisoner, etc. 
  doesn’t count). The GM should consider limiting im-
  provement to one TL per year of game time. 
   
  Wealth: To improve your Wealth, you must amass 
  money equal to the starting wealth of the desired 
  wealth level after paying any necessary bribes, taxes, 
  etc. 
   
  Adding and Improving Mental and Physical 
  Advantages 
   
  Most mental and physical advantages are inborn; 
  you cannot buy them after character creation. How-
  ever, there are some exceptions. 
   
  You can learn some advantages as if they were 
  skills; see Learnable Advantages (p. 249). If the GM 
  feels that adventuring is as good as training to acquire 
  such an advantage, you may buy it with bonus points. 
   
  Other advantages require extraordinary circum-
  stances: perhaps that alien artifact you touched earlier. 
  In addition to points, these traits require the GM’s 
  permission and suitable in-game events! 
   
  Of course, the GM can allow you to buy any ad-
  vantage, if the results are in keeping with his vision of 
  the game world. The GM may also challenge you to 
  provide a good explanation (dramatic, logical, or both) 
  for why he should let you buy a new advantage. 
   
  Buying Off Disadvantages 
   
  You can get rid of most beginning disadvantages 
  by “buying them off” with character points equal to the 
  bonus earned when you originally took the disad-
  vantage. This generally requires a game-world justifi-
  cation in addition to the point expenditure. 
   
   
  Dependents: When you buy off Dependents, you 
  or the GM should provide a game-world explanation of 
  where they went – died, grew up, moved away, fell in 
  love with someone else . . . 
   
  Enemies: If you wish to buy off Enemies, you must 
  deal with them in the game world: kill them, jail them, 
  bribe them, flee from them, make friends with them . . . 
  whatever the GM deems necessary. You can never 
  permanently dispose of Enemies unless you buy them 
  off . . . they will return or new Enemies will appear in 
  their place. 
   
  Mental Disadvantages and Odious Personal Hab-
  its: You may buy these off at their original bonus value. 
  Assume that you simply got over your problem. 
   
  Physical Disadvantages: Your game world’s tech 
  level determines the degree to which you can buy off 
  these traits. Consider Hard of Hearing. At TL5 or less, 
  you would have to settle for an ear trumpet. At TL6-8, 
  you could buy a hearing aid that would solve your 
  problem while worn, allowing you to apply a Mitigator 
  limitation (p. 117). At TL9+, surgery could fix the 
  problem permanently. The GM has the final say as to 
  whether it is possible to remove a specific physical 
  disadvantage . . . and if so, what the cost and time will 
  be. 
   
  Social Stigma: You cannot get rid of this with 
  points alone. You must either change your position in 
  society or change your society. The GM will tell you 
  when you have succeeded – at that time, you must 
  pay enough points to buy off the original disadvantage. 
   
  Adding and Improving Skills and Techniques 
   
  You can use bonus character points to increase 
  your skills and techniques. Each point is the equivalent 
  of 200 hours of learning. This is not to say that you 
  found time to hit the books during your adventures – 
  only that the genuine experience of an adventure can 
  be equivalent to a much longer period of study. 
   
  You can only spend character points to improve 
  skills or techniques that, in the GM’s opinion, saw sig-
  nificant use in the adventure during which you earned 
  the points. If the only thing you did on an adventure 
  was trek through forests and slay monsters, you can 
  only improve Hiking, Survival (Woodlands), and com-
  bat abilities. 
   
  When you improve a skill or a technique, the cost 
  is the difference between the cost of the new level and 
  the cost of your current level – see Improving Your 
  Skills (p. 148). 
   
  You may only add a skill if you spent most of the 
  adventure around people who were constantly using 
  the skill. For instance, a city boy on a forest trek with a 
  group of skilled woodsmen could add Survival (Wood-
  lands). You may add a technique if, during the 
  adventure, you made significant use of the skill to 
  which it defaults. In all cases, the GM has the final say. 
   
   
  Tholian War Cruiser 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev End Game Awards 
  Page 249 
   
  IMPROVEMENT THROUGH STUDY 
   
   
  You may add or improve skills by spending time 
  studying them, if an opportunity for study is available. 
  In the discussion below, “skills” refers not only to ordi-
  nary skills, but also to techniques and even some ad-
  vantages (see Learnable Advantages, below). 
   
  Improvement through study does not depend on 
  earning bonus points. You could build a character, 
  keep track of his age and income, and let him study for 
  40 game-years without ever bringing him into play. Of 
  course, this would not be much fun . . . and things that 
  happen during play can offer great opportunities for 
  study. If you aid a chief engineer, his gratitude might 
  take the form of lessons about the warp drive! 
   
  Normally, it takes 200 hours of learning to gain 
  one point in a skill. You may study any number of skills 
  at once, but a given hour of time counts toward study 
  of only one subject, unless the GM allows an excep-
  tion. Some forms of study are more effective than oth-
  ers. This means that an hour of study does not always 
  equal an hour of learning – there is a “conversion fac-
  tor” between the two. Some guidelines appear below. 
   
  Learning on the Job 
   
  If you have a job, time spent on the job counts as 
  “study” of the skills used in the job. However, since 
  most time on the job is spent doing what you already 
  know, not learning new things, every four hours on the 
  job count as one hour of learning. You may claim a 
  maximum of eight hours on the job per day (four hours 
  per day at a part-time job). Your actual working hours 
  may exceed this, but fatigue limits learning to this 
  level. Thus, a year of full-time work will give you two to 
  three points to spend on job-related skills. 
   
  Self-Teaching 
   
  You can teach yourself a skill, unless the skill de-
  scription attaches specific conditions that would pre-
  clude this (such as “only taught by the military” or a 
  prerequisite of Trained By A Master). Every two hours 
  of reading, exercises, practice, etc. without an in-
  structor count as one hour of learning. This must take 
  place in time not used for adventuring, working, eating, 
  sleeping, or taking care of personal hygiene. The GM 
  should limit self-teaching to 12 hours per day – or eight 
  hours/day for those with part-time jobs, only four 
  hours/day for those with full-time jobs. 
   
  Education 
   
  Every hour of instruction by a professional teacher 
  counts as one hour of learning. A “professional 
  teacher” is someone with Teaching skill at 12 or 
  higher. In order to teach you a given skill, he must ei-
  ther know that skill at your current skill level or better, 
  or have as many or more points in the skill as you do. 
  Ordinary instruction rarely exceeds eight hours per 
  day. A college semester (21 weeks) of classroom 
  study equals around one point per subject, and a full-
  time student could study up to five subjects per se-
  mester. A semester of night school would give one 
  point in one subject. 
   
  Intensive Training 
   
  Full-time study with expert teachers and lavish 
  training materials is the most effective type of “normal” 
  learning. An expert teacher has Teaching skill at 12 (or 
  higher), plus a higher level and more points in the skill 
  being taught than you do. Quadruple all costs and tui-
  tion fees! Every hour of intensive training counts as 
  two hours of learning. Intensive training is rarely avail-
  able outside the military, where you have little control 
  over the skills taught or the scheduling of courses. It 
  can last for up to 16 hours per day. You must have HT 
  12+ to make it through such training without “washing 
  out” (the Fit advantage does increase effective HT for 
  this purpose). 
   
  Adventuring 
   
  Adventuring time can also count as study of suita-
  ble skills. The “conversion factor” is up to the GM, who 
  should be generous. For example, a trek through the 
  Amazon might count for every waking moment – say, 
  16 hours a day – as study of Survival (Jungle). 
   
  LEARNABLE ADVANTAGES 
   
  You can learn certain advantages as if they were 
  skills (200 hours = 1 point), provided you have a suita-
  ble instructor (professor, trainer, etc.). Use the stand-
  ard rules for skill learning; in particular, anyone teach-
  ing an advantage must possess it himself. 
   
  Combat Reflexes: The GM may rule that fighting is 
  the only way to “learn” Combat Reflexes before TL7, 
  and require adventurers who want this advantage to 
  pay for it with bonus points. At TL7+, realistic military 
  simulations can teach it as if it were a skill. 
   
  Cultural Familiarity and Languages: Time spent in 
  a foreign land/alien planet counts as four hours per 
  day toward both Cultural Familiarity and the local Lan-
  guage, no matter what else you are doing (even 
  studying skills – an exception to the “one skill at a 
  time” rule). 
   
  Eidetic Memory: By doing daily mental exercises, 
  you can “learn” the first level of this advantage. This 
  requires an hour a day, meaning it takes a little less 
  than three years of constant practice to gain this trait. 
   
  Fit: You can acquire either level of Fit through 
  exercise – on your own or with a trainer – just as you 
  would athletic skills like Hiking and Running. 
   
  G-Experience: The standard way to “learn” G-
  Experience is to visit planets that have different gravity 
  fields. In the Star Fleet Universe, since gravity can be 
  manipulated, this advantage can be taught as if it were 
  a skill. 
   
   
  
  Page 250  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev End Game Awards 
  AWARDS 
   
   
  So your character not only succeeded in his mis-
  sion, but did so brilliantly. Did he get promoted? Does 
  he now have a medal? Find out more! 
   
  FEDERATION MEDALS 
   
   
  The Federation has numerous awards which fall 
  into broad categories of valor, service, and command. 
  GMs can, in some cases, select an award from either 
  category. This section provides only a brief summary 
  of the most general awards; additional awards (and 
  more information about these) are provided in GURPS 
  Federation. 
   
  Most awards are medals hung on ribbon; for infor-
  mal occasions, only a small rectangular ribbon is worn. 
   
  Awards for Valor 
   
  The highest award for valor in the Federation is 
  the Star Fleet Gold Star (which is also the highest 
  award for anything). This is a military award, although 
  it can (rarely) be awarded to civilians. It is awarded for 
  multiple consecutive heroic actions at the risk of life 
  above and beyond all expectation of duty. (Most are 
  awarded posthumously.) 
   
  The second highest valor award is the Star Fleet 
  Silver Star, awarded for heroic actions at the risk of life 
  beyond the requirements of duty.  
   
  The Star Fleet Bronze Star is awarded for a single 
  act of heroism at risk to one’s own life. This can be 
  given for non-combat heroism; the Gold Star and Sil-
  ver Star cannot. (See also the various “Life” medals.) 
   
   
   
   
  The Star Fleet Commendation Medal can be given 
  for valor, and ranks as the lowest valor award. 
   
  Awards for Service 
   
  Awards for service cover situations where an indi-
  vidual has done a lot of good things over a period of 
  time, none of which would result in a specific award. 
  The highest award for service is the Star Fleet Distin-
  guished Service Cross. This is awarded for major 
  achievements over an extended period of time, such 
  as commanding a fleet in wartime. 
   
  The Distinguished Service Medal is a lesser award 
  given for specific acts (or extended periods) in which 
  the individual is distinguished as having gone far be-
  yond what would be expected of Star Fleet personnel. 
   
  The Meritorious Service Medal is awarded for sin-
  gular acts of service or achievement which were per-
  formed with great merit. Combat is not required for this 
  award. 
   
   
   
   
  The Star Fleet Commendation can also be given 
  for service (ranking lower than the above medals) as 
  can campaign ribbons. 
   
  Star Fleet also has medals for those who complete 
  five, 10, 20, or 30 years of service. For extra decades, 
  a star is added to the 30-year medal.  
   
   
   
  Command Awards 
   
  The Federation has a special set of awards for 
  command accomplishments. These include: 
   
   
  The Command Star (also known as the Fleet Cap-
  tain’s Medal) is awarded for spectacular accomplish-
  ment under extremely difficult conditions. 
   
  The Command Achievement Medal (sometimes 
  known as the Squadron Major Medal) is awarded to a 
  commander who, while exposed to personal risk, 
  achieved more than could have reasonably been 
  expected.  
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev End Game Awards 
  Page 251 
   
  The Command Accomplishment Medal (some-
  times known as the Commander’s Medal) is awarded 
  for the accomplishment of a mission. This is the most 
  likely award for a GM to give to a team leader who 
  performed well on a mission. Superior performance 
  rates a higher award. 
   
   
   
  Commendations 
   
  The Star Fleet Commendation is, in some regards, 
  a generic “catch-all” award. It can be awarded to mili-
  tary or civilian personnel for any valid reason, from a 
  university professor who conducted two years of re-
  search into new materials to a junior officer who con-
  ducted a minor mission with above average results. It 
  is an iron-gray medal in the shape of a six-armed 
  cross. Commendation medals always come with an 
  “honor scroll” reflecting the specific type of service 
  which merited the commendation.  
   
  Some examples 
  of these scrolls 
  (there are doz-
  ens) include: 
   
   
  Search: Con-
  ducting 
  a 
  suc-
  cessful search for 
  a missing person 
  or 
  thing 
  under 
  unusually 
  ardu-
  ous conditions. 
   
  Rescue: 
  Rescuing 
  someone 
  from 
  imminent 
  danger. 
   
  Research: Given to scientists or engineers. 
   
  Discovery: Awarded for finding some specific and 
  unique fact, truth, or item. Could be given for finding a 
  mineral deposit on a world ripe for colonization. 
   
  Exploration: Conducting a survey of a new world. 
   
  Valor: Given for minor events. 
   
  Service: Lower than the Meritorious Service 
  Medal. 
   
  Sacrifice: This is awarded to those who give up 
  something of great personal importance in order to 
  pursue their duty to the Federation. 
   
  Achievement: This is awarded for a single specific 
  accomplishment. 
   
  Diplomacy: Given for a notable success. 
   
  Classified: Some awards are for incidents which 
  must remain secret for the good of the Federation. 
  Such an award is, of course, never worn in public. 
   
   
  Note to GMs: You should not give these out as 
  freebies, but could award them to any military team 
  member after any mission that was a bit more than 
  merely successful. 
   
  Campaign Ribbons 
   
  Star Fleet awards a series of Campaign Ribbons 
  for those who participate in various campaigns. A 
  campaign is defined as an extended series of opera-
  tions in a single area, such as a series of battles for a 
  planet. Star Fleet personnel get a General Service 
  campaign ribbon after each five-year tour. Prime 
  teams and other special forces types receive a “spe-
  cial campaign ribbon” for each mission (e.g., stopping 
  Klingon arms smuggling on Sherman’s Planet, thwart-
  ing the Romulan-backed coup on Debrock) no matter 
  how long the mission takes. If non-special forces char-
  acters wander into such a situation and achieve suc-
  cess, they could also get a special campaign ribbon. 
   
  Civilians can be given a campaign ribbon if they 
  participated to the same extent as military personnel. 
   
  Beyond simply receiving the ribbons, each individ-
  ual may have a device affixed to the center square of 
  the ribbon to denote how illustrious his service was. 
  There are three such devices: 
   
   
  Star: Outstanding Service Ribbon: This is awarded 
  to personnel who achieve complete success in a man-
  ner beyond all reasonable expectation. For example, 
  conducting a successful campaign against Orion Pi-
  rates and stealing their tax records at the same time. 
   
  Cross: Superior Service Ribbon: This is awarded 
  to personnel who participate in an outstanding man-
  ner, to the highest level of performance that could be 
  expected. For example, rescuing hostages held by 
  Orion Pirates without losses and without causing ex-
  cessive damage. 
   
  Diamond: Meritorious Service Ribbon: Awarded to 
  personnel who completed their mission successfully. 
   
  No Device: General Service Ribbon: Given to per-
  sonnel who went on the mission or served in the the-
  ater but did not accomplish anything of any particular 
  merit. Except in the cases of actual dereliction of duty, 
  this award basically means “you showed up and you 
  didn’t screw up.” 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
  Page 252  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev End Game Awards 
  Special Awards 
   
  The rarest special award is the 
  First Contact Medal. This is awarded 
  to Star Fleet personnel (or civilians 
  who are officials, delegates, or em-
  ployees of the Federation or one of 
  the member planet governments) 
  who successfully complete a First 
  Contact mission with a new species. 
  These missions are especially criti-
  cal, as they can accidentally start 
  wars. The ribbon of the First Contact 
  medal 
  is 
  White-Blue-White; 
  the 
  medal itself is blue with a white 
  cross. A symbol affixed to the ribbon represents the 
  planet contacted. 
   
  The Guardian of Life Medal is 
  awarded in cases of multiple consecu-
  tive acts of valor, leadership, and ser-
  vice equivalent to those required to 
  earn the Star Fleet Gold Star but which 
  did not take place in conditions of war-
  time combat. For example, it was once 
  given to a doctor who, knowing it could 
  mean her own death, remained in a 
  highly contagious plague zone to coor-
  dinate relief operations, control panic, deliver supplies, 
  inspire others, and search for a cure when all common 
  sense would have dictated leaving the area immedi-
  ately. This is the equivalent of earning 
  the Nobel Prize. 
   
  The similar Champion of Life 
  medal is awarded for humanitarian ac-
  tions at the risk of life beyond the re-
  quirements of duty. It is equivalent to 
  the Silver Star.  
   
  Equal to a Bronze 
  Star, the Defender of 
  Life medal is awarded 
  for a year of challeng-
  ing service in a humanitarian role, or 
  for a single humanitarian act of great 
  merit, the absence of which would not 
  merit censure, but is insufficient to 
  merit a higher award. 
   
  Equal to a com-
  mendation, the Friend 
  of Life medal is awarded for humani-
  tarian service of notable merit beyond 
  simply doing the job the individ-
  ual was assigned and 
  paid to do. 
   
  The 
  Lifesaving 
  Medal is awarded to 
  anyone (military or 
  civilian) who saves a 
  sentient life at the risk of his own life.  
   
  The Combat Action Ribbon (a rec-
  tangular red ribbon) is awarded to 
  anyone who performed his duty under 
  enemy fire. You can only earn this 
  medal once in your career. Crossed 
  swords are added for hand-to-hand combat and an 
  arrowhead for an assault on 
  an enemy ship or planet. 
   
  The Prime Directive Clasp 
  can be added to any medal if the actions which earned 
  the medal were, at least in large 
  part, taken to enforce and protect 
  the Prime Directive. 
   
  Civil Merit Awards are the civilian equivalent of the 
  Gold Star (star, equal to the Nobel Prize), Silver Star 
  (four-armed cross), Bronze Star (disc), and 
  Commendation (six-armed cross). They can be 
  awarded for valor.  
   
   
   
   
   
  The Special Forces badge is awarded 
  to those military personnel (and rare civil-
  ians) who complete the grueling 16-week 
  course taught by the Star Fleet Marines. 
  Every member of a prime team, as well as 
  most Marines assigned to a commando 
  squad, will have this badge. 
   
  The Star Fleet Wound Badge is 
  awarded to those wounded in action. 
  The wreath of oak and laurel symbol-
  izes strength and honor. The heart is 
  purple. It comes in three grades for mi-
  nor, major, and crippling wounds.  
   
  The Federation’s Galactic Intelli-
  gence Agency has its own awards, 
  which parallel the Star Fleet Awards 
  exactly. The main difference is that 
  the ribbons are black and the various 
  “stars” (Gold, Silver, Bronze) have 
  four points instead of five. Most such 
  awards are classified. 
   
  Each Federation member planet 
  has its own equivalent military and 
  civilian awards which it gives to its 
  citizens who perform acts that de-
  serve recognition. Player characters might hold re-
  serve commissions from their home planets and could 
  be given such awards. 
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev End Game Awards 
  Page 253 
  PROMOTION 
   
  In game terms a “promotion” is the purchase of the 
  next level of Military Rank. Promotions are only availa-
  ble to military characters who already have purchased 
  at least one level of Rank generally at the time that the 
  character was created. Except under the most unusual 
  of circumstances, a military character receives a pro-
  motion only when a number of conditions are met. 
   
  GMs should use the following criteria for promo-
  tion. See p. 39 for the Seniority Points and Profes-
  sional Reputation required for each military grade; 
  e.g., 50 Seniority Points and Professional Reputation 
  +1 for a lieutenant commander (O4). When a charac-
  ter has accumulated Seniority Points and Professional 
  Reputation scores equal to or exceeding those given 
  for the next grade, the character becomes eligible for 
  promotion with the GM’s approval. If this promotion 
  increases the character’s Military Rank advantage, the 
  character will have to buy that level of Military Rank 
  when the promotion is granted. E.g., a character with 4 
  levels of Rank is a lieutenant commander; he must 
  accumulate a total of 70 Seniority points and a Profes-
  sional Reputation of +2 before he becomes eligible for 
  promotion to commander. Once this has been 
  achieved, he gains the promotion with the GM’s ap-
  proval and spends 5 bonus points to purchase an ad-
  ditional level of Military Rank, thereby becoming a 
  commander. 
   
  Normally a character must spend his own accumu-
  lated character points to purchase the new level of 
  Rank. A GM may, at his option, award character points 
  specifically to pay for the promotion; this is known as a 
  “meritorious promotion.” 
   
  Special note: This process varies for empires 
  other than the Federation and will be detailed in their 
  sourcebooks. For example, a military Klingon charac-
  ter can substitute Heroic Reputation points for Profes-
  sional Reputation points, and MUST have at least 
  some Heroic Reputation for every second promotion 
  except for the technical warrant grades. 
   
  Rank Insignia 
   
  Star Fleet enlisted insignia are usually shown as 
  small brass pins on the collar, but can be shown as 
  green patches on dungarees. Marine enlisted insignia 
  is red patches on the sleeves of the dress uniform and 
  black pins on the collar of the combat uniform. 
   
  Star Fleet officer insignia consists of combinations 
  of gold and blue pins (Lieutenant Commander has two 
  gold and one blue). Marine officer insignia is silver 
  (2nd lieutenant and major are gold) on the dress uni-
  form and black (brown in the case of 2nd lieutenant 
  and major) pins on the collars of the combat uniform. 
  Marine cadets wear silver pips while Star Fleet mid-
  shipmen wear blue pips. 
   
  National Guard officers wear the Marine insignia, 
  but gunnery sergeant is called sergeant first class and 
  lance corporal is called specialist. Police personnel 
  wear Star Fleet insignia except that the gold is re-
  placed by silver. Merchant Marine personnel wear Star 
  Fleet insignia but the gold is replaced by bronze. 
   
   
   
  
  Page 254  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Technology 
   
  TECHNOLOGY LEVELS (TLs) 
   
   
  A technology level (TL or tech level) is a general 
  description of a culture’s highest achievement in tech-
  nology. It is possible for a locale, nation, world, or em-
  pire to have widely varying TLs in different sciences, 
  but for game purposes these are averaged into one 
  number. Technology level ratings range from 0 to 16; 
  high TLs are likely to seem like magic to anyone of a 
  sufficiently low TL!  
   
  Note that TLs have start dates but not end dates. 
  The innovations of a given TL fade as those of higher 
  TLs displace them, but they rarely vanish completely. 
  A blacksmith in 1850s England uses TL3 techniques to 
  shoe the horses that pull the carriage the gentleman 
  rides to catch his TL5 train to London – and those 
  techniques might still exist in TL8, albeit as a quaint 
  hobby. The GM should decide which “dated” technolo-
  gies remain in use in his game world, and which items 
  from earlier TLs are still commonly available for 
  purchase. 
   
  Note: “Foreign versions of the same basic technol-
  ogy” (e.g., a Romulan trying to use a Gorn phaser) is 
  handled by the Familiarity rules (p. 147). In summary, 
  this imposes a -2 penalty until you have had eight 
  hours to practice with the foreign item. Note that this 
  would not apply to an average Romulan trying to use a 
  Klingon drone since the Romulans have no familiarity 
  with drone technology. Some individuals might, due to 
  their training, have actual skill ratings with foreign 
  technology. 
   
  PRIME DIRECTIVE TECHNOLOGY 
  LEVELS 
   
  This Tech Level Chart shows the progression of 
  technological development in the Star Fleet Universe. 
  It is exactly the same as the standard GURPS tech 
  level chart for TL0 (Stone Age) through TL6 (the 
  Mechanized Age). At TL7 and above it deviates from 
  the “generic” GURPS tech levels to show the way 
  technology developed in this particular universe. Items 
  in Italics are SFU specific. For example, in this game’s 
  universe, transporter technology is common at TL9, 
  but the standard GURPS definition is TL9^. This is a 
  major strength of the GURPS system; each universe 
  can build its own history. 
   
  It should also be noted that thousands of pages of 
  background, history, and technology from other Star 
  Fleet Universe products do not neatly fit into GURPS 
  Tech Levels. If your campaign requires precise data, 
  we refer you to the many Star Fleet Battles and Fed-
  eration & Empire products which provide precise de-
  velopment dates for each empire and type of technol-
  ogy. A lot of this information, but by no means all of it, 
  is in the SFU Timeline in Chapter 8. It should be noted 
  that tech levels are not a tidy batch of information. 
  Some empires got the various levels at different times, 
  and some technology never made its way to every 
  empire. 
   
  Of course, the GM is the final arbiter. GMs are 
  welcome to make whatever alternates they like to best 
  service their players. You can set your campaign at 
  any tech level you want; you can use the Star Fleet 
  Universe timeline or you can ignore it completely. 
   
  Star Fleet Universe Tech Level Chart 
   
  TL0 – Stone Age (Prehistory and later). Counting; oral 
  tradition. 
  TL1 – Bronze Age (3500 B.C.+). Arithmetic; writing. 
  TL2 – Iron Age (1200 B.C.+). Geometry; scrolls. 
  TL3 – Medieval (600 A.D.+). Algebra; books. 
  TL4 – Age of Sail (1450+). Calculus; movable type. 
  TL5 – Industrial Revolution (1730+). Mechanical 
  calculators; telegraph. 
  TL6 – Mechanized Age (1880+). Electrical calculators; 
  telephone and radio. 
  TL7 – Modern Era (1951+). Launch-to-orbit travel, 
  computer, laser, miniaturization, mature fission 
  technology. 
  TL8 – Spacefaring Era (2001+). Slower-than light 
  (interplanetary) travel, Advanced Sublight 
  Engines, AI (Artificial Intelligence), genetic 
  engineering, longevity, micro-machines, early 
  fusion technology. 
  TL9 – Non-Tactical Warp Era (Y0+). Faster than light 
  interstellar travel via Non-Tactical Warp (Impulse) 
  Engines, environmental engineering, mature 
  fusion technology, Matter Transmission, Tractor 
  Beam, Gravity Compensators. 
  TL10 – Tactical Warp Era (Y50+). Antimatter power, 
  artificial gravity, Early Faster Than Light radio, 
  Starship shields, Early Tactical Warp Engines, 
  Artificial Gravity. 
  TL11 – The Early Years (Y80+). Improved Faster-
  Than-Light radio (subspace), Full Tactical Warp 
  Engines (early). 
  TL12 – Main (Phaser-1) Era (Y120+). Starships mount 
  Phaser-1, Full Tactical Warp Engines (modern), 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Technology 
  Page 255 
  fighter-shuttles. During the later portions of this 
  era, various improvements included aegis fire 
  control, “hot warp” engines (used in war cruisers 
  and war destroyers), and “fast warp” engines 
  (used in fast cruisers). 
  TL13 – X-Technology (Y180+). Full terraforming of 
  planets, X-warp engines, other X-equipment, 
  gunboat/fast patrol ships. 
  TL14 – Dysonian (Tholian). Construction of ringworlds; 
  nanomachines, sentient Artificial Intelligence. 
  TL15 – 2X-Technology (Y205+). Amazing things. 2X-
  technology is the next generation after the Star 
  Fleet Universe history and is beyond the scope of 
  GURPS Prime Directive. 
  TL16 – 3X-Technology (Y226+). Wonderful things. 
  Third-generation X-technology. 
   
  PD Technology Levels for Empires and 
  Species  
   
  The following table gives the date that major spe-
  cies and empires achieved Technology Levels im-
  portant to this game. Y1, or Year One, was the year 
  Earth officially first made contact with aliens, in this 
  case the Vulcans. 
   
   
  TL9 
  TL10 TL11 
  TL12 
  TL13 
  Carnivons 
  Y20 
  Y64 
  Y80 
  D 
  D 
  Federation 
  Y5 
  Y62 
  Y79 
  Y120 
  Y180 
  Gorn 
  Y20 
  Y66 
  Y91 
  Y121 
  Y182 
  Hydran 
  Y25 
  Y65 
  Y78 
  Y134 
  Y182 
  ISC 
  Y25 
  Y60 
  Y120 
  Y168 
  Y182 
  Jindarian 
  ? 
  ? 
  ? 
  Y1 
  Y182 
  Klingon 
  Y8 
  Y63 
  Y78 
  Y125 
  Y181 
  Kzinti 
  Y25 
  Y64 
  Y79 
  Y122 
  Y182 
  Lyran 
  Y30 
  Y64 
  Y79 
  Y120 
  Y182 
  Orion 
  Y21 
  Y71 
  Y113 
  Y121 
  Y182 
  Paravian 
  Y20 
  Y68 
  Y85 
  D 
  D 
  Peladine 
  Y25 
  Y60 
  Y121 
  D 
  D 
  Romulan 
  Y1 
  [Y60] [Y140] 
  Y159 
  Y182 
  Seltorian 
  NA 
  NA 
  NA 
  Y180 
  D 
  Tholian 
  ? 
  ? 
  ? 
  Y79 
  Y183 
  Vudar 
  Y25 
  Y70 
  Y76 
  Y177 
  Y185 
  WYN 
  NA 
  NA 
  Y116 
  Y140 
  Y182 
   
  Notes: 
   
  None of the empires listed above reached TL15 or 
  TL16 during the published history of the Star Fleet 
  Universe. 
   
  The Andromedans and Tholians (who arrived from 
  another galaxy) had TL14 throughout the entire time 
  period covered by this game. Curiously, they never 
  showed any technological advances. Otherwise, the 
  SFU skips TL14. While the Tholians had TL14 in their 
  home galaxy, the refugees who arrived in the Milky 
  Way in Y79 had only TL12 (plus one very big TL14 
  artifact). 
   
  The Romulans, who were stuck at TL9 for dec-
  ades due to infighting (and a few Gorn commando 
  raids), developed the shields and type-W tractor 
  beams of TL10 long before the Klingons handed them 
  TL12 on a platter in the Treaty of Smarba in Y159. 
  Their shields were, however, very weak when first in-
  stalled and did not reach “normal” power until Y140. 
  The Romulans did not have matter transmission until 
  the Treaty of Smarba. 
   
  The Lyran Democratic Republic (LDR) had the 
  same technology levels as the Lyran Star Empire.  
   
  The WYN Star Cluster was uninhabited prior to 
  Y116. If it had been occupied earlier, it would have the 
  TL of whoever arrived to occupy it. 
   
  The Orions are a special case. Because they steal 
  from everyone, in theory a given Orion pirate ship 
  could have any technology (except Tholian or An-
  dromedan). See the map and special rules on p. 246-
  247.                                                                               . 
   
  The Seltorians, who overthrew the Tholians in 
  their home galaxy, could not grasp their higher tech-
  nology and fell to TL12, the technology they had when 
  their search teams reached this galaxy looking for the 
  Tholians. 
   
  The Jindarians are an ancient species, probably 
  native to the Milky Way. They apparently had TL12 for 
  many thousands of years and did not develop TL13 
  until they saw other empires do so. 
   
  An entry of “?” indicates the date is unknown and 
  undefined as the empire developed this TL very long 
  ago. 
   
  An entry of “D” indicates that the faction had been 
  destroyed 
  or 
  subjugated 
  before 
  achieving 
  this 
  Technology Level. 
   
  An entry of “NA” indicates that this empire did not 
  exist in our galaxy prior to this time. 
   
  Many of the technologies mentioned apply to star-
  ship operations, while others apply to personal equip-
  ment, and some technologies apply to both. 
   
  Transporter and Tractor Beam Ranges; 
  Engine Types 
   
  Many pieces of equipment function differently at 
  different Technology Levels. The following table shows 
  the availability of some items for a given TL. 
   
  TL 
  Transporter 
  Tractor 
  Engines 
  8 
  None 
  None 
  Advanced sublight 
  9 
  None 
  Type-S 
  Non-tactical warp 
  10 
  10,000km 
  Type-W 
  Tactical warp 
  (early) 
  11 
  20,000km 
  Type-Y 
  Tactical warp (full) 
  11b 
  30,000km 
  Type-Y 
  Tactical warp (full) 
  12 
  40,000km 
  Type-M 
  Tactical warp 
  (modern) 
  12b 
  50,000km 
  Type-N 
  Tactical warp 
  (modern) 
  12c 
  50,000km 
  Type-N 
  "fast," "hot," and 
  "fighter" 
  13 
  50,000km 
  Type-X 
  X-technology, 
  gunboat/ 
  PF engines 
   
  
  Page 256  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Technology 
   
  Technology upgrades continued throughout the 
  era. The upgrades listed as Tech Level 11b occurred 
  about Y100, those for 12b about Y140, and those for 
  12c about Y165. Note that gunboats and X-ships were 
  developed about the same time but are entirely unre-
  lated technologies. 
   
  The tractor-S was the original tractor beam de-
  signed for emergency towing of a disabled ship. Its 
  range is only several hundred feet, and it only func-
  tions in the rear 60arc on ships, i.e., directly behind 
  the towing ship; on bases, the function is 360. It can 
  be used only to tow a friendly or captured ship or shut-
  tle; it cannot be used defensively to capture incoming 
  missiles or drones as the targeting system cannot deal 
  with the high relative velocities. 
   
  The tractor-W could function at a range up to 
  10,000km but otherwise had the same limitations as 
  the tractor-S. 
   
  The tractor-Y was the first tractor beam that could 
  be used tactically. It could function in a 360arc, and it 
  could tractor any object (including drones and missiles, 
  friendly or enemy ships, and asteroids) but was still 
  limited to a maximum range of 10,000km. 
   
  The tractor-M was similar to a tractor-Y except that 
  it increased its maximum range to 20,000km. 
   
  The tractor-N was the final development of the 
  series, increasing the maximum range to 30,000km. 
   
  The tractor-X is a TL13 development, but still has 
  a maximum range of 30,000km. 
   
  Technology Availability by Empire 
   
  Andromedan: Displacement devices, maulers, 
  phaser-2s, phaser-3s, power-absorber panels, shuttle-
  craft (only ones they captured; they never built their 
  own), and tractor-repulsors. 
   
  Carnivon: Death bolts, disruptor cannons, phaser-
  1s, phaser-2s, phaser-3s, and shuttlecraft. 
   
  Federation: Drones, fighters, phaser-1s, phaser-
  2s, phaser-3s, phaser-4s, phaser-Gs (Gatling phasers) 
  on only a few ships, photon torpedoes, plasma-F tor-
  pedoes, and shuttlecraft 
   
  Gorn: Fighters flown by mercenaries, gun-
  boats/PFs and interceptors, phaser-1s, phaser-2s, 
  phaser-3s, 
  phaser-4s, 
  plasma 
  torpedoes, 
  and 
  shuttlecraft. 
   
  Hydran: Fighters, fusion beams, gunboats/PFs 
  and interceptors, hellbores, phaser-1s, phaser-2s, 
  phaser-3s, phaser-4s, phaser-Gs (Gatling phasers), 
  and shuttlecraft. 
   
  ISC: Fighters, gunboats/PFs and interceptors, 
  phaser-1s, phaser-2s, phaser-3s, phaser-4s, plasma 
  torpedoes, plasmatic pulsars, and shuttlecraft. 
   
  Jindarian: Anti-transporter fields, fighters, gun-
  boats/PFs and interceptors, phaser-1s, phaser-2s, 
  phaser-3s, 
  phaser-4s, 
  shuttlecraft, 
  and 
  warp-
  augmented rail guns. 
   
  Klingon: 
  Disruptors, 
  drones, 
  fighters, 
  gun-
  boats/PFs and interceptors, maulers, phaser-1s, 
  phaser-2s, phaser-3s, phaser-4s, shuttlecraft, and sta-
  sis field generators (SFGs). 
   
  Kzinti: Disruptors, drones, fighters, gunboats/PFs 
  and interceptors, phaser-1s, phaser-2s, phaser-3s, 
  phaser-4s, and shuttlecraft. 
   
  LDR: 
  Disruptors, 
  drones 
  only 
  on 
  fighters, 
  expanding 
  sphere 
  generators 
  (ESGs), 
  fighters, 
  gunboats/PFs and interceptors, phaser-1s, phaser-2s, 
  phaser-3s, phaser-4s, phaser-Gs  (Gatling phasers), 
  and shuttlecraft. 
   
  Lyran: Disruptors, drones only on fighters, 
  expanding sphere generators (ESGs), fighters, gun-
  boats/PFs and interceptors, maulers, phaser-1s, 
  phaser-2s, phaser-3s, phaser-4s, and shuttlecraft. 
   
  Orion: Cloaking devices on some ships, disrup-
  tors, drones, expanding sphere generators (ESGs), 
  fighters, fusion beams, hellbores, gunboats/PFs and 
  interceptors, ion cannons, phaser-1s, phaser-2s, 
  phaser-3s, phaser-Gs (Gatling phasers) on only a few 
  ships, photon torpedoes, plasma torpedoes (all but 
  plasma-R torpedoes), plasmatic pulsars, and shuttle-
  craft. (See Orion Pirate Special Availability, below.) 
   
  Paravians: Phaser-1s, phaser-2s, phaser-3s, 
  quantum wave torpedoes, and shuttlecraft. 
   
  Peladine: Drones, phaser-1s, phaser-2s, phaser-
  3s, phaser-4s, plasma-G torpedoes, plasma-P torpe-
  does, plasma torpedo drones, and shuttlecraft. 
   
  Romulan: 
  Cloaking 
  devices, 
  fighters, 
  gun-
  boats/PFs and interceptors, maulers, phaser-1s, 
  phaser-2s, phaser-3s, phaser-4s, plasma torpedoes, 
  and shuttlecraft. 
   
  Seltorian: Drones only on fighters, fighters flown 
  by mercenaries, gunboats/PFs, particle cannons, 
  phaser-1s, phaser-2s, phaser-3s, phaser-4s, shield 
  crackers, shuttlecraft, and web breakers. 
   
  Tholian: Disruptors, fighters, gunboats/PFs and 
  interceptors, phaser-1s, phaser-2s, phaser-3s, phaser-
  4s, photon torpedoes, shuttlecraft, and webs. 
   
  Vudar: Fighters, gunboats/PFs and interceptors, 
  ion cannons, ion pulse generators, ion storm genera-
  tors, phaser-1s, phaser-2s, phaser-3s, phaser-4s, and 
  shuttlecraft. 
   
  WYN: Disruptors, drones, expanding sphere 
  generators (ESGs), fighters, gunboats/PFs and inter-
  ceptors, maulers, phaser-1s, phaser-2s, phaser-3s, 
  phaser-Gs (Gatling phasers) on only a few ships, and 
  shuttlecraft. 
   
   
  Important note: For players who are using Star 
  Fleet Battles for ship-to-ship combat in their cam-
  paign, or who want more historical precision, use SFB 
  rule (U7.0) to determine the availability of technologies 
  instead of this rule. 
   
  Orion Pirate Special Availability 
   
  The Orion Pirates are a special case. They are 
  divided into a number of “cartels” with distinct bounda-
  ries that do not conform to the boundaries of the vari-
  ous major powers. In general, an Orion Pirate cartel 
  has access to the technology available to the major 
  powers in whose area they operate, with the exception 
  of 
  technologies 
  listed 
  as 
  “only” 
  e.g., 
  mauler 
  technology. 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Technology 
  Page 257 
   
  For example, the Orion Hamilcar Cartel operates 
  in Federation, Klingon, and Hydran space; they would 
  have 
  access 
  to 
  disruptor, 
  photon 
  torpedo, 
  drone/missile, plasma torpedo, fusion beam, and hell-
  bore technology. They would not have access to stasis 
  field generator technology as that is “Klingon only,” 
  and they would only rarely have access to ESGs as 
  they do not operate in Lyran space. A very few ships in 
  each cartel area would use “outside” weapons; these 
  were usually “independent” ships which leased oper-
  ating areas from the cartel. 
   
  Romulan Starship Series 
   
  The Romulans are a special case. They went from 
  TL9 to TL12 virtually overnight when the Klingons pro-
  vided this technology under the Treaty of Smarba in 
  Y159. 
   
  Prior to the Treaty, the Romulans operated TL9 
  ships of various “Old Series” or “Eagle” classes in-
  cluding the Warbird, Hawk, Snipe, and Vulture. They 
  developed some TL10 and TL11 technology (tractor 
  beams and shields) but never developed “tactical 
  warp.” This caused Federation officers to refer to 
  them, somewhat imprecisely, as “pure sublight” ships 
  (which was true in the case of combat; they could use 
  non-tactical warp only for strategic mobility). Many of 
  these ships were upgraded to TL12 technology (and at 
  least two to TL13!) after these technology levels be-
  came available. 
   
  During the period of Y159 to Y168, the Romulans 
  were learning to use their new TL12 technology and 
  the Klingon-built “KR” or “Kestrel” classes of ships 
  (converted to newly invented TL12 versions of Romu-
  lan technology). During this period, when the Romu-
  lans were hastily training on entirely new technologies, 
  it might be more accurate to describe them as being 
  TL11, although this would be an abstraction for gam-
  ing purposes (the ships are TL12). During this period, 
  Romulan military personnel would have access to 
  TL12 skills and equipment, but a civilian would not. 
  The Klingon-built ships were TL12 (except for one or 
  two very old TL11 ships sold for initial training), but 
  they were the oldest Klingon TL12 ships which had 
  been stored in mothballs for decades. (The Klingons 
  never threw away a weapon just because it was ob-
  solete, and, being constantly short of cash, were 
  happy to sell these old ships to the Romulans.) These 
  ships, old and unfamiliar as they were, marked a major 
  improvement over what the Romulans had. 
   
  Starting in Y165, the Romulans began building an 
  entirely new series of ships designated as the 
  “Hawks.” These included the Condor dreadnought, 
  FireHawk heavy cruiser, SparrowHawk light cruiser, 
  SkyHawk destroyer, and SeaHawk frigate. These 
  ships are truly TL12 in every regard. 
   
  The Romulans later converted some ships of all 
  three types into TL13 X-ships. 
   
  Each of these three series of starships was built 
  from entirely different technologies. For purposes of 
  crewmen dealing with different technologies, the ships 
  could be considered as TL10 Eagles, TL11 Kestrels, 
  and TL12 Hawks, even though this is not exactly accu-
  rate. In general, personnel who transferred from ships 
  of one series to ships of another would require signifi-
  cant amounts of retraining; this was a constant head-
  ache to the Romulans during the Y160s. Characters 
  who are being transferred between “series” use the 
  Familiarity rules (p. 147). 
   
  X-Technology 
   
  The achievement of TL13 by the various empires 
  marked a major shift in starship design philosophies, 
  resulting in new generations of starships whose capa-
  bilities far exceeded their predecessors. X-technology, 
  as it was called, also found application in many other 
  areas, civilian and military. It is beyond the scope of 
  this book to present TL13 X-technology in the detail it 
  deserves. 
   
   
   
   
   
  Orion Cartels in Y175
   
   
  
  Page 258  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Technology 
  SHIPBOARD EQUIPMENT 
   
  This equipment list includes the skill a character 
  must have to operate each type of equipment. Re-
  member if you move from one form of equipment to 
  another, use the familiarity rules (p. 147). If you are 
  moving 
  from 
  one 
  empire’s 
  specialized 
  weap-
  ons/equipment, you may suffer additional penalties at 
  the GM’s discretion.  
   
   
  Example: A Federation transporter technician with 
  Electronics Operations/TL12 skills would suffer -2 to 
  simply operate a Romulan transporter. If attempting to 
  activate a Jindarian anti-transporter field, that penalty 
  would be -4 or higher if the GM choses to use the Task 
  Difficulty rules, p. 189. 
   
  Anti-Transporter Fields 
   
  This Jindarian-only technology is used because of 
  their weak shields (they depend on their asteroid 
  ships’ rocky exterior for protection). It interferes with 
  transporter operation, preventing transporting into or 
  out of a Jindarian asteroid ship. A Jindarian character 
  must have Electronics Operation/TL12 (Transporter) to 
  activate this field. 
   
  Cloaking Devices 
   
  Almost all Romulan ships, and some Orion ships, 
  have cloaking devices. These are much misunder-
  stood. They make it hard for an enemy to “lock on” to a 
  ship, but a cloaked ship can still be fired at, hit, and 
  damaged by various types of weapons (just less effec-
  tively due to weapons being unable to lock on the tar-
  get). You must have Electronics Operation/TL12 
  (Electronic Warfare) to operate a cloaking device. 
   
  Death Bolts 
   
  Death bolts are a type of large drone used only by 
  the Carnivons. You must have Artillery (Guided Mis-
  sile) at TL9 or higher to fire death bolts. 
   
  Deflectors 
   
  Ships travelling at high speeds (especially above 
  the speed of light) project a deflector shield ahead of 
  them by a few miles which sweeps away odd bits of 
  cosmic dust that might damage the ship. Deflectors 
  cannot push aside asteroids, but these can be seen on 
  sensors and avoided by Piloting skill. You must have 
  Electronics Operation (Force Shields) at TL9 or higher 
  to operate deflectors. 
   
  Displacement Devices 
   
  This Andromedan-only device is based on 
  technologies which known other empires cannot begin 
  to understand, even after examining captured exam-
  ples. The device affects the fabric of space itself, and 
  is related to the Andromedan ability to move rapidly 
  between previously built bases. The device limits the 
  number of ships (fitted with the device) that can oper-
  ate a device in one area to a maximum of two. The 
  targeted ship simply disappears from its original loca-
  tion and reappears in the new location without having 
  traveled between the two hexes (at least not in this 
  dimension). Ships displaced might cross a web or 
  other terrain feature without interaction with that fea-
  ture. No player character can operate this device; An-
  dromedan robots that need this skill are assumed to 
  have some form of Electronics Operation, but no one 
  is sure. 
   
  Disruptor Cannons  
   
  The disruptor cannon is a version of the disruptor 
  used only by the Carnivons. It is literally a disruptor 
  that uses twice as much power, fires half as often, and 
  does twice as much damage. A Carnivon must have 
  Gunner/TL11 (Cannon) to fire this weapon. 
   
  Disruptors 
   
  This is the primary heavy weapon of the Klingons, 
  Kzintis, Lyrans (including the LDR), and Tholians. 
  Some WYN and Orion ships use copies of this 
  weapon. While many think of this as a beam weapon, 
  it is formally named a disruptor bolt because it fires a 
  bolt of energy at a target. To use this weapon, a char-
  acter must have Gunner (Cannon) at TL9 or higher. 
   
  Drones 
   
  These are missiles with thermonuclear warheads, 
  used by the Federation, Klingons, Kzintis, Orions, 
  Peladines, and WYNs. The LDR, Lyrans, and Seltori-
  ans have them only on their fighters. Drones have a 
  high speed and long range, and do the same amount 
  of damage no matter how far they travel to reach their 
  target. Drones can be “shot down” by phasers and 
  other weapons, but even a damaged drone has the 
  same speed, range, and warhead. Drones have their 
  fuel and warhead packed inside at a factory. You must 
  have Artillery (Guided Missile) at TL10 or higher to 
  launch drones. 
   
  Expanding Sphere Generators (ESGs) 
   
  The expanding sphere generator (ESG) is an 
  auxiliary weapon of the Lyrans and LDR. Some are 
  found on Orion pirate ships or WYN ships. The ESG 
  generates a field of energy around the ship which 
  damages whatever it contacts (seeking weapons ap-
  proaching the ship, other ships, etc.). It is a defensive 
  (anti-drone/fighter) system and an offensive ramming 
  system. You must have Electronics Operation (Force 
  Shields) at TL10 or higher to operate ESGs. 
   
  Fighters 
   
  Fighters are based on shuttlecraft, but are totally 
  redesigned for use as “fighters.” While the Hydrans are 
  best known for their Stinger fighters, the Federation, 
  ISC, Jindarians, Klingons, Kzintis, LDR, Lyrans, Ori-
  ons, Romulans, Tholians, Vudar, and WYNs also 
  fielded fighters. Gorn and Seltorian fighters are flown 
  by mercenaries. You must have Piloting/TL11 (Shuttle-
  craft) or higher to fly fighters. 
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Technology 
  Page 259 
  Fusion Beams 
   
  The fusion beam is the primary Hydran weapon, 
  used by most of their ships and fighters. Some Orion 
  pirates have also acquired the technology. The beam 
  fires a stream of excited tritium which fuses into helium 
  at the point of impact, releasing a tremendous amount 
  of energy, basically a slow-burning hydrogen bomb. 
  You must have Gunner/TL12 (Beams) or higher to fire 
  fusion beams. 
   
  Gunboats/PFs and Interceptors 
   
  The Lyrans developed the interceptor concept in 
  Y176. The gunboat (sometimes called fast patrol ship 
  or PF) appeared during Y178. Within a few years, 
  most other empires had adopted them. (The Federa-
  tion and Andromedans didn’t use them; the Peladine 
  were subjugated by then; the Carnivons and Paravians 
  were declared extinct decades before then.) These 
  were considered to be attrition units that could be pro-
  duced by factories at a rate approaching that at which 
  they were lost during intensive combat. While major 
  starships take years to build and can be lost within an 
  hour of entering their first battle; some factories could 
  produce several gunboats per week. Gunboats were 
  developed from the earlier ships known as “intercep-
  tors” which were used in limited numbers. You must 
  have the skill Piloting/TL12 (Starship) or higher to fly 
  gunboats or interceptors. 
   
  Hellbores 
   
  The hellbore cannon fires an ultra-velocity (warp 
  factor 600) fusion bomb. When it strikes a target, it 
  spreads and then implodes, damaging all six shields. 
  (If the implosion detonator is removed, the weaker 
  warhead only affects the facing shield.) The first hell-
  bore-armed Hydran ships appeared in Y156. It didn’t 
  take long for Orion pirates to steal the technology. You 
  must have Gunner (Cannon) at TL12 or higher to fire 
  hellbore cannons. 
   
  Impulse Engines 
   
  Impulse engines are the ion engines of TL8, but 
  the plasma is channeled through a space-time driver 
  coil. This generates a low-level space-time distortion 
  field. This is similar in effect but vastly different from a 
  warp drive field; a ship can have both types of fields at 
  the same time. The result is that the ion exhaust is 
  much more effective, allowing the ship to reach 
  speeds of 0.99c in combat and (with some preparation 
  and planning) to reach trans-light speeds out of com-
  bat. Fixing and maintaining impulse engines requires 
  Mechanic (Impulse Engine) or Mechanic (Starships), 
  frequently supervised by an officer with Engineer 
  (Starship). These skills must be at TL8 or higher. 
   
  Ion Cannons 
   
  Ion cannons are carried by Vudar ships and some 
  Orion pirates. The ion cannons are considered to be 
  the heavy weapons of the ship, but because they must 
  be armed in advance and cost a considerable amount 
  of energy to hold the cannons if they are not fired 
  immediately, their use is normally restricted to heavy 
  combat situations. You must have Gunner (Cannon) at 
  TL12 or higher to fire ion cannons. 
   
  Ion Pulse Generators 
   
  Carried by most Vudar ships (no other species 
  may operate or be near these safely), the ion pulse 
  generator is a defensive system with limited offensive 
  capability. It creates the effect of a temporary ion 
  storm in proximity to the generating unit. IPGs are a 
  much smaller version of the huge ion storm generators 
  mounted on asteroids and moons. You must have 
  Electronics Operation (Force Shields) at TL12 or 
  higher to operate ion pulse generators. 
   
  Ion Storm Generators 
   
  The ion storm generator is used as a defensive 
  system to protect Vudar bases and systems (no other 
  species may operate or be near these safely). It cre-
  ates the effect of an ion storm in proximity to the gen-
  erating unit. Ion storm generators can only be mounted 
  on bases with positional stabilizers, or on celestial 
  bodies without atmospheres such as asteroids and 
  moons. You must have Electronics Operation (Force 
  Shields) at TL12 or higher to operate ion storm 
  generators. 
   
  Maulers 
   
  The mauler is a beam of intense directed energy. 
  Because of the immense size of the power accumula-
  tors, the weapon is, almost literally, the same as the 
  ship. Originally a Romulan weapon, it was eventually 
  copied by their allies, the Klingons and Lyrans. The 
  WYNs also have appropriated this technology. The 
  Andromedans use a weapon that is functionally simi-
  lar. You must have Gunner (Beams) at TL11 or higher 
  to operate a mauler. 
   
  Particle Cannons 
   
  Particle cannons are direct-fire weapons similar to 
  disruptors. They are the primary weapon of the Sel-
  torians, and were the primary weapon of the Tholians 
  in their old galaxy (M81). To use this weapon, a char-
  acter must have Gunner (Cannon) at TL12 or higher. 
   
  Phasers 
   
  Phasers are the most common and most numer-
  ous weapons that starships carry. They fire “phased 
  energy” (hence their name) which overwhelms and 
  damages the systems of the target. Because of their 
  relatively low power demands and the lack of any 
  shock when firing, they are mounted in several batter-
  ies around the ship (unlike heavy weapons), providing 
  all-around firepower for both attack and defense. 
  Phasers are often the final defense against seeking 
  weapons and, because of their large numbers, often 
  cause most of the damage in a starship duel. They are 
  armed with electrical power from the engine power 
  grid. 
   
  
  Page 260  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Technology 
   
  Phaser-1s: This is the most powerful type of 
  phaser carried by starships, often causing considera-
  ble damage to other ships at a medium range. For 
  some reason the Andromedans never developed a 
  weapon that resembled a phaser-1, but all other em-
  pires did. Phaser-1s started appearing at TL11 but at 
  that Tech Level were restricted to bases and planets. 
  Only at TL12 did they start appearing on ships. You 
  must have Gunner (Beams) at TL11 or higher to oper-
  ate a phaser-1. A phaser-4 may be fired as or repaired 
  as a phaser-1. 
   
  Phaser-2s: These are shorter-ranged than phaser-
  1s due to less accurate fire control that is cheaper and 
  easier to maintain; other than the fire control, they are 
  identical to phaser-1s. (For that reason a damaged 
  phaser-1 or phaser-4 may be repaired to operate as a 
  phaser-2.) At TL12, some of these were upgraded to 
  phaser-1s. All empires had phaser-2s. You must have 
  Gunner (Beams) at TL11 or higher to operate a 
  phaser-2. A phaser-4 or phaser 1 may be fired as or 
  repaired as a phaser-2. 
   
  Phaser-3s: This type of phaser is the least power-
  ful of all, designed to be used against drones. In prac-
  tice they are often used against other ships in combat, 
  but are, of course, less effective. Any empire could fire 
  its phaser-1s, phaser-2s, or phaser-4s as phaser-3s or 
  repair them as that. The Andromedans are the only 
  empire that never had phaser-3s (although they, too, 
  could fire or repair their phaser-2s as phaser-3s).  You 
  must have Gunner (Beams) at TL11 or higher to oper-
  ate a phaser-3. 
   
  Phaser-4s: This type of phaser is a very powerful 
  model used only on bases that are ground based or 
  that have positional stabilizers. All empires had 
  phaser-4s, except those that never used them (An-
  dromedans, Orions, and WYNs) or were presumed 
  extinct (Carnivons and Paravians). You must have 
  Gunner (Beams) at TL12 or higher to operate a 
  phaser-4. 
   
  Phaser-Gs (Gatling Phasers): The Hydrans use 
  this weapon, which can fire four phaser-3 shots either 
  at the same time or separately, and at the same or 
  different targets. In theory, these weapons protected 
  the Hydran ships from Klingon drones; in practice, they 
  were used for savage close-range attacks on Klingon 
  and Lyran ships. The LDR gained the weapons by 
  treaty as did the Federation which used them only in 
  limited numbers. Some Orion and WYN ships have 
  acquired the technology. You must have Gunner 
  (Beams) at TL12 or higher to operate a phaser-G. If a 
  phaser-G is damaged, it can be repaired to be a 
  phaser-3. 
   
  Photon Torpedoes 
   
  This is the primary heavy weapon of the Federa-
  tion, although some Tholian, WYN, and Orion ships 
  use copies of this weapon. Photons are classed as 
  “heavy weapons” because of the power usage and 
  shock of firing. The torpedo is loaded with encapsu-
  lated antimatter from the ship’s power sources in a 
  heavily reinforced launch tube, then fired at the en-
  emy. When it strikes the target, the antimatter is re-
  leased and causes an explosion.  To use this weapon, 
  a character must have Gunner (Cannon) at TL10 or 
  higher. 
   
  Plasma Torpedoes 
   
  Plasma torpedoes are balls of energy created in a 
  heavily reinforced chamber, then targeted on an en-
  emy ship. Plasma is one of the four states of matter 
  (the others being solid, liquid, and gas); it is comprised 
  of highly energized particles. These are in fact “broken 
  atoms” and include ions (atoms missing a few elec-
  trons) and the loose electrons. Atoms and molecules 
  in this state are easily converted into energy, which is 
  where the torpedo gets its propulsive and explosive 
  force. The torpedo includes a solid physical element 
  with the tracking system. There are several different 
  types of this weapon, each with different warhead 
  strengths. From largest to smallest, these are the 
  plasma-R, plasma-S, plasma-G, plasma-F, plasma-P, 
  plasma-D, and plasma-K.  
   
  Plasma torpedoes are used primarily by Gorns, 
  the ISC, Orion pirates, the Peladine (before being 
  subjugated), and Romulans. The Federation has 
  plasma-F only; Peladine has plasma-G, plasma-P, and 
  drones only; Orions and the ISC do not have plasma-
  R. To use this weapon, a character must have Gunner 
  (Cannon) at TL10 or higher. 
   
  Plasmatic Pulsars 
   
  This is one of the two primary heavy weapons of 
  the Inter-Stellar Concordium (the other being the type-
  S plasma torpedo). Orion pirates in the area quickly 
  copied the technology. This weapon cannot actually be 
  used on ships that are close to the origin of fire. The 
  basic concept of the weapon is a series of intensely 
  focused plasma energy pulses that are conveyed to 
  the target on a carrier wave. The ISC didn’t finish de-
  velopment and installation of this weapon on ships 
  until after they observed a battle between the Gorns 
  and Romulans. If the ISC had observed such violence 
  earlier, it would have taken up to 10 years to develop 
  the weapon (but no later than Y160). To use this 
  weapon, a character must have Gunner (Cannon) at 
  TL12 or higher. 
   
  Power-Absorber Panels 
   
  Andromedan ships do not use shields; instead, 
  they use power absorbers. These absorb the power of 
  enemy weapons (up to a point) and allow the ship to 
  recycle this power into its batteries and use it against 
  the enemy! A ship cannot have both shields and power 
  absorbers; the two systems are mutually exclusive. 
  The downside is that if the panels absorb too much 
  energy, they release it within the ship – this can cause 
  the ship to explode. (Andromedans are from another 
  galaxy and their ships don’t work the same way that 
  the ships in the Milky Way Galaxy work.) Only the An-
  dromedans use power-absorber panels. It is assumed 
  that the robots that service them have some form of 
  Mechanic skill, but no one really knows this for sure. 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Technology 
  Page 261 
  Quantum Wave Torpedoes 
   
  Quantum wave torpedoes are torpedoes that gen-
  erate continually expanding waves of energy which 
  seek their target. Due to the large size of the waves, 
  the damage from a quantum wave torpedo tends to 
  slightly envelop the target. Paravians developed this 
  form of torpedo; it was never copied by Orion pirates. 
  To use this weapon, a character must have Gunner 
  (Cannon) at TL10 or TL11. (The Paravians never de-
  veloped this weapon beyond TL11 as in Y94 they were 
  declared extinct after a sun snake made their sun go 
  nova.) 
   
  Reactors 
   
  Most starships have advanced fusion reactors 
  which can be used to power various systems but not 
  for movement. As starships are often far from bases or 
  planets and are subject to unpredictable problems in 
  unknown regions, designers usually include several 
  different power systems operating on different princi-
  ples, thereby ensuring that no matter what goes 
  wrong, there is a high probability that at least one of 
  the power systems will still work. Fixing and maintain-
  ing reactors requires Mechanic (Reactors) or Me-
  chanic (Starships), frequently supervised by an officer 
  with Engineer (Starship). These skills must be at TL8 
  or higher. 
   
  Replicators 
   
  These are the most misunderstood items of SFU 
  technology. If replicators work, why do we need inter-
  stellar commerce instead of just making everything on 
  site? There are two answers to that: cost and quality. 
  Things made by replicator cost more (often a lot 
  more), and quality can suffer unless extra time, skill, 
  effort, technology, and cost are accepted. Some mate-
  rials simply cannot be replicated, and some are easier 
  to obtain through normal sources. 
   
  Starships, which must go long distances from any 
  place they could get spare parts, and have huge tanks 
  full of government-funded fuel to run their power sys-
  tems, make use of replicators when they have to have 
  the missing part (or the thing needed for the mission) 
  right now. 
   
  Trans-Stator: The Heart of the Replicator 
   
  To really understand the technology, it is important 
  to understand what a replicator is – and what it isn’t. 
  There are three similar technologies at work in the 
  SFU, these being the replicator, transporter, and mat-
  ter reformer. All of these (and communicators) use the 
  trans-stator, known as “the centerpiece of all modern 
  technology” to engineers. This tiny device provides 
  access to subspace by placing a point of space-time 
  into a trans-state beyond the normal continuum. (Just 
  how it does this is classified.) 
   
  Shifting matter into a trans-state converts it into a 
  form represented by and handled as energy. Trans-
  porters convert matter into energy, record the patterns 
  digitally, and then transmit the matter stream to an-
  other location. The matter is then reassembled. 
  Matter Reformers 
   
  Matter reformers take existing matter and rear-
  range it into the desired shapes. A matter reformer 
  could take iron ingots and produce horseshoes, 
  avoiding the necessity to bring along a blacksmith just 
  in case you need some horseshoes to make a treaty 
  with the strange new civilization you just met. A matter 
  reformer could make horseshoes out of bronze or sil-
  ver if you only had those metals handy. It could pro-
  cess scrap iron and iron ore with considerably more 
  energy expended and waste produced. 
   
  The closer the “feedstock” is to the “product,” the 
  less time, energy, and skill it takes, and lower TL re-
  formers could do the job. Machine shops or other fab-
  rication facilities that use matter reformers and repli-
  cators often have numerous machines of various costs 
  and capabilities so they can do the easy jobs on the 
  cheap machines with the low-skilled operators and use 
  the expensive machines and high-skilled operators 
  only for the most critical or expensive projects. 
   
   Most of the “replicators” in cafeterias and mess 
  halls are in fact high-end reformers able to take feed-
  stocks of sugars, carbohydrates, proteins, and other 
  essential elements and convert it into an approxima-
  tion of specific types of food. The success or failure of 
  any particular recipe depends on the specific types of 
  food, the quality and detail of the recipe template, and 
  the complexity. Making a glass of tea (of any type you 
  have a record of) is relatively simple, but building a 
  cheese soufflé from duck eggs is considerably more 
  difficult. 
   
  The Limits of Replicators 
   
  A replicator is different from a reformer in that it 
  can rearrange electrons, protons, and neutrons (along 
  with other sub-atomic particles) into the desired atoms 
  and molecules. Feed iron ingots into a TL12 replicator 
  and, with enough energy and the right templates and 
  programs, you could produce a T-bone steak or a wool 
  sweater. Of course, money is money and those using 
  replicators to make things try to use “feedstocks” 
  which are as close to the end result as possible. The 
  primary limits are power and templates. 
   
  Given TL12 computer memory storage systems, a 
  starship can leave its home planet on a five-year mis-
  sion with a database containing billions of templates of 
  things it might need to make. Historical uniforms and 
  costumes are often produced for theatrical presenta-
  tions by the ship’s troupe of actors; it is rare to find a 
  new alien culture that just happens to use the same 
  uniforms as something in the database (but it does 
  happen). 
   
  Replicators are more useful on planets, where the 
  limits on space, energy, and feedstocks of materials 
  are less troublesome. One of the most important items 
  on a new colony planet is the replicator, as it must be 
  able to produce anything that the colony might need. 
  Hospitals often have small replicators able to make a 
  huge library of drugs and other medical items as 
  needed. Five-star restaurants have small replicators in 
  case a rich customer just has to have his favorite dish, 
  
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Technology 
  and the ingredients are not in season (or on the 
  planet). 
   
  One limitation of replicators is that the template for 
  any given item is (once programmed into the replica-
  tor) a substantial part of the replicator’s memory ca-
  pacity. Thus, complex multi-part systems (say a 
  phaser or a typewriter) have to be made in pieces and 
  then assembled by hand. 
   
  Another limitation is that larger and larger items 
  have more and more atoms, and thus more and more 
  opportunities for transcription errors. Large I-beams for 
  construction projects would not be produced by repli-
  cator or even a matter reformer due to the safety con-
  cerns of these errors. A flaw in such a beam could 
  produce a catastrophic load failure and “bring down 
  the house,” so structural beams are made in foundries 
  (or polycarbon facilities) as they always have been. 
  Items made in replicators are often intended for tem-
  porary use where these transcription problems will not 
  manifest themselves before the need for the item has 
  ended. Items can be made without errors (well, without 
  quite as many errors) but this requires more time, 
  computer power, operator skill, and energy. 
   
  Getting the template into the replicator is often not 
  a simple task, although the degree of difficulty varies 
  with just what is being designed. For mechanical parts 
  and other physical objects, an engineer could create a 
  template in a computer-aided design system. In many 
  cases, engineering labs use replicators to produce 
  quick test copies of new designs, allowing them to be 
  studied, tested, and inspected before tooling is done 
  for actual production by more traditional means. For 
  artifacts (the local leader wants a carving of an Uruba-
  soid and nothing else will do) you must scan an exist-
  ing object, preferably with a transporter or a Replicator 
  Master Work Station. With a lot more work, you could 
  make a less-than-perfect copy from tricorder readings. 
  If you are desperate to impress a local potentate, you 
  could produce something in the general style of the 
  desired artifact by having a skilled engineer or de-
  signer study drawings, photographs, or even a verbal 
  description. Just how likely you are to fool anyone 
  varies. If you need Michelangelo’s actual “Statue of 
  David” to close the trade deal, you better have a 
  transporter pattern of the original or you aren’t going to 
  fool anyone (and even then you’d be found out even-
  tually). If, however, you simply need a sculpture (pre-
  sumably an “unknown work” you “just discovered in an 
  old ruin”) in the style of the famous Klingon sculptor 
  Kludge of Korbak, a decent artist with a museum-
  quality book of photos could do the job in a few days. 
   
  There are some things that replicators just cannot 
  make, most critical among them being dilithium crys-
  tals. Because these crystals are so closely attuned to 
  subspace (if they weren’t, warp engines couldn’t work), 
  they cannot be processed by the trans-stator. Repli-
  cated dilithium crystals crack quickly when used in 
  power systems. Replicators cannot make pergium (a 
  compound used in advanced power systems) or 
  topaline (used in life support gear). Other extremely 
  dense materials with very complicated structures are 
  near impossible to replicate. (GMs can decide what is 
  too difficult.) The materials best suited to replication 
  are pure elements, like iron or carbon. Homogeneous 
  mixtures of elements such as metal alloys are the next 
  easiest. 
   
  Replicators cannot create living material because 
  the quantum signatures must be organized in a fash-
  ion that cannot be replicated – and the reason why a 
  living person can be reassembled alive (safely!) is that 
  the transporter recreates the person from the original 
  matter which the person was made from, and therefore 
  has the correct quantum signatures for life, using the 
  unaltered transporter template created when the 
  transport began. 
   
  While replicators turn matter into energy and vice 
  versa they are extremely inefficient in producing en-
  ergy. You could replicate a power cell but it would 
  have to be charged before it could be used. Creating a 
  “charged” power cell would take 100 times as much 
  energy (for the replicator) as you would ever get out of 
  the power cell. 
   
  Composite materials such as plastics replicate 
  well. While replicators can rearrange protons, neu-
  trons, and electrons into any atoms you want, they’re 
  even better at combining existing atoms into mole-
  cules. They are much better at this than matter re-
  formers due to their greater processing and computing 
  power. Replicators can also use pure energy as a 
  “feedstock” but this takes more energy than using 
  some physical matter. 
   
  Replication leaves a distinct signature in the re-
  sulting product (a lack of naturally occurring random-
  ness) and is detectable with a deep scan for these tell-
  tale signatures left by the processing of the product. 
  Replicator unit quality also affects this and the quality 
  of the products produced. Furthermore, most commer-
  cial replicators leave a digital “watermark” that identi-
  fies the unit that created it. Even without a watermark, 
  it is usually possible to tell the difference between the 
  products of Klingon, Romulan, Federation, and any 
  other empire’s replicators. 
   
  Anyone can use replicators, much as anyone in 
  modern times can use a vending machine. (Some of 
  the operations may more resemble asking a device to 
  record a particular show.) Repairing them takes Me-
  chanic (Replicator) or Engineer (Electronics) at TL12 
  or higher. Programming them takes Computer Pro-
  gramming at TL12 or higher. Having the replicator cre-
  ate a new item (like that carving of an Urubasoid) re-
  quires working with someone (such as a sculptor or 
  woodworker for the carving) to do it well.  
   
  Shield Cracker 
   
  Because the Seltorians provided the shock troops 
  (infantry, Marines, cannon fodder) to enforce the Tho-
  lian Will, the Tholians provided them with a weapon 
  known as the shield cracker. The Seltorians used this 
  weapon to knock down the shields of rebellious ships 
  (96% of which were some version of an armed 
  freighter) in order to send in Marines and capture 
  them. This allowed the ships to be returned to their 
  original duties without economic loss to the Tholian 
  Empire. The Tholians did not use this weapon 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Technology 
  Page 263 
  because of the difficulties in conducting boarding 
  operations 
  on 
  ships 
  with 
  radically 
  different 
  environments. No one, including the Orions or 
  Tholians ever managed to acquire this technology. To 
  use a shield cracker, a character must have Gunner 
  (Cannon) at TL12 or higher. 
   
  Shields 
   
  These are walls of force used by ships and some 
  ground installations to provide protection from weap-
  ons. They also block transporters, molecules, radia-
  tion, etc. You must have Electronics Operation (Force 
  Shields) at TL9 or higher to operate deflectors. 
   
  Shuttlecraft 
   
  Shuttlecraft are small spacecraft used to carry per-
  sonnel and small amounts of cargo from one ship to 
  another or from a ship to a planet or another location. 
  Shuttles have more range than transporters, and 
  sometimes it is more efficient for the ship to remain on 
  course and let a shuttle carry some of the crew to a 
  location where they will complete some task. Shuttles 
  are not armed and are fairly vulnerable in combat, and 
  as such are rarely used in combat conditions. All em-
  pires, except the Andromedans, used shuttlecraft. No 
  one knows why the extra-galactic invaders did not 
  build them; however, if they captured a shuttlecraft, 
  they could use it presumably using robots pro-
  grammed appropriately. You must have Piloting (Shut-
  tlecraft) at TL9 or higher to fly a shuttlecraft. 
   
  Stasis Field Generators (SFGs) 
   
  The Klingons experimented with installing these 
  devices in their cruisers, dreadnoughts, starbases, and 
  stellar fortresses. The stasis field generator was in-
  vented by the Klingons in Y165 and was never suc-
  cessfully copied by any other empire. Basically, a sta-
  sis field stops time for anything inside it. Anything 
  trapped inside of a stasis field cannot move until the 
  field is released, but conversely nothing can be done 
  to anything trapped inside such a field since nothing 
  (logically) can happen while time is stopped. The 
  Klingons use the device for two tactics. One is to pin 
  an enemy ship while other friendly units move into po-
  sition to deliver concentrated fire. The second is to 
  protect a friendly ship that is observed to be in a dis-
  advantageous position. You must have Electronics 
  Operation (Force Shields) at TL12 or higher to operate 
  SFGs. 
   
  Tractor Beams 
   
  These are electrogravitic beams of force used to 
  manipulate objects at range. Most think of these as 
  ship-mounted systems used for docking and to stop 
  enemy missiles from hitting the ship (or to stop enemy 
  ships from escaping), but smaller versions are used in 
  cargo bays (replacing the 20th-century chain hoists) 
  and some are used in vertical passageways inside the 
  ship as a form of elevator. You must have Electronics 
  Operation (Tractor Beams) at TL9 or higher to operate 
  tractor beams. A roll against the skill is not normally 
  needed unless you are overloading the tractor or doing 
  something else out of the ordinary. 
   
  Tractor-Repulsor Beams 
   
  The tractor-repulsor beam is the primary heavy 
  weapon of the Andromedan invaders. It operates by 
  very rapidly alternating tractor and repulsion forces in 
  millisecond-long bursts. The target is literally shaken to 
  pieces on a molecular level. Only the Andromedans 
  use tractor-repulsor beams; even when examples 
  have been captured, no Milky Way empire has been 
  able to operate it or duplicate it. There are two types: 
  the heavy used on motherships, and the light (TRL) 
  used on satellite ships. It has been postulated that the 
  robots that operate these are programmed with Gun-
  ner (Beams), but no one is really sure. 
   
  Transporters 
   
  Transporters are matter-energy conversion de-
  vices that transform a person or object into a pattern of 
  energy that is transmitted to a desired location, and 
  then converted back into the original person or object. 
  All known empires in the Milky Way developed this 
  technology. Transporters operate as follows: 
   
  Sensors within the transporter lock onto the per-
  son or object to be transported. The transporter then 
  scans the person or object and in the process converts 
  him/it into a form of energy called a matter stream. It 
  takes a finite amount of time to scan the person or 
  object being transported; this explains why transport-
  ers do not operate instantly, and why the person or 
  object takes a moment or two to fade from sight and 
  then reappear. Various empires use different trans-
  porter scan algorithms, resulting in a unique appear-
  ance of the dematerialization/rematerialization process 
  for each. 
   
  The “instructions” as to what the person or object 
  is composed of are compiled into a separate signal in 
  the form of a data stream, which is also sent to the 
  pattern buffers. Because of the immense amount of 
  data involved, these “transporter traces” are rarely 
  stored longer than needed and are normally overwrit-
  ten by the next transport. Cargo and emergency trans-
  porters are not equipped with buffers, and there is only 
  one chance for rematerialization; this is why cargo 
  transporters are not used to transport living beings, 
  except in cases of extreme emergency. 
   
  While in the pattern buffer, the matter stream can 
  be scanned and altered. These alterations include 
  draining energy from power packs, deleting the portion 
  of the pattern that represents weapons, and the appli-
  cation of “biofilters.” (These scan the matter stream for 
  known biohazards, which can then be deleted.) 
   
  Due to the immense amount of data, Heisenberg 
  effects at the quantum level will cause the data stream 
  to degrade rapidly; the matter stream will be corrupted 
  within seconds at lower tech levels, no more than a 
  few minutes at higher tech levels. While this generally 
  has minimal effects on non-living matter, the delicate 
  balance of life will be destroyed and the reintegrated 
  
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Technology 
  person will be dead in seconds, one of the most ago-
  nizing forms of death known. 
   
  The process of rematerialization is the reverse of 
  dematerialization. The data stream is converted back 
  into matter, according to the stored instructions con-
  tained in the data stream. Interruptions in the reinte-
  gration process can be catastrophic, and are usually 
  fatal to living tissue. 
   
  The maximum range of a transporter is defined on 
  p. 245. Transporters are less reliable under non-ideal 
  conditions. Electromagnetic fields, proximity to pow-
  erful energy sources, magnetic storms, and range re-
  duce the chance of a successful transport. Traditional 
  raised shields block transporters completely and you 
  are left standing on the transporter pad. However, if 
  you try to transport onto an Andromedan ship with a 
  functional power-absorber panel, the energy that is 
  “you” is absorbed and you are dead. Under normal 
  circumstances an Electronics Operations (Transporter) 
  (TL10 or higher) roll is not required. But under less 
  than normal circumstances, a failed transporter roll will 
  inflict from 1d points of fatigue to 4d points of damage 
  to the transportee depending on how badly the skill roll 
  was missed (GM ruling). 
   
  Transporters when first created included only 
  basic pattern enhancers. As time progressed, not only 
  did the range increase, the pattern enhancers 
  improved.  
   
  Modifers: At TL10, the modifier for Tactical Warp 
  Era pattern enhancers is -4. At TL11, that modifier be-
  comes -2. At TL12, there is no modifier.  
   
   
   
  Any of the following circumstances does require a 
  skill roll with the following modifiers: 
   
  Through functional power-absorber panels: impossible 
  (except by Andromedans). 
  Through functional shields: impossible unless the ship 
  is crippled, then it may be possible to beam 
  survivors off. 
  Objects or personnel on enemy ships (unless friendly 
  personnel are present): impossible. 
  Through dense matter or thick layers of matter: -10 to 
  impossible. 
  Ion or magnetic storms or subspace distortion: -1 
  to -10. 
  Proximity to improperly shielded power source: -1 
  to -4. 
  Jamming: -1 to -5. 
  Damaged pattern enhancer: -1 to -6. 
   
   
  Some devices make transporter operation more 
  reliable and/or safer, possibly compensating for the 
  above negative effects (these are not cumulative): 
   
  Transporter to transporter: +10 
  Transporter beacon: +4  
  Communicator (this can be a communication device 
  within hand’s reach): +2  
   
   
  A transporter beacon is a device available at TL12 
  and higher. It is about the size of a football and weighs 
  five pounds. It enhances the lock-on of the transporter, 
  improving the ability to recover personnel from a dis-
  tant area or one with jamming or other problems. The 
  device is activated manually with a switch which is 
  safeguarded against accidental activation. Anyone 
  who knows what a transporter beacon actually is 
  would have no problem activating one of them. This 
  uses a single B-cell, which will power it for about an 
  hour. 
   
  Enemy transporters cannot steal personnel from 
  your ship, fighter, or shuttle (and vice versa) due to the 
  structural integrity field all ships use. This can be 
  defeated by sending your own people to the enemy 
  ship. They would capture the targeted person or thing 
  and beam back to their ship. 
   
  Most gunboats and some workboats are only 
  equipped with transporter receivers. They cannot be 
  used to transport anything or anyone off the ship. Be 
  sure to check that “lightly used” workboat carefully 
  before buying it! 
   
  Warp-Augmented Rail Guns 
   
  This weapon is the primary heavy armament of the 
  Jindarians and was never copied by any other empire. 
  Its principle use was to “crack” asteroids discovered to 
  be rich in mineral ores in order to make mining them 
  more efficient. The warp-augmented rail gun fires a 
  solid shot of energized neutronium at a speed of Warp 
  9.95. As the material is not shielded, friction on the 
  material from chance impacts with matter present even 
  in the vacuum of space results in its degradation over 
  range. Shots fired by the warp-augmented rail gun are 
  directed to their targets at the last moment by a “warp-
  magnetic twist” just as they “leave the barrel”; the 
  weapon itself is incapable of being shifted in any way. 
  This results in a somewhat limited arc of fire, but en-
  hances the concealment of the weapon as there is no 
  need for mechanical systems on the surface of the 
  asteroid ship itself. To use a shield cracker, a Jindar-
  ian must have Gunner (Cannon) at TL12 or higher. 
   
  Warp Drives 
   
  Warp engines use a matter-anti-matter reaction 
  (which produces far more power than the ion engines). 
  This higher power is channeled through a warp coil 
  which generates a warp field, allowing the ship to 
  move 700 or more times the speed of light. There are 
  three basic types of warp drives. Non-tactical warp 
  (impulse engines generating a warp field which cannot 
  be used in combat) becomes available at TL9. Tactical 
  warp (allowing ships to travel above light speed in 
  combat) appears at TL10 (and is improved in TL11 
  and TL12), and X-technology warp drive at TL13. Early 
  tactical warp (TL10) gave a combat speed of Warp 2.6 
  (18 times the speed of light); TL11 gave a combat 
  speed of Warp 2.88 (24 times the speed of light), while 
  TL12 gave a combat speed of Warp 3.1 (31 times the 
  speed of light). Fixing and maintaining warp drives re-
  quires Mechanic (Warp Drive) or Mechanic (Star-
  ships), frequently supervised by an officer with Engi-
  neer (Starship). These skills must be at TL9 or higher. 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Technology 
  Page 265 
   
  The translation of “warp speeds” into actual move-
  ment is covered in Chapter 8. 
   
  Web Breaker 
   
  Just prior to their revolt against their Tholian mas-
  ters, Seltorian scientists, working in secret, discovered 
  how to adapt the shield cracker into the formidable 
  web breaker. This more powerful weapon was able to 
  destroy Tholian webs (eliminating the ability of Tholian 
  starships to create “artificial terrain” in open space). 
  Because webs were used to hold Tholian Dyson 
  Spheres together, the Seltorians could use web 
  breakers to crack the spheres and destroy them. This 
  closely held secret has never been copied by another 
  empire. To use a web breaker, a character must have 
  Gunner (Cannon) at TL12 or higher. 
   
  Webs 
   
  Tholians are the only empire that has mastered 
  this technology. A web is a band of energy (based on 
  tractor technology) which stretches across space and 
  impedes the movement of ships and other units 
  through a given area. It also blocks weapons fire. The 
  Tholians use it primarily to build defensive bastions 
  around their bases, or when caught in open space by 
  superior forces, but also use it tactically to influence 
  enemy maneuvers. In rare cases, it can be used to 
  capture an enemy starship (particularly if it has been 
  disabled). A Tholian character must have Electronics 
  Operation (Tractor Beams) at TL12 or higher to oper-
  ate web generators. The web caster and web snare 
  are based on web technology. You must have Gunner 
  (Beams) at TL12 or higher to operate a web caster or 
  snare. 
   
  PERSONAL EQUIPMENT 
   
   
  This section covers equipment that characters 
  might have access to that is not directly limited to a 
  ship’s equipment. When looking at size and weight, 
  remember that the SFU follows an alternate time-
  line/technology line. Our current technology apparently 
  focused more on miniaturization and never had a 
  World War III to set back technology. 
   
  Technology Improvements 
   
  Most items remain available at all TLs after intro-
  duction, but they become less expensive in some ar-
  eas. An Early Years phaser may be almost worthless 
  to a Federation soldier in the X-Technology era but to 
  a TL7 nonaligned planet it would command far more 
  then it was worth when it was new! (As a collectible 
  antique, it is priceless!) Of course, when you need a 
  phaser and it’s the only one handy, it still works. (Re-
  member to apply familiarity rules, p. 147.) 
   
  Cost: As a general rule, for any item introduced at 
  TL8 or later, halve the cost at the TL after introduction, 
  and halve it again at the next TL. 
   
  Size: Unless specified otherwise, all devices ex-
  cept weapons, vacc suits, power cells, and body ar-
  mor, weigh half as much one TL after being intro-
  duced, and 1/4 as much after two or more TLs. 
   
  Power: If using power cells, duration assumes 
  steady use (e.g. a year means turning a radio on and 
  leaving it on for a year); casual use will be about 10 
  times as long. (In the GURPS rules set, power cells 
  are better than and different from batteries, but are 
  used in the same way. In SFU, the terms are used 
  more or less interchangeably. In GPD, we try to use 
  only power cells to avoid confusion.) 
   
  GENERAL EQUIPMENT (TL8+) 
   
  Air Mask (TL10+) 
   
  The air mask is used on worlds that have an un-
  breathable but otherwise harmless atmosphere (nitro-
  gen, reducing, carbon dioxide and so on). The mask 
  covers the entire face (human and most humanoid 
  eyes get oxygen directly from the air). It always in-
  cludes a standard communicator for the TL, which 
  uses an A cell. It requires air tanks or a filter (see be-
  low). It takes three seconds to put the mask on, one 
  second to take it off. Weight is 1/2 pound and cost is 
  $25. For another $12.50, the mask includes a mini-
  tank with 10 minutes’ worth of air. 
   
  TL8: The original stats are 2 pounds and $100 
  dollars. The mini-tank is $50. 
   
  Air Tanks (TL7+) 
   
  A two-hour tank weighs 10 pounds and costs $100 
  (full). A 24-hour tank weighs 73 pounds and costs 
  $400. Don’t reduce weight or cost at higher TLs. Air 
  refills are $5 per hour if you don’t have your own air 
  compressor. Tanks take 10 seconds to hook up and 
  two seconds to jettison. Note that an hour of oxy-
  helium breathing mix weighs only 1.5 pounds; the rest 
  is the tank weight. (Ordinary compressed air would 
  weigh 4.2 pounds.) Different people use air at different 
  rates, so duration is approximate. For game purposes, 
  assume that all adults breathe the same amount of air, 
  and that children under 12 use half as much. All times 
  given here assume an external pressure of 1 atmos-
  phere or less. At 2 atmospheres, an air tank lasts only 
  half as long, and so on. Prices are those charged by 
  an honest dealer when air is plentiful; they will be con-
  siderably higher if air is scarce! 
   
  Armored Vacc Suit 
   
  See Vacc Suit, p. 271. 
   
  Autograpnel (TL10+) 
   
  This uses Guns (Grenade Launcher) skill to fire a 
  grappling hook up to 50 yards. A motor winch on the 
  gun lifts up to 400 pounds at up to five yards per turn. 
  The reel contains 50 yards of biphase rope with a 
  breaking strain of 2,000 pounds (4,000 at TL12+). One 
  
  Page 266  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Technology 
  C cell is good for 200 ascents or descents. Cost is 
  $100 and weight is 1.5 pounds. 
   
  TL8: Cost is $400 and weight is 6 pounds. Break-
  ing strain is 1,000 pounds. 
   
  Basic Tool Kit 
   
  See Tool Kit, p. 270. 
   
  Combat Armor (TL8+) 
   
  Combat armor is a multi-piece suit of articulated 
  armor plates covering the entire body. It is fully sealed 
  “space armor.” With the helmet visor closed the suit is 
  completely airtight, providing complete protection 
  against contaminated atmospheres, pressure loss, or 
  chemical and biological threats. Combat armor in-
  cludes a life support pack (described under vacc suits, 
  p. 271), and tanks for two hours of air. The entire 
  range of vacc suit accessories can be used with 
  combat armor. It takes 60 seconds to don the entire 
  outfit, and 40 seconds to remove, or half as long on a 
  successful DX roll. 
   
  Light Combat Armor: Light combat armor has DR 
  20. The armor gains DR 5 per TL after TL8. $1,850, 
  36.5 pounds. 
   
  Medium Combat Armor: Medium combat armor 
  has DR 30. The armor gains DR 8 per TL after TL8. 
  $2,350, 36 pounds. 
   
  Heavy Combat Armor: Heavy combat armor has 
  DR 45. The armor gains DR 10 per TL after TL8. 
  $3,100, 66.5 pounds. 
   
  Communicators 
   
  Combining the concepts of a portable hand-held 
  radio and a cell phone, communicators are used by 
  most species at tech levels of TL9 and up. They can 
  be linked to tricorders in order to transmit and receive 
  data. Communicators are relatively small and cost 
  $100. All have encryption allowing private conversa-
  tions (which can, sometimes, be decoded by powerful 
  computers). All have sufficient range to reach from a 
  planetary surface to a ship in orbit; the range listed is 
  between two communicators on a planetary surface 
  and assumes no relay or signal boost systems are in-
  volved. Virtually everyone from TL7 or better planets 
  could figure out how to use one. Individual communi-
  cators are “broadcast radio” types which send a signal 
  in all directions; additional equipment is needed to 
  generate “tight beam” signals that are harder to detect 
  or intercept. Starships in orbit can send their transmis-
  sions in a relatively narrow beam (perhaps a mile 
  across at the surface). 
   
  Tech Level 
  Weight 
  Range (Surface) 
  TL9 
  1 pound 
  25 miles 
  TL10 
  3/4 pound 
  50 miles 
  TL11 
  1/2 pound 
  100 miles 
  TL12 
  1/4 pound 
  250 miles 
  TL13 
  1/16 pound 
  500 miles 
   
   
  Skill rolls are not needed for normal operations. If 
  a skill roll is required, use Electronics Operation 
  (Communications) at the appropriate Tech Level. 
   
  Diagnostic Table (TL11+) 
   
  This is a 7’ x 3’ x 3’ padded, computerized table 
  with a full range of biomed scanners. The patient lies 
  on the table and the results of the scan are projected 
  onto an overhead screen. It gives a +5 to Diagnosis 
  (+1 per TL over 9). Not a portable unit, the table must 
  be installed in a sickbay on a ship or vehicle, or in a 
  hospital. Cost is $3,000, weight is 62.5 pounds and 
  volume is three cubic yards. 
   
  TL9: Cost is $12,000, weight is 250 pounds. 
   
  Emergency Medkit (TL10+) 
   
  This is a belt pouch containing the basic require-
  ments of TL8 first aid: five plastiskin patches (see p. 
  268), plus the usual bandages, antiseptic cream, etc., 
  which enable it to act as a TL7 kit when the plastiskin 
  is used up. It also contains five revive capsules (p. 
  269) along with a pneumospray hypo (p. 268) con-
  taining two doses of hypercoagulin (p. 267), with room 
  for 10 doses of whatever other drugs the user wants to 
  add at an extra cost. It adds +1 to First Aid. Cost is 
  $75 and weight is 1/4 pound. 
   
  TL8: Cost is $300 and weight is 1 pound. 
   
  Envirobag (TL10+) 
   
  This is an insulated and heated sleeping bag de-
  signed for extremes of temperature. Using a C cell, it 
  works the same as a heat suit (see p. 267). It can be 
  sealed and hooked up to air tanks. It folds to the size 
  of a paperback book. The bag is $20 and weighs 1.5 
  pounds; the temperature control unit costs $6 and 
  weighs 1/4 pound. 
   
  TL8: The bag is $75 and weighs 6 pounds; the 
  temperature control unit costs $50 and weighs 1 
  pound. 
   
  Enviro-Bubble (TL10+) 
   
  This inflatable bubble, with self-sealing flap, can 
  be erected and inflated in four seconds and provides 
  15 minutes of air. It also floats, and is flexible enough 
  to move in, but at a Move of 1. It is usually worn on the 
  belt for quick activation. It can be hooked up to air 
  tanks or a temperature control unit. Cost for the bubble 
  and inflator is $200; weight is 1.25 pounds. 
   
  TL8: Cost for the bubble and inflator is $800; 
  weight is 5 pounds. 
   
  Field Pack (TL10+) 
   
  A field pack provides the basics for survival in the 
  wild on various missions. It contains two vapor can-
  teens (p. 272), one envirobag, one two-man pressure 
  tent (p. 268), and five days of concentrated rations. 
  Other materials can be added as needed. The 
  backpack will hold up to 40 pounds of equipment. Cost 
  is $700 and the weight is 26.5 pounds. 
   
   
  
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  Filtration Canteen (TL10+) 
   
  This canteen will purify and hold a quart of water. 
  It removes almost all impurities, microbes and poisons 
  but there is always the possibility of a contaminant for 
  which the filter was not designed (GM’s option)! It 
  takes 30 minutes to purify a quart of water. Filters 
  must be changed every 100 quarts; a color change 
  signals this. An “exhausted” filter still has a few quarts 
  of capacity, but only the GM knows how many. Cost is 
  $45, weight is 1 pound (empty) or 3 pounds (full). Re-
  placement filters cost $6 per set. 
   
  TL8: Cost is $125, filters are $25. 
   
  Flashlight (TL7+) 
   
  The flashlight throws a 50-foot beam for six contin-
  uous months on a C cell. It costs $20 and weighs one 
  pound. A belt or helmet model that leaves the hands 
  free costs $10 more. $100 buys a heavy-duty light that 
  can be used as a baton without being damaged. A 
  mini-flashlight (15-foot beam) is also available, running 
  off an A cell for one month, for $8, with a weight of 1/4 
  pound. For use as a baton, use the Shortsword skill; it 
  does crushing damage with swing or thrust, and re-
  quires minimum strength 7. 
   
  Hand Thruster (TL10+) 
   
  A hand thruster propels a user in zero-G with 
  bursts of compressed nitrogen. Each burst accelerates 
  or decelerates a normal-mass human by one 
  yard/second in the direction opposite to that in which 
  the thruster is pointed. A successful roll against Free 
  Fall or Vacc Suit skill is necessary to correctly point 
  the thruster in the desired direction. The unit’s cylinder 
  is good for 30 one-second bursts. Cost is $12.50 and 
  weight is 2 pounds, including the cylinder; extra cylin-
  ders cost $2.50, weigh 1 pound and take three sec-
  onds to replace. 
   
  TL8: Cost is $50 and weight is 4 pounds loaded, 
  cylinders cost $10. 
   
  Heat Suit (TL10+) 
   
  This is an insulated bodysuit with transparent face 
  mask and a temperature control system. It uses one C 
  cell. It protects against freezing by increasing the ef-
  fective temperature as set by the wearer; 48 hours for 
  +10 degrees, 24 hours for +20 degrees, 12 hours for 
  +30 degrees, and so on. Its high-tech insulation also 
  adds 10 to wearer’s effective HT for all rolls to resist 
  freezing, even if the heater is off. The suit has DR 1. 
  Cost is $37.50 and weight is 5 pounds. If the increased 
  energy option is used, all times listed should be 
  doubled. 
   
  TL8: Cost is $150. 
   
  Heavy-Duty Vacc Suit 
   
  See Vacc Suit, p. 271. 
   
  Hypercoagulin (TL10+) 
   
  When injected into a patient with a bleeding 
  wound, this causes instant coagulation and a cessa-
  tion of bleeding within 1d+4 seconds. It restores 1 
  point of HT, and prevents any further damage from 
  loss of blood. The drug should be injected as close to 
  the wound as possible. An injection prior to sustaining 
  a wound will have no effect unless a wound is received 
  within five minutes after the injection. 
   
  Overdoses of this drug can kill; for every additional 
  dose within a 24-hour period, roll against HT, minus 
  the total number of doses taken. A failed roll means 
  the patient’s blood becomes so thick his heart stops. 
  Full medical facilities (a full blood replacement and 
  possibly a heart transplant) will be required to save his 
  life. Hypercoagulin comes only in injectable form; it 
  costs $7.50/dose. Hypercoagulin is a useful assassi-
  nation tool in societies at TL7 and below. Death is by 
  heart attack, and the only wound is a tiny pinhole. The 
  drug is undetectable (“...a poison unknown to sci-
  ence...”) below TL8. 
   
  TL8: Costs $25/dose. 
   
  IRD Chip 
   
  See Tricorder, p. 270. 
   
  Inertial Compass (TL10+) 
   
  This hand or belt unit indicates the direction and 
  distance traveled from any preset point on a planetary 
  surface. It can be set for the location at which the user 
  is physically present, or for any other coordinates (re-
  quiring a Navigation roll if coordinates of the location 
  aren’t known). Distances measured are accurate 
  within 1 yard/1,000 miles. It must be calibrated for the 
  planet (taking one hour with a personal computer and 
  a Navigation or Electronics Operation roll). The com-
  pass uses an A cell. Cost is $62.50 and weight is 1/4 
  pound. 
   
  TL8: Cost is $250 and weight is 1 pound. 
   
  Medical Pouch (TL8+) 
   
  A doctor’s bag, with room for twice the material in 
  an Emergency Medkit (see p. 266), plus standard 
  bandages, sedatives, stimulants, etc. (purchased sep-
  arately). It has room for whatever other drugs the phy-
  sician wants to add and includes a full set of physi-
  cian’s and surgeon’s tools for the TL. Cost and weight 
  don’t drop at higher tech levels; the contents just get 
  better. This kit is the minimum equipment required to 
  use Surgery, Diagnosis, or Physician skills without 
  penalty. Gives +2 to First Aid skill. A TL8+ physician 
  performs as TL 6 without this much gear. It costs $700 
  and the weight is 15 pounds. 
   
  Military Wet Suit 
   
  See Wet Suit, p. 272. 
   
  Mini-Toolkit 
   
  See Tool Kit, p. 270. 
   
  Monocrys (TL8+) 
   
  The usual armor worn by civilians seeking discreet 
  protection, monocrys is similar to Kevlar but is woven 
  from a two-phase, single-crystal metallic fiber. Mono-
  crys provides full protection against crushing and cut-
  
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Technology 
  ting attacks. It is less effective against impaling attacks 
  such as needles or arrows, which penetrate the 
  weave. Protection against impaling attacks is always 
  DR 2. Against crushing and cutting attacks, DR de-
  pends on thickness: 
   
   
  Light: DR 8. $400, 3 pounds for a vest; $1,000, 7 
  pounds for a full suit. 
   
  Medium: DR 16. $600, 5 pounds for a vest; 
  $1,500, 12 pounds for a full suit. 
   
  Heavy: DR 24. $800, 7 pounds for a vest; $2,000, 
  16 pounds for a full suit. 
   
   
  However, because monocrys is flexible, any “6” 
  rolled for damage indicates one hit that affects the 
  wearer through the armor. Vests take 10 seconds to 
  put on and five to take off; full suits require 20 seconds 
  to put on and 10 to take off. 
   
  Multiview Goggles (TL10+) 
   
  These are vision-enhancing goggles that provide 
  the following options: 
   
   
  Anti-Glare: Darkens automatically to cut glare and 
  very bright light. Allows direct viewing of the sun and 
  other stars without risk of blindness. Also protects the 
  eyes against damage from beam weapons fire. 
   
  Infrared: Reduces darkness penalties for combat, 
  vision, etc., to -1 (because of the slight distortion when 
  seeing via infrared). Allows vision in total darkness if 
  there is at least 10temperature difference between 
  objects. At any temperature, allows weapons fire in 
  darkness at only –1 if the target produces heat – which 
  most living things and active machines do! Gives +2 to 
  vision rolls to spot beings if used in daylight. Can be 
  blinded by a powerful heat source. 
   
  Light-Intensifier: Picks up and intensifies available 
  light, effectively granting the user the Night Vision ad-
  vantage and eliminating the darkness penalties for 
  anything but complete darkness. Will burn out if hit by 
  an energy weapon. 
   
   
  Multiview Goggles work for 6 months on an A cell, 
  cost $300, and weigh 1 pound. 
   
  TL8: Cost is $1,200, weight is 1 pound, and dura-
  tion is 3 months on a B cell. 
   
  PADD 
   
  See Tricorder, p. 270. 
   
  Plastiskin (TL10+) 
   
  This is an antiseptic plastic patch that holds 
  wounded flesh together, taking the place of normal 
  skin. (It even takes on the color of one’s skin, so that 
  it’s only evident on close examination.) When the flesh 
  beneath heals sufficiently, the plastiskin patch falls off. 
  Plastiskin is found in any TL8 first aid kit. Without it, 
  TL8 first aid counts as TL7. Plastiskin can be used to 
  cover tattoos, scars and marks, or for disguises. It 
  costs $2.50 per six-inch square patch. 
   
  TL8: The cost for a six-inch square patch is $10. 
  Pneumospray Hypo (TL10+) 
   
  This hand-held, pneumatic-hypodermic instru-
  ment, about the size of a penlight, injects drugs using 
  a charge of compressed air. The hypo must be touch-
  ing the patient to inject its drug. Its charge can easily 
  penetrate clothing with DR of 1 or less. It takes two 
  turns to remove an empty vial (or pneumocharge) and 
  replace it with a ready new one. Air cartridges are 
  good for 100 injections. Cost is $31.25 and weight is 
  1/4 pound. Replacement air cartridges cost $10. 
   
  TL8: Cost is $125. 
   
  Portable Shop 
   
  See Tool Kit, p. 270. 
   
  Portable Tool Kit 
   
  See Tool Kit, p. 270. 
   
  Power Cell 
   
  At TL8+, most equipment runs on standardized 
  power cells. They can’t be recharged, and can’t be 
  discharged quickly enough to explode. They have in-
  definite shelf lives and unless otherwise specified are 
  good for two years continuous use. Higher-TL cells 
  contain more energy; at each successive TL after the 
  introduction of a device that takes power cells, in-
  crease the number of shots or the operating time by 
  50%. There are six sizes of power cells, AA through E. 
  All are cylindrical, dimensions are diameter × height. 
   
   
  AA cell: 1/16”×1/32”. For microbots, brain im-
  plants, calculators, etc. Cost is $2; weight is 0.02 
  ounces. 
   
  A cell: ¼”×1/8”. For wristcomps, communicators, 
  and similar low power requirements. Cost is $10; 
  weight is 0.04 ounces. 
   
  B cell: 1/2”×1/2”. For various sorts of hand-held 
  equipment, including tricorders and small, easily con-
  cealable weapons. Cost is $30; weight is 0.5 pounds. 
   
  C cell: 1”×2”. The most common power source for 
  personal weapons, equipment. Cost is $100; weight is 
  1 pound. 
   
  D cell: 2”×4”. These power military weapons and 
  heavy equipment; TL8+ battlefields are littered with 
  expended D cells in the way that TL7 battlefields are 
  littered with expended cartridge cases and machine 
  gun links. Cost is $500; weight is 5 pounds. 
   
  E cell: 4”×6”. These power vehicles as well as sup-
  port weapons and other power-intensive systems. 
  Cost is $2,000; weight is 20 pounds. 
   
  Pressure Tent (TL10+) 
   
  This is a completely airtight tent, strong enough to 
  be inflated to one atmosphere in a vacuum. The 
  user(s) must have an air supply with them! Opening it 
  completely evacuates all the air in the tent; entering or 
  leaving through the one-man lock takes one minute. 
  Cost is $125 and weight is 4 pounds for a one-man 
  tent; $375 and 8 pounds for a two-man tent; $1,250 
  and 40 pounds for an eight-man tent. 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Technology 
  Page 269 
   
  TL8: Cost is $500 and weight is 15 pounds for a 
  one-man tent; $1,500 and 30 pounds for a two-man 
  tent; $5,000 and 150 pounds for an eight-man tent. 
   
  Respirator (TL11+) 
   
  A respirator makes thin or low-oxygen atmos-
  pheres breathable by concentrating the oxygen. It is 
  often combined with goggles to protect the eyes from 
  the effects of thin air. It takes three seconds to put on 
  and one to take off, and works for one month on a B-
  cell (a warning light blinks when power is 90% gone). 
  A standard communicator of the TL is built in. Cost is 
  $75 and weight is 3/4 pounds. If the increased energy 
  option is used, time is two months, not one month. 
   
  TL9: Cost is $300 and weight is 3 pounds. 
   
  Remote Probe 
   
  These devices, which are about a foot in diameter 
  and weigh about 10 pounds, are used to gather recon 
  data in remote areas. They could be left in place by a 
  ground party, or they could be sent to the area of in-
  terest by transporter. (Note: The probes that starships 
  launch from their probe launchers are much more ca-
  pable, heavy, and expensive.) 
   
  Typical Scanner Probe: IQ = TL; possesses sen-
  sors equivalent to a tricorder/TL but the sensor range 
  is greater (×5 at TL10, ×10 at TL11, ×25 at TL12, ×50 
  at TL13). 
   
  TL10 probes cannot move. TL11 probes can hover 
  and move (speed = 5) for five minutes. TL12 probes 
  can hover and move (speed = 10) for an hour. TL13 
  probes can hover and move (speed = 15) for 24 hours. 
  Cost $1,000 per TL. 
   
  There are several modes for remote probes. 
   
   
  Recorder: The probe simply records sensor read-
  ings. It doesn’t transmit the data to its owners. The 
  data is recovered by beaming the probe back. This 
  makes the probe more stealthy (-1 on sensor rolls to 
  detect) but less useful, as it must be recovered or ac-
  cessed directly. 
   
  Burst: Just like “recorder” mode until the probe 
  receives a coded signal. Then it sends its logs in a 
  single, short, coded burst. The probe gets a bonus to 
  its stealth (-1 on sensor rolls) while recording, but all 
  sensor rolls to detect it are at +2 when it is 
  transmitting. 
   
  Realtime: The probe transmits its sensor data di-
  rectly back to its owners in realtime. This makes the 
  probe easier to spot (+3 to all sensor skill rolls to de-
  tect the probe, adjusted for technology factors). 
   
  Sensors can be set on several settings. 
   
   
  Passive: The probe simply records things that it 
  can detect without emitting detectable signals. No ac-
  tive radar or sonar is used in this mode. Sensor rolls to 
  detect the probe while it is using only passive sensors 
  are at -1. 
   
  Active: The probe uses active radar and/or sonar. 
  This gives the probe a +2 sight bonus, but gives any-
  one searching for the probe a +4 bonus to detect it 
  (radar) or a +1 bonus (sonar). Note that sonar cannot 
  be used in a vacuum. 
   
  Intrusive: The probe uses a full-scale scanner 
  beam to scan its surroundings. Normal scanners can 
  see through one or two doors or bulkheads and behind 
  obstacles where radar, sonar, or light based sensors 
  are useless. However, high-tech foes can detect these 
  scans directly, giving a +5 bonus to detect the probe’s 
  presence. 
   
  Mapping: If capable of movement, the probe must 
  remain motionless for a full turn. It makes one spotting 
  roll for every lifeform and weapon-grade power source 
  within 200 yards (even on other decks) with a penalty 
  of -2 for each bulkhead or deck between it and that 
  lifeform or energy weapon, and a penalty of -1 for 
  every foot of solid rock or other “hard to scan through” 
  material. Probes with this type of sensor show up like 
  a beacon on sensor-detecting scanners whenever they 
  use this function. A roll is not even required in most 
  circumstances when using sensors to look for a probe 
  that does this. 
   
  Revive (TL10+) 
   
  These are small, easily breakable capsules. When 
  held under the nose of a stunned of unconscious 
  character and snapped open, the vapor inside will 
  usually revive him completely (roll against HT+5 to 
  regain consciousness, come out of stun, etc). No HT is 
  regained, but the patient is awake. Revive capsules 
  are widely available to the general public and can be 
  purchased freely in drug stores in all but the most re-
  pressive societies. Cost is $1.25/dose. 
   
  TL8: Cost is $5/dose. 
   
  Rope, Biphase (TL8+) 
   
  A 3/8” diameter biphase rope supports 1,000 
  pounds. Ten yards of rope weighs 1/2 pound and 
  costs $5. A 3/4” diameter rope supports 4,000 pounds; 
  cost is $30 and weight is 2 pounds for 10 yards. 
  Strength doubles at TL10 and again at TL12. 
   
  Standard Vacc Suit 
   
  See Vacc Suit, p. 271. 
   
  Star Fleet Uniform (TL10+) 
   
  Star Fleet everyday uniforms are more than just 
  colorful clothing – they are tools in their own right, with 
  a number of features meant to protect the wearer and 
  keep him comfortable. They are made from a special 
  form of tailored light monocrys fabric armor, which 
  provides the wearer with some protection from fire and 
  other kinds of damage. They are specially designed to 
  repel water, dirt, and grime, and they dry in 1/5 the 
  normal time. The uniform material is designed to 
  change its porosity in differing temperature and hu-
  midity conditions to help keep its wearer comfortable 
  (providing a +1 to HT rolls to resist the effects of tem-
  perature). It is also treated to provide some resistance 
  to chemical and biological agents (providing a +1 to 
  HT rolls to resist chemicals). Finally, it acts to break up 
  
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Technology 
  the wearer’s infrared signature (providing a -1 on all 
  rolls to spot the wearer using infrared or thermo-
  graphs). Star Fleet Uniforms provide DR 8 (DR2 vs. 
  impaling damage), cost $325, and weigh 6 pounds. 
   
  TL8: Cost is $1,300. 
   
   
  Note: these are medium monocrys, with tailored 
  flexible armor option, adding the light option and CBW 
  coating, with the effects of buzzwear (+100% cost) and 
  memswear (+200% cost) added. This explains why 
  television characters just wore their everyday uniforms 
  into harm’s way. 
   
  Televiewer (TL10+) 
   
  These are lightweight electronic binoculars that 
  provide an extremely sharp image. Magnification can 
  be adjusted from 5× to 50×. Included is an electronic 
  range finder accurate up to 5,000 yards. They also 
  incorporate infrared and light intensifier abilities (see 
  multiview goggles, p. 268). The binoculars get six 
  months continuous operation on a B cell. Cost is 
  $237.50 and weight is 1.5  pounds. 
   
  TL8: Cost is $1,550, weight is 2 pounds and the B 
  cell lasts for three months. The range finder gives +2 
  to Gunner or Forward Observer skill if used with artil-
  lery of TL 6 or below, which does not normally have 
  such accurate distance measurements. 
   
  Thruster Pack (TL10+) 
   
  This strap-on seat is for short jaunts in free fall, 
  say passing from ship to ship and so on. It consists of 
  a “seat” unit with a thruster in the back, a pair of arms 
  with reverse thrusters and a control arm that curves in 
  front of the user. Maneuver jets are located at strategic 
  points along the entire pack. It takes 20 seconds and a 
  Vacc Suit roll (which can be tried again every five sec-
  onds if missed) to strap into the thruster pack. It can 
  accelerate or decelerate a normal-mass human by up 
  to three yards/second on each turn. The large cylinder 
  allows 100 seconds of full acceleration, or the equiva-
  lent. Successful Free Fall+3 rolls allow the user to 
  control his speed and direction. Cost is $500 and 
  weight is 19 pounds, including one cylinder. Extra cyl-
  inders cost $7.50, weigh 10 pounds, and take five 
  seconds to replace. 
   
  TL8: Cost is $2,000 and weight is 45 pounds, in-
  cluding one cylinder. Extra cylinders cost $30 and 
  weigh 10 pounds. 
   
  Tool Kit (TL8+) 
   
  Tool kits exist at all TLs; this section covers those 
  for TL8+. Normal tool kits do not drop in price or 
  weight as TL increases, nor do they gain in effective-
  ness. As gadgets get more complex, so do the tools 
  required to fix them. Any attempt to repair equipment 
  of a higher TL than the kit has a -2 per TL difference 
  penalty. 
   
  Anyone attempting repairs without one of these 
  kits does so at -5 to skill. Each type of kit must be pur-
  chased separately, though a user may “make do” with 
  one of the others at a -3 penalty. 
   
  All tool kits contain several power cells, but the 
  cells found in salvaged kits are likely (GM’s decision) 
  to be partially or completely used already. 
   
   
  Basic Tool Kit (TL8+): This is the standard tool kit 
  for engineers, mechanics, armorers, and electronics 
  technicians, allowing major and minor repairs to be 
  made at no penalty to skill. Any kit includes a few de-
  vices requiring small power cells, and is therefore a 
  good source of extra cells in a pinch – roll 1d+2 for the 
  number of AA cells, 1d for the number of A cells, and 
  1d-2 for B cells. Mechanic or Engineer tool kits cost 
  $800, weigh 300 pounds, and have a volume of 1/2 
  cubic yard as cargo. Armoury or Electronics kits cost 
  $1,200, weigh 100 pounds, and have a volume of 1/4 
  cubic yard. 
   
  Mini-Toolkit (TL8+): This is a small, belt-sized tool 
  kit. Routine repairs can be made with one of these at 
  only -2 to skill. Major repairs are at -4 when using a 
  mini-toolkit. Roll 1d for the number of AA and A cells in 
  the kit, 1d-3 for B cells. Cost is $400 and weight is 2 
  pounds. 
   
  Portable Shop (TL8+): An elaborate version of the 
  basic tool kit, it is equivalent to a repair shop on a 
  small starship. It has everything necessary for emer-
  gency repairs, plus a range of spare parts that can be 
  tooled to specific requirements. It adds +2 to the user’s 
  skill. It will have 2d AA, A, and B cells; 1d C cells; 1d-2 
  D cells; and 1 E cell. A Mechanic, Engineer, or Ar-
  moury shop costs $4,000, weighs 3,000 pounds and 
  has a volume of five cubic yards. Portable Electronics 
  Repair shops cost $7,000, weigh 1,500 pounds and 
  have a volume of 4 cubic yards. 
   
  Portable Tool Kit (TL8+): A smaller version of the 
  basic tool kit, it fits into a case or backpack and weighs 
  20 pounds for Mechanics or Engineer kits, or 10 
  pounds for Armoury or Electronics Repair kits. Major 
  repairs can be made at -2 to skill, and minor repairs 
  are at no penalty. It contains 1d+2 A cells, 1d A cells, 
  and 1d-3 B cells. Cost is $600 for Mechanic or 
  Engineer kits, $900 for Armoury or Electronics Repair 
  kits. 
   
  Tricorder  
   
  A tricorder is a handheld device that 
  becomes available at TL10; specialized 
  tricorders become available at TL11. 
  Tricorders are a combination of com-
  puter and sensors used for a virtually 
  unlimited number of different applications and uses.  
   
   
  PADD: A Personal Access Display Device (or 
  PADD) is the most basic form, and is sometimes re-
  ferred to as a “monocorder.” They are TL9 devices that 
  are an outgrowth of TL8 “Advanced Personal Digital 
  Assistants” (and are sometimes compared to tablets or 
  smart phones) available in the early 21st century. They 
  have built-in data storage and processing capabilities 
  equal to those of a TL8 supercomputer, and have a 
  communications tie-in to available library computer 
  networks. In some cases, the PADD will operate in a 
  standalone mode; in others it operates as a display 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Technology 
  Page 271 
  terminal or interface to the library computer serving it. 
  At higher tech levels, this interfacing and modality be-
  comes less and less apparent to the user. PADDs 
  have no sensor capabilities. Cost is $250; weight is 4 
  pounds. 
   
  Tricorder: A tricorder is a TL10 device that has all 
  of the functions of a PADD and adds built-in sensors 
  and scanners. The sensor package on a tricorder can 
  sense, display, and analyze any form of energy or 
  matter known to the TL that the tricorder was built at. 
  TL10 tricorders weigh 4 pounds and can scan biosigns 
  at 10 yards, scan physical objects at 100, and analyze 
  energy emissions at one mile. TL11 tricorders weigh 2 
  pounds and can scan biosigns at 20 yards, scan 
  physical objects at 200, and analyze energy emissions 
  at two miles. TL12 tricorders weigh one pound and can 
  scan biosigns at 100 yards, scan physical objects at 
  500 yards, and analyze energy emissions at 10 miles. 
  Any of them cost about $2,500 when at current TLs. 
   
  At TL11, tricorders became available that were 
  specialized for various tasks. This specialization is re-
  flected as bonuses or modifiers to various skill rolls. 
  Some of these specialized tricorders are: 
   
   
  Data Tricorder: Functions as a non-specialized 
  tricorder, with one exception: it can use up to three 
  IRD chips (below) and costs $4,000. The number of 
  IRD chips that may be active at any time depends on 
  the TL of the data tricorder. At TL10, only one chip 
  may be active; at TL11, two chips may be active; and 
  all three may be active simultaneously at TL12. 
   
  Engineering Tricorder: +4 on all Mechanic skill 
  rolls and has additional built-in filters which prevent 
  overloading or damage when scanning intense energy 
  fields. 
   
  Geology Tricorder: +4 to any geology-related skill 
  roll and has enhanced range capabilities which allow it 
  to penetrate/ sense minerals or rocks at 10× normal 
  range, but loses the ability to scan for living beings, 
  organic tissue, etc. 
   
  Medical Tricorder: +4 to all medical-related skill 
  rolls, +4 to Physiology rolls. If programmed in advance 
  with the data on a given species, that Physiology bo-
  nus becomes +10 for that species. The hand-held at-
  tachment must be within one foot of the patient for 
  these bonuses. 
   
  Science Tricorder: +4 to any scientific skill rolls 
   
  Tactical Tricorder: +4 to detect and identify 
  lifeforms, weapons, armor, etc. It includes a compre-
  hensive database on all of the above and is typically 
  carried by Marine officers. 
   
   
  IRD Chip: Interactive Relational Database (IRD) 
  chips do not become available until TL10. They are 
  small modules that may be inserted in a variety of de-
  vices, but generally are used only with data tricorders. 
  IRD chips are computer memory chips that (in terms of 
  gameplay) make a skill available to characters via their 
  data tricorder. E.g., a Geology-20 chip would be the 
  equivalent of Geology-20 skill. Any given chip may 
  contain data on only one skill. 
   
  The skill level of an IRD chip is determined by the 
  Technology Level that the empire or species making it 
  had at that time. At TL10 the skill level of a chip is 10 
  or less, 15 or less at TL11, 20 or less at TL12, etc. For 
  example, an IRD chip created by the Federation in 
  Y150 would possess 20 levels of skill. The skill levels 
  in an IRD chip reflect the knowledge available when 
  the chip was created – a chip that is more than a year 
  or two old may contain out-of-date or obsolete infor-
  mation, so the effective skill level may be less than the 
  maximum possible. There are also “black market” and 
  “gray market” IRD chips which were not created with 
  the care necessary (i.e., cheap copies) and may give 
  incorrect results – in this case, the GM should secretly 
  apply a penalty to the skill roll, and on a critical failure 
  the chip gives disastrously incorrect information! (The 
  characters will not normally have any chance to de-
  termine this, as the skill needed to do this – which is 
  being provided by the IRD chip – is typically one they 
  are lacking.) Cost $100/level. While “skill” IRD chips 
  are the most common ones, there are many other 
  types of IRD chips that may contain maps, complex 
  computer programs, or other forms of data. 
   
  Universal Translator (TL12) 
   
  A small wand-shaped computer dedicated to 
  translating new languages. It analyzes a new language 
  and compares it with a library database of known ex-
  amples. Unless the language is completely unlike any 
  known before, the translation matrix will provide a 
  comprehension level of 5 after 10 minutes of exposure 
  to the language, adding +1 for every 30 minutes, up to 
  a maximum of 16. This has to be fairly varied speech – 
  a single word looped over and over is not good 
  enough (not even a couple of dozen words). Nonver-
  bal languages are handled if appropriate sensors are 
  hooked up. It runs for two years on a B cell. 
   
  Cost depends on the maximum difficulty of the 
  languages that can be translated: $3,000 for Broken, 
  $4,250 for Accented, $5,500 for Native. Weight is 1 
  pound. 
   
  Vacc Suit (TL8+) 
   
  A variety of different pressure suits are available. 
  Every suit needs air tanks (see p. 265) to provide oxy-
  gen. Without an air tank, any suit contains enough air 
  for five minutes. All suits include a back-mounted life-
  support pack (LSP), which provides heat, cooling, and 
  energy for the suit’s systems. It uses a C cell, which is 
  good for one week. The life-support pack has DR 3. 
  After it takes 10 hits there is a 50% chance of it mal-
  functioning on each further hit. When it takes 20 hits, it 
  no longer works; the user’s survival depends on the 
  environment. 
   
  Every suit has a front pocket with 10 emergency 
  patches. Any damage that penetrates the suit must be 
  patched immediately. This requires three seconds and 
  a Vacc Suit roll. If the first attempt fails, each further 
  attempt is at a cumulative -1. Every three seconds 
  means a loss of 10% of the suit’s air. 
  
  Page 272  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Technology 
   
  Vacc suits, survival suits and similar equipment 
  are not reduced in weight (cost does go down, how-
  ever) at higher TLs. 
   
   
  Standard Vacc Suit (TL10+): This is the standard 
  flexible, insulated pressure suit. It is required in vac-
  uum but may also be worn in poisonous (non-corro-
  sive) or Very Thin atmosphere (p. 232). It covers the 
  whole body; includes a rigid helmet; and has exterior 
  pockets, Velcro patches, straps, hooks, etc. for equip-
  ment; and has at least two lifeline hooks. It also in-
  cludes a short-range communicator, which uses an A 
  cell. Styles vary widely; spacers often paint suits in 
  garish colors or designs. Suit gloves reduce DX and 
  manual skills by -1. The clear helmet allows un-
  distorted vision (but cuts Hearing rolls by -2 in air). 
  Touching helmets in vacuum allows private suit-to-suit 
  communications. A head-up display projected on the 
  helmet tells the wearer how much air and power are 
  left. A tube leading to a one-quart reservoir provides 
  water. 
   
  A vacc suit takes one minute to put on or take off; 
  if the suit is worn without the helmet, the helmet only 
  takes five seconds to put on. A successful roll against 
  Vacc Suit halves these times. Default skill cannot be 
  used to decrease suit-up times. A vacc suit has DR 1, 
  while the helmet has DR 3. Cost is $250 and weight is 
  10 pounds.  
   
  TL8: Cost is $1,000. 
   
  Heavy-Duty Vacc Suit (TL10+): This is like a nor-
  mal vacc suit but tougher – the entire suit has DR 3. 
  Cost is $375 and weight is 20 pounds. 
   
  TL8: Cost is $1,500. 
   
  Armored Vacc Suit (TL10+): This is a rigid suit that 
  covers the whole body, and is capable of withstanding 
  up to 100 atmospheres of pressure. The life-support 
  pack is built into the suit, not mounted outside; the 
  suit’s DR protects it. The suit requires an air tank (or 
  several) but always includes a short-range communi-
  cator, using an A cell. The suit takes two minutes to 
  put on or take off. All DX or DX-based skills (including 
  Free Fall, but not Driving or Pilot) are at -2. The usual 
  vacc suit accessories are available. The suit has DR 
  30. It costs $1,000 and weighs 80 pounds.  
   
  TL8: Cost is $4,000. 
   
  Vacc Suit Accessories 
   
  All kinds of accessories are available, and may 
  also be added to airtight body armor. Common items 
  include a HUD (Heads Up Display, $125); a helmet 
  light ($7.50, six months on a B cell); a water and con-
  centrated food system with rations for one day ($125 
  for the system, refills are at usual water and concen-
  trate prices); a waste-relief system (cost is $125 and 
  worth every penny if the suit is worn for more than a 
  few hours); a helmet visor recorder or better communi-
  cators; built-in computer or tricorder; reflective coating 
  (gives DR 2 against lasers and fire; DR 0 against other 
  beam weapons; provides PF 2 against radiation); extra 
  patches ($2.50 per patch).  
   
  TL8: Accessories priced above are four times 
  more expensive at TL8, twice as much at TL9. 
   
   
  Magnetized Plates (TL9+): These can be put on 
  the soles of any boots at an additional $25 and 1/8 
  pound. They let the wearer walk along bulkheads or on 
  ship hulls in microgravity or zero G (if the hull is made 
  of magnetic material). Move is normal with Vacc Suit 
  skill and at 1/2 without. 
   
  TL7: Costs $100 and weighs 1/2 pound. 
   
  Radiation Protection (TL7+): This can be added to 
  any suit. (For more about radiation protection, see p. 
  239.) Cost is $50 for PF 2, $2500/+20 pounds for PF 5 
  or $500/+40 pounds (armored suits only) for PF 10. 
   
  TL7: Costs are $200, $1,000, and $2,000 
  respectively. 
   
  Vapor Canteen (TL10+) 
   
  This canteen actually draws moisture from the at-
  mosphere, as long as there is any water vapor at all. It 
  extracts and holds one quart of water. Time required 
  varies with the amount of water vapor in the air – with 
  an Earth-standard humidity of 50%, it takes four hours 
  to extract a quart of water. The canteen extracts 100 
  quarts on a B cell. Cost is $112; empty weight is 0.5 
  pound; filled it weighs 2.5 pounds.  
   
  Larger versions are available for use at base 
  camps. $750 buys a one-cubic-yard version that 
  weighs 75 pounds, runs a month on an E-cell and 
  makes a quart per five minutes in 50% humidity. 
   
  The large-size vapor system is standard for 
  expeditions and military or police outposts; it frees 
  them from the necessity of establishing a post near a 
  water source. Sabotaging the vapor system is a favor-
  ite ploy of kiddie adventure stories. The plot is so 
  hackneyed that real adventurers laugh at it, and may 
  not be prepared if it happens. 
   
  TL8: The small canteen is $450, 2 pounds empty, 
  4 pounds full. The large version is $3,000 and weighs 
  300 pounds. 
   
  Wet Suit 
   
  A wet suit is a one-piece, ultralight underwater 
  suit. It covers the user’s entire body, with goggles and 
  a face mask for attaching air tanks. It insulates the 
  wearer against cold (+5 to HT rolls against cold) and 
  incorporates ballast sufficient to keep the diver at any 
  depth he wishes. Fins add 25% to swimming speed (or 
  +1 to swimming Move, whichever is greater). The suit 
  has DR 1. HUDs, vision gear, radios, etc. may be 
  added to the suit at extra cost. It takes two minutes to 
  put on or remove the suit. Cost is $50 and weight is 5 
  pounds. 
   
  TL8: Cost is $200. 
   
   
  Military Wet Suit (TL10+): This incorporates a thin 
  layer of monocrys, with DR 8 (DR 4 vs. impaling) over 
  the whole body except the face. The face mask and 
  goggles are transparent armorplast (DR 10). Goggles 
  may be fitted with HUDs, vision gear, etc. Cost is $175 
  and weight is 9 pounds. 
   
  TL8: Cost is $700. 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Technology 
  Page 273 
  Zero-G Worksuit (TL11+) 
   
  The worksuit more closely resembles a miniature 
  spaceship than a vacc suit. It is a rigid pressurized 
  cylinder with a transparent helmet dome; the whole 
  thing is slightly larger than a man. It has no legs, but is 
  propelled by an integral thruster pack mounted in the 
  base. The suit’s thrusters accelerate or decelerate it at 
  up to 3 yards per second2  per turn, with enough fuel 
  for 300 seconds of acceleration. A Free Fall+3 roll is 
  required to change direction. 
   
  In addition to its normal suit sleeves, it has three 
  ST 20 waldos – remote-controlled-arms – for heavy-
  duty work; they can be used as arms at DX-3 or skill-3. 
  Any two waldos may be used at once. One waldo also 
  mounts an integral laser torch (4d cutting damage per 
  second to doors, bulkheads and the like). It is not re-
  ally suitable as a weapon since the laser has the 
  length of a paring knife, but if it is used as one, armor 
  protects at only 1/5 DR. It would do cutting damage of 
  4d and impaling damage of 2d. Fortunately, it cauter-
  izes the wounds it creates. A waldo’s grip can be 
  power-locked onto something (with its ST of 20). Usu-
  ally the one not in use is locked onto a structure (e.g., 
  a ship’s hull) to hold the suit steady while the other two 
  are used for work. 
   
  A worksuit includes life support for two weeks. A 
  small (eight-inch diameter) airlock in its side is used to 
  transfer small items (such as tools or food/air supplies, 
  etc.) without breaking suit integrity. It may have stand-
  ard vacc suit options (see p. 271), but it always has a 
  communicator at no extra cost. The suit has DR 25 (15 
  for the helmet). It takes 20 seconds to climb in and 
  ready it for use (five seconds to get inside and seal the 
  suit), or 10 seconds to get out. The suit is powered by 
  a D cell, giving a week of steady use; it has sockets for 
  a second cell, for safety. Cost is $3,750; weight is 150 
  pounds. 
   
  TL9: Cost is $15,000. 
   
  PERSONAL WEAPONS 
  WEAPON STATISTICS 
   
  Weapon tables provide the items of information ex-
  plained below. A given column will only appear on a table 
  if it is germane to the weapons on that table. In all cases, 
  “–” means the statistic does not apply, and “var.” means 
  the value varies. 
   
  TL (Tech Level) 
   
  The tech level at which the weapon first becomes 
  widespread. You may only buy weapons of your cam-
  paign’s TL or less, unless you have the High TL trait (p. 
  33). 
   
  Weapon 
   
  The general class of weapon in question; e.g., 
  “shortsword” or “assault rifle.” Each entry represents a 
  wide range of individual types. 
   
  For guns, this entry includes a projectile diameter, or 
  “caliber,” given in millimeters (e.g., 9mm) or fractions of 
  an inch (e.g., .50), as customary for the weapon. 
   
  Damage 
   
  For muscle-powered melee and missile weapons, 
  such as swords and bows, damage is ST-based and ex-
  pressed as a modifier to the wielder’s basic thrusting (thr) 
  or swinging (sw) damage, as given on the Damage Table 
  (p. 26). For example, a spear does “thr+2,” so if you have 
  ST 11, which gives a basic thrusting damage of 1d-1, you 
  inflict 1d+1 damage with a spear. Swung weapons act as 
  a lever, and so do more damage. 
   
  For firearms and some powered melee weapons, 
  damage is given as a fixed number of dice plus adds; 
  e.g., a 9mm auto pistol lists “2d+2,” which means that any 
  user would roll 2d and add 2 to get damage. 
   
   
  Armor Divisors: A parenthetical number after damage 
  – e.g., (2) – is an armor divisor. Divide the target’s DR 
  from armor or other sources by this number before sub-
  tracting it from your damage (or adding it to the target’s 
  HT roll to resist an affliction). For instance, an attack with 
  a divisor of (2) would halve DR. 
   
  Damage Type: An abbreviation indicating the type of 
  injury or effect the attack causes. 
   
  Abbreviation 
  Damage Type 
  aff 
  affliction 
  burn 
  burning 
  cr 
  crushing 
  cut 
  cutting 
  imp 
  impaling 
  pi- 
  small piercing 
  pi 
  piercing 
  pi+ 
  large piercing 
   
   
  A victim loses HP equal to the damage that pene-
  trates his DR. Halve this for small piercing attacks; 
  increase it by 50% for cutting and large piercing at-
  tacks; and double it for impaling. 
   
  Reach 
   
  Melee weapons only. This is the distance in yards at 
  which a human-sized or smaller wielder can strike with 
  the weapon. For example, reach “2” means the weapon 
  can only strike a foe two yards away – not a closer or 
  more distant one.  
   
  “C” indicates you can use the weapon in close 
  combat. 
   
  Some weapons have a continuum of reaches; e.g., a 
  spear with reach “1, 2” can strike targets either one or two 
  yards away. An asterisk (*) next to reach means the 
  weapon is awkward enough that it requires a Ready ma-
  neuver to change reach (e.g., between 1 and 2). Other-
  wise, you can strike at foes that are at any distance within 
  the weapon’s reach. 
   
  Parry 
   
  Melee weapons only. A number, such as “+2” or “-1,” 
  indicates the bonus or penalty to your Parry defense 
  when using that weapon (see Parrying, p. 212). For most 
  weapons, this is “0,” meaning “no modifier.” 
   
  “U” means the weapon is unbalanced: you cannot 
  use it to parry if you have already used it to attack this 
  turn (or vice versa). 
  
  Page 274  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Technology 
   
  “No” means the weapon cannot parry at all. 
   
  Acc (Accuracy) 
   
  Ranged weapons only. Add Accuracy to your skill if 
  you took an Aim maneuver on the turn prior to your at-
  tack. If the weapon has a built-in scope, the bonus for this 
  appears as a separate modifier after the weapon’s base 
  Acc; e.g., “7+2.” 
   
  Range 
   
  Ranged weapons only. If a weapon has only one 
  range number, this is the Maximum Range (Max) in yards 
  at which it can attack a target. If two numbers appear, 
  separated by a slash, the first is Half-Damage Range 
  (1/2D) and the second is Max. Damaging attacks on tar-
  gets at or beyond 1/2D inflict half damage. 
   
  Muscle-powered weapons usually list 1/2D and Max 
  as multiples of the wielder’s ST, not as a fixed range. For 
  example, “×10/×15” means 1/2D is 10×ST and Max is 
  15×ST, so someone with ST 10 would have 1/2D 100 
  and Max 150. For crossbows, use the weapon’s ST in 
  these formulas. 
   
  RoF (Rate of Fire) 
   
  Ranged weapons only. The maximum number of 
  shots an ordinary shooter can fire in a one-second turn. A 
  weapon can normally fire fewer shots (to a minimum of 
  1), if you wish, but some special notes apply: 
   
  Shots 
   
  Ranged weapons only. The number of shots the 
  weapon can fire before you must reload or recharge it. “T” 
  means the weapon is thrown. To “reload,” pick it up or 
  ready a new weapon! 
   
  The parenthetical number following Shots indicates 
  the number of one-second Ready maneuvers needed to 
  reload all of the weapon’s shots (e.g., by changing maga-
  zines) – or, for a thrown weapon, the time needed to 
  ready another weapon. An “i” next to this means you 
  must load shots individually: the time listed is per shot 
  rather than for all shots. 
   
  A crossbow takes the indicated time to ready (4 
  turns) only if its ST is no greater than yours (see Cross-
  bows and ST, below). Double this if the bow’s ST is 1 or 2 
  greater. If its ST is 3 or 4 greater, you need a “goat’s foot” 
  device to cock it; this takes 20 turns, and requires you to 
  stand. If its ST is 5 or more above yours, you cannot re-
  load it at all. 
   
  Cost 
   
  The price of a new weapon, in $. For swords and 
  knives, this includes a sheath or a scabbard. For fire-
  arms, this includes the minimal necessary cleaning kit. 
   
  Weight 
   
  The weight of the weapon, in pounds. For missile 
  weapons with Shots 2+, this is loaded weight. The weight 
  of one full reload appears after a slash. 
   
   
  ST (Strength) 
   
  The minimum Strength required to use the weapon 
  properly. If you try to use a weapon that requires more ST 
  than you have, you will be at -1 to weapon skill per point 
  of ST you lack and lose one extra FP at the end of any 
  fight that lasts long enough to fatigue you. 
   
  For a melee weapon, your effective ST for damage 
  purposes cannot exceed triple the weapon’s minimum 
  ST. For instance, a large knife has minimum ST 6, so its 
  “maximum ST” is 18; if your ST were 19+, you would 
  compute your damage as if you had ST 18. Natural 
  weapons (e.g., a punch or kick) have neither minimum 
  nor maximum ST. 
   
   
  “†” means the weapon requires two hands. If you 
  have at least 1.5 times the listed ST (round up), you can 
  use a weapon like this in one hand, but it becomes un-
  ready after you attack with it. If you have at least twice 
  the listed ST, you can wield it one-handed with no readi-
  ness penalty. But if it requires one hand to hold it and 
  another to operate a moving part, like a bow or a pump 
  shotgun, it always requires two hands, regardless of ST. 
   
  “‡” means the weapon requires two hands and be-
  comes unready after you attack with it, unless you have 
  at least 1.5 times the listed ST (round up). To use it in 
  one hand without it becoming unready, you need at least 
  three times the listed ST. 
   
  “B” indicates a firearm with an attached bipod. When 
  firing from a prone position using the bipod, treat the 
  weapon as if it were braced and reduce its ST require-
  ment to 2/3 of the listed value (round up); e.g., ST 13 
  becomes ST 9. 
   
  “M” means the weapon is usually mounted in a 
  vehicle or gun carriage, or on a tripod. Ignore the listed 
  ST and Bulk when firing the weapon from its tripod or 
  mount; the ST requirement only applies when firing the 
  weapon without its mount. Removing the weapon from 
  its mount (or reattaching it) takes at least three one-
  second Ready maneuvers. 
   
   
  Crossbows and ST: Crossbows and prodds have 
  their own ST value. Use this instead of your ST to deter-
  mine range and damage. You must specify the ST of 
  such a weapon when you buy it. You can always use a 
  bow that is weaker than you. If you use a stronger bow, it 
  does more damage but take longer to cock (see Shots, 
  above). 
   
  Bulk 
   
  Ranged weapons only. A measure of the weapon’s 
  size and handiness. Bulk modifies your weapon skill 
  when you take a Move and Attack maneuver (see Move 
  and Attack, p. 205). It also serves as a penalty to Holdout 
  skill when you attempt to conceal the weapon. 
  QUIPMENT 
  Rcl (Recoil) 
   
  Firearms only. A measure of how easy the weapon is 
  to control when firing rapidly: the higher the value, the 
  less controllable the weapon. Rcl 1 means the weapon is 
  recoilless, or nearly so. 
   
  When firing at RoF 2+, every full multiple of Rcl by 
  which you make your attack roll means you score one 
  extra hit, to a maximum number of hits equal to total 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Technology 
  Page 275 
  shots fired; see Rapid Fire (p. 209). (Firearms with RoF 1 
  still list Rcl, for use with certain rules.) 
   
  LC (Legality Class) 
   
  This is only noted for firearms and grenades. All me-
  lee weapons and muscle-powered ranged weapons in-
  tended for combat are LC4. Ignore LC for “weapons” in-
  tended as tools, or for hunting or recreation, and for those 
  that are completely improvised (like a wooden stake). 
  See Legality (p. 246). 
   
  Notes 
   
  The numbers listed here refer to applicable footnotes 
  (if any) at the end of the table. 
   
  Personal weapons for other empires will be dealt 
  with in the supplements for those empires.  
   
   
  MELEE WEAPONS 
   
  Melee weapons are grouped under the skills required 
  to use them. Skill names appear in capital letters, with 
  defaults in parentheses; e.g., “AXE/MACE (DX-5).” If 
  there is more than one way to use a weapon, each 
  method gets its own line. If multiple skills let you use a 
  weapon, the weapon appears under each skill. For ex-
  ample, both Staff skill and Two-Handed Sword skill let 
  you wield a quarterstaff – and either lets you swing the 
  staff or thrust with it. 
   
  Federation Marine Dress Saber (TL10+) 
   
  Federation Marine officers wear a dress saber as 
  part of their full dress uniform, and most of them know 
  how to use it. Many Marine officers thus have added 
  the Saber skill beyond what they learned at the Fed-
  eration Marine Academy. (Marine enlisted members 
  often choose to learn the Knife skill.) While it may 
  seem odd to maintain a tradition of using an archaic 
  weapon in an age of phasers and disruptors, Marine 
  officers argue that training with a saber promotes fit-
  ness and discipline. Fencing practice is also very 
  practical in often-cramped starship quarters, and when 
  done with practice blades can serve as a valuable way 
  of letting off steam or settling disputes between Ma-
  rines before they become too serious. 
   
  Note that any Marine dress saber intended for 
  combat use is not made of steel, but of a special high-
  tech durasteel alloy that is considerably sharper and 
  harder than normal steel. In GURPS terms, it is built 
  as a weapon of super-fine quality (p. 278). The saber 
  has a max thrust damage of 1d+2.  
   
  Cost is $1200; weight is 2 pounds. 
   
  TL12: Cost is $300. 
   
  Federation Marine Combat Knife (TL10+) 
   
  This is a large combat knife, suitable for use as a 
  tool or a silent weapon. It can be thrown. Note that 
  cloth-like Star Fleet Uniform (p. 269, each branch has 
  its own version) is only DR 2 against impaling attacks, 
  explaining the continued popularity of the knife as a 
  weapon for close fighting. 
   
  Note that the combat knife is not made of steel, 
  but of a special high-tech durasteel alloy that is con-
  siderably sharper and harder than normal steel. In 
  GURPS terms, it is built as a weapon of super-fine 
  quality (p. 278).The combat knife has a max damage 
  of 1d+2 and is throwable for max damage 1d+2. 
   
  Cost is $320; weight is 1 pound. 
   
  TL12: Cost is $80. 
   
  Stun Baton (TL9+) 
   
  This weapon is used to subdue people without 
  great physical harm. It uses the character’s Short-
  sword skill, and deals sw-2 of crushing damage to the 
  target. In addition, the target must make a check 
  against HT-2 to avoid falling unconscious for 20-HT 
  minutes, with a minimum time of 1 minute. If the HT 
  roll was a critical failure, the stun effect last three times 
  as long. Cost is $100; weight is 3 pounds. 
   
  It uses one B cell which provides power for two 
  hours use. 
   
   
   
   
  
  Page 276  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Technology 
   
  Melee Weapon Table 
  AXE/MACE (DX-5 or Two-Handed Axe/Mace-3) 
  TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  Reach 
  Parry 
  Cost 
  Weight 
  ST 
  Notes 
  0 
  Axe 
  sw+2 cut 
  1 
  0U 
  $50 
  4 
  11 
   
  2 
  Mace 
  sw+3 cr 
  1 
  0U 
  $50 
  5 
  12 
  [1] 
  BOXING, BRAWLING, KARATE, or DX 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  Reach 
  Parry 
  Cost 
  Weight 
  ST 
  Notes 
   
  Punch 
  thr-1 cr 
  C 
  0 
  - 
  - 
  - 
  [3] 
  1 
  Brass Knuckles 
  thr cr 
  C 
  0 
  $10 
  0.25 
  - 
  [3] 
  BRAWLING-2, KARATE-2, or DX-2 
  TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  Reach 
  Parry 
  Cost 
  Weight 
  ST 
  Notes 
   
  Kick 
  thr cr 
  C, 1 
  No 
  - 
  - 
  - 
  [3, 4] 
   
  Kick w. Boots 
  thr+1 cr 
  C, 1 
  No 
  - 
  - 
  - 
  [3, 4] 
  BRAWLING or DX 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  Reach 
  Parry 
  Cost 
  Weight 
  ST 
  Notes 
   
  Blunt Teeth 
  thr-1 cr 
  C 
  No 
  - 
  - 
  - 
  [3] 
   
  Fangs 
  thr-1 imp 
  C 
  No 
  - 
  - 
  - 
  [3] 
   
  Sharp Beak 
  thr-1 pi+ 
  C 
  No 
  - 
  - 
  - 
  [3] 
   
  Sharp Teeth 
  thr-1 cut 
  C 
  No 
  - 
  - 
  - 
  [3] 
   
  Striker 
  var. 
  var. 
  var. 
  - 
  - 
  - 
  See p. 103 
  1 
  Blackjack or Sap 
  thr cr 
  C 
  0 
  $20 
  1 
  7 
  [3] 
  8 
  Stun Gun 
  HT-3(0.5) aff 
  C, 1 
  No 
  $100 
  1 
  2 
  [5] 
  BROADSWORD (DX-5, Rapier-4, Saber-4, Shortsword-2, or Two-Handed Sword-4) 
  TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  Reach 
  Parry 
  Cost 
  Weight 
  ST 
  Notes 
  0 
  Light Club 
  sw+1 cr 
  1 
  0 
  $5 
  3 
  10 
   
   
  or 
  thr+1 cr 
  1 
  0 
  - 
  - 
  10 
   
  2 
  Broadsword 
  sw+1 cut 
  1 
  0 
  $500 
  3 
  10 
   
   
  or 
  thr+1 cr 
  1 
  0 
  - 
  - 
  10 
   
  3 
  Bastard Sword 
  sw+1 cut 
  1, 2 
  0U 
  $650 
  5 
  11 
   
   
  or 
  thr+1 cr 
  2 
  0U 
  - 
  - 
  11 
   
  GARROTE (DX-4) 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  Reach 
  Parry 
  Cost 
  Weight 
  ST 
  Notes 
  0 
  Garotte 
  spec. 
  C 
  No 
  $2 
  neg. 
   
  [7] 
  KNIFE (DX-4 or Shortsword-3) 
  TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  Reach 
  Parry 
  Cost 
  Weight 
  ST 
  Notes 
  0 
  Large Knife 
  sw-2 cut 
  C, 1 
  -1 
  $40 
  1 
  6 
   
   
  or 
  thr imp 
  C 
  -1 
  - 
  - 
  6 
  [1] 
  0 
  Small Knife 
  sw-3 cut 
  C, 1 
  -1 
  $30 
  0.5 
  5 
   
   
  or 
  thr-1 imp 
  C 
  -1 
  - 
  - 
  5 
   
  1 
  Dagger 
  thr-1 imp 
  C 
  -1 
  $20 
  0.25 
  5 
  [1] 
  10 
  Marine Combat Knife 
  sw cut 
  C, 1 
  -1 
  $320 
  1 
  6 
   
   
  or 
  thr+3 imp 
  C 
  -1 
  - 
  - 
  6 
  [1] 
  KUSARI (DX-6 or Whip-3) 
  TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  Reach 
  Parry 
  Cost 
  Weight 
  ST 
  Notes 
  3 
  Kusari 
  sw+2 cr 
  1-4* 
  -2U 
  $70 
  5 
  11 
  [6] 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Technology 
  Page 277 
  RAPIER (DX-5, Saber-3, or Smallsword-3) 
  TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  Reach 
  Parry 
  Cost 
  Weight 
  ST 
  Notes 
  4 
  Rapier 
  thr+1 imp 
  1, 2 
  0 
  $500 
  2.75 
  9 
   
  SABER (DX-5, Broadsword-4, Rapier-3, Shortsword-4, or Smallsword-3) 
  TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  Reach 
  Parry 
  Cost 
  Weight 
  ST 
  Notes 
  4 
  Saber 
  sw-1 cut 
  1 
  0 
  $700 
  2 
  8 
   
   
  or 
  thr+1 imp 
  1 
  0 
  - 
  - 
  8 
   
  10 
  Marine Dress Saber 
  sw+3 cut 
  1 
  0 
  $1200 
  2 
  7 
   
   
  or 
  thr+4 imp 
  1 
  0 
  - 
  - 
  7 
   
  SHORTSWORD (DX-5, Broadsword-2, Knife-4, Saber-4, Smallsword-4, or Tonfa-3) 
  TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  Reach 
  Parry 
  Cost 
  Weight 
  ST 
  Notes 
  0 
  Baton 
  sw cr 
  1 
  0 
  $20 
  1 
  6 
   
   
  or 
  thr cr 
  1 
  0 
  - 
  - 
  6 
   
  2 
  Shortsword 
  sw cut 
  1 
  0 
  $400 
  2 
  8 
   
   
  or 
  thr imp 
  1 
  0 
  - 
  - 
  8 
   
  9 
  Stun Baton 
  sw-2 cr, aff 
  1 
  0 
  $100 
  3 
  6 
  [8] 
  SMALLSWORD (DX-5, Rapier-3, Saber-3, or Shortsword-4) 
  TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  Reach 
  Parry 
  Cost 
  Weight 
  ST 
  Notes 
  4 
  Smallsword 
  thr+1 imp 
  1 
  0 
  $400 
  1.5 
  5 
   
  SPEAR (DX-5 or Staff-2) 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  Reach 
  Parry 
  Cost 
  Weight 
  ST 
  Notes 
  0 
  Spear 
  thr+2 imp 
  1* 
  0 
  $40 
  4 
  9 
  [1] 
   
  two hands 
  thr+3 imp 
  1, 2* 
  0 
  - 
  - 
  9† 
   
  STAFF (DX-5 or Spear-2) 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  Reach 
  Parry 
  Cost 
  Weight 
  ST 
  Notes 
  0 
  Quarterstaff 
  sw+2 cr 
  1, 2 
  +2 
  $10 
  4 
  7† 
   
   
  or 
  thr+2 cr 
  1, 2 
  +2 
  - 
  - 
  7† 
   
  TWO-HANDED AXE/MACE (DX-5 or Axe/Mace-3) 
  TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  Reach 
  Parry 
  Cost 
  Weight 
  ST 
  Notes 
  1 
  Great Axe 
  sw+3 cut 
  1, 2* 
  0U 
  $100 
  8 
  12‡ 
   
  1 
  Scythe 
  sw+2 cut 
  1 
  0U 
  $15 
  5 
  11‡ 
   
   
  or 
  sw imp 
  1 
  0U 
  - 
  - 
  11‡ 
  [2] 
  TWO-HANDED SWORD (DX-5 or Broadsword-4) 
  TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  Reach 
  Parry 
  Cost 
  Weight 
  ST 
  Notes 
  0 
  Quarterstaff 
  sw+2 cr 
  1, 2 
  0 
  $10 
  4 
  9† 
   
   
  or 
  thr+1 cr 
  2 
  0 
  - 
  - 
  9† 
   
  3 
  Bastard Sword 
  sw+2 cut 
  1, 2 
  0 
  $650 
  5 
  10† 
   
   
  or 
  thr+2 cr 
  2 
  0 
  - 
  - 
  10† 
   
  3 
  Klingon Sword 
  sw+2 cut 
  1, 2 
  +2 
  $650 
  4 
  10† 
   
   
  or 
  thr+2 cr 
  1, 2 
  +2 
  - 
  - 
  10† 
   
  WHIP (DX-5 or Kusari-3) 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  Reach 
  Parry 
  Cost 
  Weight 
  ST 
  Notes 
  1 
  Whip 
  sw-2(0.5) cr 
  1-7* 
  -2U 
  $20 
  2 
  var 
  [9] 
   
  Notes 
   
  [1] Can be thrown. See Muscle-Powered Ranged 
  Weapon Table (p. 279). 
   
  [2] May get stuck; see Stuck Weapons (p. 278). 
   
  [3] Brawling (p. 156) increases all unarmed dam-
  age; Claws (p. 84) and Karate (p. 167) improve dam-
  age with punches and kicks (Claws don’t affect dam-
  age with brass knuckles or boots); and Boxing (p. 155) 
  improves punching damage. 
  
  Page 278  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Technology 
   
  [4] If you miss with a kick, roll vs. DX to avoid 
  falling. 
   
  [5] On a failed HT roll, victim is stunned for as long 
  as weapon is in contact plus (20 - HT) seconds longer, 
  and then can roll vs. HT-3 to recover. 
   
  [6] Attempts to parry flails‡ are at -4! Attempts to 
  block flails are at -2. A nunchaku‡ is small, and gives 
  half these penalties. 
   
  [7] A piece of rope used to strangle; see Garrotes 
  (p. 218). 
   
  [8] The target must make a check against HT-2 to 
  avoid falling unconscious for 20-HT minutes, with a 
  minimum time of 1 minute. If the HT roll was a critical 
  failure, the stun effect last three times as long. 
   
  [9] Specify maximum reach (up to 7 yards) when 
  bought. Cost and weight are per yard. ST is 5, +1 per 
  yard. Many special rules apply; be sure to see Whips 
  (p. 218). 
   
  Stuck Weapons 
   
  At the start of the turn following any attack that 
  penetrates the foe’s DR and inflicts damage, you must 
  either relinquish your weapon and leave it stuck in 
  your foe (a free action), or attempt a ST roll to free it (a 
  Ready maneuver).  
   
  On a successful ST roll, your weapon comes free. 
  If it is one that must be readied after an attack (any 
  weapon with “‡” next to its ST statistic), you can ready 
  it next turn. On a failure, it is stuck. You can’t use it or 
  ready it – and if you wish to move, you’ll have to let go. 
  On later turns, you have two choices: let go of your 
  weapon or try another ST roll. Should you ever get a 
  critical failure on the ST roll, the weapon is perma-
  nently stuck (but you can retrieve it from a fallen foe 
  after the battle). 
   
  When the weapon comes free, it does half as 
  much damage as it did going in. For example, if the 
  original wound was 4 points, it does another 2 points. 
  Failed ST rolls cause no extra damage. 
   
  If your foe tries to move away while your weapon 
  is stuck in him, roll a Quick Contest of ST. If he wins, 
  he pulls the weapon from your grasp! If you win, your 
  foe can’t move. On a tie, the weapon comes free and 
  does damage as above. 
   
  Melee Weapon Quality 
   
  Muscle-powered melee and thrown weapons 
  come in several quality grades, described below. 
  Quality influences the odds of breakage when you 
  parry a very heavy weapon; see Parrying Heavy 
  Weapons‡, GURPS Basic Set, p. 376). The prices 
  listed on the weapon tables buy good-quality weapons 
  at TL6 or less, fine-quality ones at TL7+. 
   
   
  Cheap: A cheap weapon is +2 to break – and if it 
  can be thrown, it has -1 Acc. It costs 40% of list price 
  at TL6 or less, or 20% of list price at TL7+. The mass-
  produced swords issued to ordinary soldiers are often 
  of cheap quality. 
   
  Good: A good weapon has no breakage modifier. 
  This is the standard quality through TL6. At TL7+, 
  good-quality weapons cost 40% of list price. 
   
  Fine: Any fine weapon is -1 to break. A fine blade 
  (cutting or impaling weapon) also gets +1 to cutting 
  and impaling damage. At TL6 or less, a fine-quality 
  fencing- or sword-class weapon of any type costs 4 
  times list price. Other weapon types cost 3 times list 
  price if they do only crushing or impaling damage (e.g., 
  a mace or spear), or 10 times list price if they can do 
  cutting damage (e.g., an axe or scythe). At TL7+, all 
  weapons are “fine” at no extra cost. 
   
  Very Fine: Only fencing weapons and swords can 
  be very fine. A very fine weapon is -2 to break and 
  gets +2 to cutting and impaling damage. At TL6 or 
  less, very fine weapons cost 20 times list price; at 
  TL7+, they cost only 4 times list price. 
   
  Super-Fine: At TL8+, durasteel knives and blades 
  can be made, adding +3 to damage and costing 20 
  times list price. 
   
  Presentation weapons (decorated, bejeweled, 
  gilded, etc.) are also available. This will further in-
  crease cost (and resale value) by 5-20 times. 
   
   
  MUSCLE-POWERED RANGED WEAPONS 
   
   
  Muscle-powered ranged weapons are hurled 
  weapons (axes, spears, etc.) and low-tech missile 
  weapons such as bows and slings. Weapons appear 
  under the skill required to use them, along with skill 
  defaults. Some thrown weapons also appear on the 
  Melee Weapon Table; use the statistics below when 
  they are thrown. 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Technology 
  Page 279 
  Muscle-Powered Ranged Weapon Table 
  SLING (DX-6) 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  Acc 
  Range 
  Weight 
  RoF 
  Shots 
  Cost 
  ST 
  Bulk 
  Notes 
  0 
  Sling 
  sw pi 
  0 
  ×6/×10 
  0.5/0.05 
  1 
  1(2) 
  $20 
  6 
  -4 
  [1, 2, 
  3] 
  THROWN WEAPON (AXE/MACE) (DX-4) 
  TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  Acc 
  Range 
  Weight 
  RoF 
  Shots 
  Cost 
  ST 
  Bulk 
  Notes 
  2 
  Mace 
  sw+3 cr 
  1 
  ×0.5/×1 
  5 
  1 
  T(1) 
  $50 
  12 
  -4 
   
  THROWN WEAPON (HARPOON) (DX-4 or Thrown Weapon (Spear)-2) 
  TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  Acc 
  Range 
  Weight 
  RoF 
  Shots 
  Cost 
  ST 
  Bulk 
  Notes 
  2 
  Harpoon 
  thr+5 imp 
  2 
  ×1/×1.5 
  6 
  1 
  T(1) 
  $60 
  11 
  -6 
  [4] 
  THROWN WEAPON (KNIFE) (DX-4) 
  TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  Acc 
  Range 
  Weight 
  RoF 
  Shots 
  Cost 
  ST 
  Bulk 
  Notes 
  0 
  Large Knife 
  thr imp 
  0 
  ×0.8/×1.5 
  1 
  1 
  T(1) 
  $40 
  6 
  -2 
   
  0 
  Small Knife 
  thr-1 imp 
  0 
  ×0.5/×1 
  0.5 
  1 
  T(1) 
  $30 
  5 
  -1 
   
  1 
  Dagger 
  thr-1 imp 
  0 
  ×0.5/×1 
  0.25 
  1 
  T(1) 
  $20 
  5 
  -1 
   
  10 
  Marine Combat 
  Knife 
  thr+3 
  imp 
  0 
  ×0.8/×1.5 
  1 
  1 
  T(1) 
  $320 
  6 
  -2 
   
  THROWN WEAPON (SHURIKEN) (DX-4 or Throwing-2) 
  TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  Acc 
  Range 
  Weight 
  RoF 
  Shots 
  Cost 
  ST 
  Bulk 
  Notes 
  3 
  Shuriken 
  thr-1 cut 
  1 
  ×0.5/×1 
  0.1 
  1 
  T(1) 
  $3 
  5 
  0 
   
  THROWN WEAPON (SPEAR) (DX-4 or Thrown Weapon (Harpoon)-2) 
  TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  Acc 
  Range 
  Weight 
  RoF 
  Shots 
  Cost 
  ST 
  Bulk 
  Notes 
  0 
  Spear 
  thr+3 imp 
  2 
  ×1/×1.5 
  4 
  1 
  T(1) 
  $40 
  9 
  -6 
   
   
  Notes 
   
  [1] Requires two hands to ready, but only one 
  hand to attack. 
   
  [2] A lead pellet for a sling, is $0.1.Sling stones are 
  free. 
   
  [3] Can fire stones (TL0) or lead bullets (TL2). 
  Lead bullets give +1 damage and double range. 
   
  [4] Tethered. Requires a Ready maneuver and a 
  successful ST roll to pull out (if you fail, you may try 
  again next turn). Does half the damage coming out 
  that it did going in. 
   
   
  Tholian Patrol Corvette 
   
   
  HAND GRENADES AND INCENDIARIES 
   
   
  Hand-tossed bombs date to the earliest introduc-
  tion of gunpowder; improvised gasoline bombs (“Mol-
  otov cocktails”) remain popular. See Throwing (p. 193) 
  to determine how far you can throw such a device. In 
  the Star Fleet Universe these have a special back-
  ground; see below. “Fuse” is the number of seconds it 
  takes for the weapon to detonate once readied.  
   
  Grenades 
   
  Grenades exist for various military uses; civilians 
  and criminals might obtain them by illegal means. Ma-
  rines and ground combat units will have them as a 
  matter of course (issuing four to each Marine) but star-
  ship crews will keep only a few in the armoury for spe-
  cial purposes. Two general types will be sufficient for 
  most situations. All are Legal Class 0 (government and 
  military only). Commercial explosives (for excavation 
  work) are available only to licensed contractors with 
  special permits. 
   
  Stun Grenades 
   
  First becoming available at TL11, these grenades 
  do not cause any damage. Stun grenades are used 
  and function the same as their explosive cousins until 
  they go off. When a stun grenade detonates, any per-
  son within range is affected as if he had been shot by 
  a phaser on stun.  
   
  
  Page 280  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Technology 
  Hand Grenade and Incendiary Table 
  THROWING (DX-3) 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  Weight 
  Fuse 
  Cost 
  LC 
  Notes 
  6 
  Molotov Cocktail 
  spec. (1 yd.) 
  1 
  spec. 
  $2 
  3 
  [1, 3] 
  7 
  Chemical 
  spec. (2 yd.) 
  1 
  2 
  $10 
  3 
  [2, 4] 
  7 
  Flash Bang 
  HT-5 aff (10 yd.) 
  1 
  2 
  $20 
  0 
  [2, 5] 
  8 
  Concussion 
  6d×2 cr ex 
  1 
  4 
  $20 
  0 
  [2] 
  8 
  Satchel Charge 
  6d×8 cr ex 
  4 
  1-60 
  $50 
  0 
  [2] 
  9 
  Concussion 
  6d×3 cr ex 
  1 
  4 
  $20 
  0 
  [2] 
  10 
  Concussion 
  6d×3 cr ex 
  0.5 
  4 
  $10 
  0 
  [2] 
  10 
  Flash Bang 
  HT-5 aff (10 yd.) 
  0.5 
  2 
  $10 
  0 
  [2, 5] 
  11 
  Stun Grenade 
  Stun 
  0.5 
  3 
  $100 
  0 
  [6] 
  Notes 
   
  [1] Takes a Ready maneuver to light the fuse (im-
  possible in rain, etc.) – or five Ready maneuvers if you 
  must insert the fuse first! A Molotov cocktail shatters 
  on impact. 
   
  [2] Takes one Ready maneuver to draw the gre-
  nade and a second Ready maneuver to pull the pin. 
  Detonates 2-4 seconds later, depending on grenade 
  type. 
   
  [3] A glass bottle filled with gasoline, lit by a burn-
  ing rag. See Area and Spreading Attacks (p. 221). 
   
  [4] Fills a 2-yard radius with smoke, teargas, etc. 
  The cloud lasts about 80 seconds under normal condi-
  tions. Exotic chemicals may cost more or have a lower 
  LC. 
   
  [5] A Vision and Hearing-Based affliction that af-
  fects a 10-yard radius. The Protected Hearing and 
  Protected Vision advantages each give +5 to the HT 
  roll (eye or ear protection provide +3; both give +5). If 
  you fail to resist, you are stunned; roll against HT-5 to 
  recover each turn. Critical failure means five turns be-
  fore the next recovery roll. Also creates smoke in the 
  area of effect. 
   
  [6] The HT roll is determined by the person’s dis-
  tance from the grenade when it detonates: 
   
   
  Less than 2 yards: HT-6 
   
   
  2-4 yards: HT-3 
   
   
  4-6 yards: HT 
   
   
  6-8 yards: HT+3 
   
   
  8+ yards: no effect 
   
  If the character makes the roll, then the attack has 
  no effect. If the character fails the roll, note the Degree 
  of Failure; the character falls unconscious immedi-
  ately, and the Degree of Failure is the number of 
  minutes the character remains unconscious. After that, 
  he is stunned until he can make a HT roll (roll once per 
  second). On a critical failure, the character remains 
  unconscious until medical assistance is received. 
   
  FIREARMS 
   
   
  A “firearm” is any gun, rocket, or beam weapon that 
  does not rely on muscle power. Guns are commonly 
  available by TL4 and ubiquitous at TL5+. Beam weapons 
  are common in the SFU at TL10. 
   
  Phasers (TL10+) 
   
  There are several types of phasers used as per-
  sonal weapons. The phaser-I (used as a “courtesy 
  sidearm” for non-infantry 
  personnel) can be held in 
  the palm of a hand. The 
  phaser-II, shown here, is 
  a standard “handle and 
  barrel” military handgun. 
  The other weapons are 
  normally held with two 
  hands. 
  The 
  phaser-I/II 
  and phaser rifle become 
  available at TL10. 
   
  At TL11 two additional types of phasers become 
  available: the pulse phaser and repeating phaser. The 
  pulse phaser is an upgraded version of the phaser ri-
  fle. As its name implies, the repeating phaser can fire 
  more rapidly than the other types of phasers, making it 
  the favorite weapon of Star Fleet Marines. The basic 
  stats of phasers are on the chart on p. 283. 
   
  Phasers have a variety of power settings; a Stun-1 
  setting on a phaser-I produces the same effect and 
  damage as the Stun-1 setting on a phaser rifle, for 
  example. 
   
  Prices for Federation phasers are listed for refer-
  ence; they are not for sale, except on the black market 
  for astronomical prices, and then only rarely! 
   
   
  Phaser Overload: Phasers can be set for overload; 
  after a few seconds, all of the energy remaining in the 
  power cell is released as an explosion. As there are 
  safeguards to prevent this, a successful Beam Weap-
  ons skill roll for the type of phaser (pistol or rifle) is re-
  quired; to disable the overload (by restoring the safe-
  guards) a similar skill roll is required. The damage is 
  resolved as concussion damage equivalent to the 
  number of charges remaining in the weapon times 1d. 
   
  Phaser Stun: Phaser weapons can be set to stun. 
  This is treated as an Affliction with Unconsciousness 
  (p. 82) and Follow-Up (p. 112), as modified: 
   
  When a person is hit by a phaser stun attack, he 
  must make an HT roll with a penalty based on the stun 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Technology 
  Page 281 
  setting; for example, a phaser set on Stun-1 requires a 
  HT-1 roll, Stun-2 a HT-2 roll, etc. If a person is hit by 
  more than one phaser stun attack, then increase the 
  penalty to the HT roll by 2 per additional hit taken. 
  Ignore any DR for the HT roll; however, the person 
  gets a bonus (or penalty) based on his Size Modifier. 
   
  If the character makes the roll, then the attack has 
  no effect. If the character fails the roll, note the Degree 
  of Failure; the character falls unconscious immedi-
  ately, and the Degree of Failure is the number of 
  minutes the character remains unconscious. After that, 
  he is stunned until he can make a HT roll (roll once per 
  second). On a critical failure, the character remains 
  unconscious until medical assistance is received. 
   
  Note that in addition to phasers, there are other 
  weapons (such as riot control guns and stun gre-
  nades) that also have stun settings. These weapons 
  function similarly. 
   
  Heating Inanimate Objects: Phasers can be used 
  to heat inanimate objects. This is done on the Stun-1 
  setting. (Repeating phasers may not be used for this 
  purpose.) A one-foot-diameter rock would have its 
  surface heated to about 500° Fahrenheit. The heat will 
  last about 30 minutes, less if the wind is blowing. 
   
  The following chart lists the various settings of 
  phasers, the damage that setting inflicts and which 
  settings are available on various phasers. 
   
  PHASER SETTINGS, DAMAGE, AND AVAILABILITY 
  Setting 
  Damage 
  Type 
  Phaser-I 
  Phaser-II 
  Phaser 
  Rifle 
  Pulse 
  Phaser 
  Repeating 
  Phaser 
  Stun-1 
  * 
  Stun 
  x 
  x 
  x 
  x 
  - 
  Stun-2 
  * 
  Stun 
  - 
  x 
  x 
  x 
  - 
  Stun-3 
  * 
  Stun 
  - 
  - 
  x 
  x 
  - 
  Kill-1 
  1d 
  Burn 
  x 
  x 
  x 
  x 
  - 
  Kill-2 
  2d 
  Burn 
  - 
  x 
  x 
  x 
  - 
  Kill-3 
  3d 
  Burn 
  - 
  - 
  x 
  x 
  x 
  Kill-4 
  2d(2) 
  Burn 
  - 
  - 
  - 
  x 
  x 
  Kill-5 
  4d(2) 
  Burn 
  - 
  - 
  - 
  x 
  x 
  Disint-1 
  4d(3) 
  Burn 
  - 
  x 
  x 
  x 
  x 
  Disint-2 
  6d(3) 
  Burn 
  - 
  - 
  x 
  x 
  x 
  Disint-3 
  8d(3) 
  Burn 
  - 
  - 
  - 
  x 
  x 
   
  * The victim must make a HT roll to avoid being “stunned;” see Phaser Stun above. 
   
  An “x” indicates settings available for that type of phaser; “-” means that phaser cannot fire that setting. 
   
  The number of charges consumed each time a phaser is fired is equal to the setting number; e.g., Stun-1 or Kill-1 
  consume 1 charge, Stun-3 or Kill-3 consume 3 charges, etc. Exception: Disint consumes two charges times the 
  setting number per shot (Disint-3 uses six charges). 
   
  Disruptors 
   
  The disruptor is the weapon of choice for many 
  species and empires. The Federation is the only fac-
  tion that, as a matter of policy, regularly arms its per-
  sonnel with weapons that have stun settings. Disruptor 
  weapons lack a stun setting and are therefore less 
  expensive to build and make more efficient use of their 
  batteries. 
   
  Most disruptor-using empires have settled on 
  three basic versions: a holdout version, a pistol, and a 
  rifle. The holdout disruptor is designed to be easily 
  concealed and so is +4 to Holdout. The basic stats of 
  disruptors are in the chart on p. 283. Disruptors have 
  only a basic disrupt setting. Unlike phasers, a disruptor 
  cannot be set for overload, nor can it heat inanimate 
  objects. 
   
  Rocket Launchers 
   
  Star Fleet Marines and other military ground 
  forces will be issued rocket launchers for most mis-
  sions; these can be available to civilians, criminals, 
  and military personnel not normally involved in ground 
  combat under various circumstances defined by the 
  GM. There are many types, but two will suffice for 
  most purposes. 
   
  Light Rocket Launcher 
   
  This is an 80mm shoulder-fired one-man weapon. 
  Every squad of five Marines will have one of these 
  weapons (with five rockets) in addition to their phaser 
  (or disruptor) rifles. (The assigned rocket gunner will 
  carry the launcher instead of a phaser rifle, and will 
  have a Phaser-2 pistol for self-defense. He will be fully 
  qualified on a phaser rifle for use in ship boarding ac-
  tions where there is no room to employ rocket launch-
  ers.) Each round has to be loaded into the launcher 
  (which holds one round at a time) as a separate 
  action. 
   
  Medium Rocket Launcher 
   
  This is a 120mm crew-served weapon. Each 
  heavy weapons team (five Marines) has one of these 
  weapons. It is divided into several sections (the barrel, 
  the mounting, and the computer module) for trans-
  porting by individuals (one per man) with the other two 
  
  Page 282  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Technology 
  members of the heavy weapons team carrying ammu-
  nition. At TL10, it has the same warhead and seeker 
  options as the light rocket launcher. It has more range 
  and explosive force. The medium rocket launcher at 
  TL11 can be used in another mode, in which the 
  rocket fuel is detonated inside the barrel, turning the 
  MRL into a howitzer with considerably more range 
  (This is what is referred to as a “howitzer” on the 
  Heavy Weapon Table.) The gun crew will need to be in 
  contact with someone who has the Forward Observer 
  skill (p. 163) and can see the target to use it in this 
  manner. 
   
  Notes: The weight of the launcher does not in-
  clude missiles. 
   
  Active guidance requires the gunner to keep his 
  eyes on the target (through the sight) while the rocket 
  is in flight. Self-tracking missiles will find their own tar-
  gets once they have been locked on. The gunner de-
  cides (as a separate action before firing) if the war-
  head will be set for penetrating or blast-frag and (as 
  part of the same action) if it will be set for proximity or 
  impact detonation. Proximity detonation cannot be 
  used with penetration. See Explosions, p. 222. 
   
  Ammunition 
   
  For a given gun, the weight of one full load of am-
  munition, in pounds, appears after the slash in its 
  “Weight” statistic. Assume that ammo cost is $20 times 
  this weight. 
   
   
  Example: The 5.56mm assault rifle has a weight of 
  “9/1.” Thus, a full reload weighs 1 lb. and costs $20. 
   
   
  The statistics given on the tables assume that 
  guns are firing ordinary, solid projectiles (usually lead). 
  At TL6+, this means the common “ball” or “full metal 
  jacket” round, but other ammo types are possible. A 
  few examples for pistols, submachine guns, rifles, and 
  machine guns (but not shotguns and dart rifles): 
   
   
  Hollow-Point (HP): Bullets designed to expand in 
  flesh, causing bigger wounds. This improves damage 
  type: pi- becomes pi, pi becomes pi+, and pi+ be-
  comes pi++. (HP ammo is not available for guns that 
  already inflict pi++ damage.) However, HP ammo has 
  trouble penetrating barriers or armor; add an armor 
  divisor of (0.5). HP ammo is available at TL6+. It has 
  normal cost and LC. It is the most common ammo type 
  used by hunters and police. 
   
  Armor-Piercing Hard Core (APHC): Solid bullets 
  with a dense, armor-piercing core. Add a (2) armor 
  divisor, but if the gun caliber is below 20mm (.80), 
  damage type degrades: pi++ drops to pi+, pi+ to pi, 
  and pi to pi-. (There is no effect on pi-.) APHC ammo 
  is available at TL7+. It has double normal cost and is 
  LC2. 
   
  Armor-Piercing Discarding-Sabot (APDS): A small 
  tungsten dart encased in a larger plastic sheath that 
  peels away when the round leaves the barrel, in-
  creasing velocity. APDS works like APHC, but also 
  adds 50% to range and +1 damage per die. Used by 
  tanks at TL6-7 and machine guns at TL8, it is available 
  for small arms by TL9. It has five times normal cost 
  and is LC1. 
   
  Firearm Quality 
   
  Fine firearms cost double list price, and get +1 to 
  Acc and +1 to Malf. Very fine firearms cost 5 times list 
  price, and get +2 to Acc and +1 to Malf. Should this 
  result in a Malf. of 19 or more, the weapon will not 
  malfunction unless lack of maintenance lowers Malf. 
   
  Presentation firearms (decorated, gilded, etc.) are 
  also available. This will further increase cost (and re-
  sale value) by 2 to 20 times. 
   
   
  Pistol  and Submachine Gun Table 
  GUNS (PISTOL) (DX-4, or most other Guns at -2) 
  TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  Acc 
  Range 
  Weight 
  RoF 
  Shots 
  ST 
  Bulk 
  Rcl 
  Cost 
  LC 
  Notes 
  5 
  Derringer, .41 
  1d pi+ 
  1 
  80/650 
  0.5/0.1 
  1 
  2(3i) 
  9 
  -1 
  2 
  $100  
  3 
   
  6 
  Auto Pistol, 
  9mm 
  2d+2 pi+ 
  2 
  150/1,850 
  2.4/0.4 
  3 
  8+1(3) 
  9 
  -2 
  2 
  $350  
  3 
   
  7 
  Revolver, 
  .357M 
  3d-1 pi 
  2 
  185/2,000 
  3/0.21 
  3 
  6(3i) 
  10 
  -2 
  3 
  $500  
  3 
   
  8 
  Auto Pistol, 
  .44M 
  3d pi+ 
  2 
  230/2,500 
  4.5/0.6 
  3 
  9+1(3) 
  12 
  -3 
  4 
  $750  
  3 
   
  GUNS (GYROC) (DX-4, or most other Guns at -4) 
  TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  Acc 
  Range 
  Weight 
  RoF 
  Shots 
  ST 
  Bulk 
  Rcl 
  Cost 
  LC 
  Notes 
  9 
  Gyroc Pistol, 
  15mm 
  6d pi++ 
  1 
  1,900 
  1/0.4 
  3 
  4(3i) 
  9 
  -2 
  1 
  $200  
  3 
  [1] 
  GUNS (SMG) (DX-4, or most other Guns at -2) 
  TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  Acc 
  Range 
  Weight 
  RoF 
  Shots 
  ST 
  Bulk 
  Rcl 
  Cost 
  LC 
  Notes 
  7 
  SMG, 9mm          3d-1 pi 
  4 
  160/1,900 
  7.5/1.2 
  13 
  30+1 
  (3) 
  10† 
  -4 
  2 
  $1,200 
  2 
  [2] 
  Notes 
       [1] Rockets take time to accelerate. Divide damage by 3 at 1-2 yards, and by 2 at 3-10 yards. 
       [2] Civilian semi-automatic version is RoF 3, -25% to cost, and +1 to LC. 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Technology 
  Page 283 
  Rifle and Shotgun Table 
  GUNS (RIFLE) (DX-4, or most other Guns at -2) 
  TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  Acc 
  Range 
  Weight 
  RoF 
  Shots 
  ST 
  Bulk 
  Rcl 
  Cost 
  LC 
  Notes 
  5 
  Lever-Action 
  Carbine, .30 
  5d pi 
  4 
  450/3,000 
  7/0.3 
  1 
  6+1(3i) 
  10† 
  -4 
  2 
  $300  
  3 
   
  6 
  Bolt-Action 
  Rifle, 7.62mm 
  7d pi 
  5 
  1,000/4,200 
  8.9/0.3 
  1 
  5+1(3) 
  10† 
  -5 
  4 
  $350 
  3 
   
  6 
  Self-Loading 
  Rifle, 7.62mm 
  7d pi 
  5 
  1,000/4,200 
  10/0.5 
  3 
  8(3) 
  10† 
  -5 
  3 
  $600  
  3 
   
  7 
  Assault Rifle, 
  5.56mm 
  5d pi 
  5 
  500/3,500 
  9/1 
  12 
  30+1 
  (3) 
  9† 
  -4 
  2 
  $800 
  2 
  [1] 
  8 
  Sniper Rifle, 
  .338 
  9d+1 pi 
  6+3 
  1,500/5,500 
  12.5/ 
  0.8 
  1 
  4+1(3) 
  11B†     -6 
    4   $5,600 
    
  3 
   
  GUNS (SHOTGUN) (DX-4, or most other Guns at -2) 
  TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  Acc 
  Range 
  Weight 
  RoF 
  Shots 
  ST 
  Bulk 
  Rcl 
  Cost 
  LC 
  Notes 
  6 
  Pump 
  Shotgun, 12G 
  1d+1 pi 
  3 
  50/125 
  8/0.7 
  2×9 
  5(3i) 
  10† 
  -5 
  1 
  $240  
  4 
   
  Notes 
  [1] Civilian semi-automatic version is RoF 3, -25% to cost, and +1 to LC. 
   
  Ultra-Tech Firearm Table 
  BEAM WEAPONS (PISTOL) (DX-4, other Beam Weapons-4, or Guns (Pistol)-4) 
  TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  Acc 
  Range 
  Weight 
  RoF 
  Shots 
  ST 
  Bulk 
  Rcl 
  Cost     LC    Notes 
  10 
  Disruptor 
  Holdout 
  2d(2) 
  burn 
  1 
  20/50 
  0.1/0.1 
  1 
  10(5) 
  4 
  1 
  1 
  $3,000  0 
   
  10 
  Disruptor 
  Pistol 
  4d(3) 
  burn 
  5 
  300/600 
  2 
  3 
  100(2) 
  4 
  -1 
  1 
  $2,500  0 
   
  BEAM WEAPONS (PISTOL) (DX-4, other Beam Weapons-4, or Guns (Pistol)-4) 
  TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  Acc 
  Range 
  Weight 
  RoF 
  Charges 
  ST 
  Bulk 
  Rcl 
  Cost     LC   Notes 
  10 
  Phaser-I 
  Spec 
  2 
  50/100 
  0.1 
  1 
  100(2) 
  4 
  -1 
  1 
  $2,000    2 
   
  10 
  Phaser-II 
  Spec 
  5 
  200/500 
  1 
  3 
  100(2) 
  4 
  -2 
  1 
  $3,000    1 
   
    BEAM WEAPONS (RIFLE) (DX-4, other Beam Weapons-4, or Guns (Rifle)-4) 
     TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  Acc 
  Range 
  Weight 
  RoF 
  Shots 
  ST 
  Bulk 
  Rcl 
  Cost 
   LC   Notes 
     10 
  Disruptor Rifle 
  6d(3) burn 
  8 
  600/1,200 
  6 
  5 
  200(2) 
  4 
  -6 
  1 
  $4,500  
  0 
   
    BEAM WEAPONS (RIFLE) (DX-4, other Beam Weapons-4, or Guns (Pistol)-4) 
     TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  Acc 
  Range 
  Weight 
  RoF 
  Charges 
  ST 
  Bulk 
  Rcl 
  Cost 
  LC   Notes 
  10 
  Phaser Rifle 
  Spec 
  8 
  500/1,000 
  4 
  5 
  100(3) 
  5 
  -6 
  1 
  $4,500  
  0 
   
  11 
  Pulse Phaser 
  Spec 
  10 
  800/1,200 
  4 
  5 
  100(2) 
  5 
  -2 
  1 
  $5,500  
  1 
   
  11 
  Repeating 
  Phaser 
  Spec 
  12 
  600/800 
  4 
  8 
  500(2) 
  7 
  -8 
  1 
  $7,500 
  1 
   
   
  HEAVY WEAPONS 
   
   
  The next table gives a few examples of the heavi-
  est weapons that adventurers are likely to carry or en-
  counter. Police and ordinary criminals rarely use such 
  weapons – but any infantry/Marine squad or well-
  funded terrorist group might have access to them! 
   
  Rocket Launcher 
   
   
   
  
  Page 284  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Technology 
  Heavy Weapon Table 
  ARTILLERY (GUIDED MISSILE) (IQ-5) 
  TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  Acc 
  Range 
  Weight 
  RoF 
  Shots 
  ST 
  Bulk 
  Rcl 
  Cost 
  LC 
  Notes 
  8 
  SAM, 70mm 
  6d×3 cr 
  ex[6d] 
  7 
  1,000/8,800 
  18/22 
  1 
  1(20) 
  10† 
  -8 
  1 
  $38,000  
  1 
  [1, 2, 
  4] 
  9 
  Light Rocket 
  Launcher, 
  80mm 
  6d×8(10) 
  cr ex 
  6 
  200/1,000 
  13/2 
  1 
  1(20) 
  7 
  -5 
  1 
  $825 
  1 
  [1, 2, 
  3] 
  9 
  Medium 
  Rocket 
  Launcher, 
  120mm 
  6×20(10) 
  cr ex 
  11 
  500/5,000 
  60/4 
  1 
  1(20) 
  - 
  -7 
  1 
  $2,750 
  1 
  [1, 2, 
  3, 5] 
  10 
  Light Rocket 
  Launcher, 
  80mm 
  6d×9 cr 
  ex[6d] 
  6 
  300/1,500 
  10/2 
  1 
  1(20) 
  7 
  -5 
  1 
  $850 
  1 
  [1, 2, 
  4] 
  10 
  Medium 
  Rocket 
  Launcher, 
  120mm 
  6×20 cr 
  ex[8d] 
  11 
  500/9,000 
  40/4 
  1 
  1(20) 
  - 
  -7 
  1 
  $4,400 
  1 
  [1, 2, 
  4, 5] 
  11 
  Howitzer, 
  120mm 
  6d×20 cr 
  ex[8d] 
  11 
  500/20,000 
  40/4 
  1 
  1(20) 
  - 
  -7 
  1 
  $4,400  
  1 
  [1, 4, 
  5] 
  GUNS (GRENADE LAUNCHER) (DX-4 or most other Guns at -4) 
  TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  Acc 
  Range 
  Weight 
  RoF 
  Shots 
  ST 
  Bulk 
  Rcl 
  Cost 
  LC 
  Notes 
  7 
  Under-Barrel, 
  40mm 
  4d(10) cr 
  ex[2d] 
  2 
  150/440 
  7 
  1 
  1(3) 
  11 
    
  2 
  $500  
  1 
  [1, 6, 
  7] 
  GUNS (LAW) (DX-4 or most other Guns at -4) 
  TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  Acc 
  Range 
  Weight 
  RoF 
  Shots 
  ST 
  Bulk 
  Rcl 
  Cost 
  LC 
  Notes 
  8 
  LAW, 84 
  6d×6(10) 
  cr ex 
  3 
  330/2,300 
  14.7 
  1 
  1(--) 
  10† 
  -5 
  1 
  $750  
  1 
  [2, 7] 
   
  Notes 
            [1] Has a minimum range: 200 yards for 70mm SAM or 80mm Light Rocket Launcher, 300 yards for 120mm 
  Medium Rocket Launcher, and 500 yards for 120mm Howitzer. 
            [2] Hazardous back-blast: 1d burn damage to anyone behind firer and within 15 yards. 
            [3] Guided attack. Gunner uses Artillery (Guided Missile) to attack. “1/2D” range is speed in yards per second. 
  Weight is for empty launcher/one missile. For more information, see GURPS Basic Set, p. 412. 
            [4] Homing Attack at the missile’s skill of 10. Firer rolls against Artillery (Guided Missile) to aim. On a success, 
  the missile gets its Acc bonus. “1/2D” range is speed in yards per second. Weight is for empty launcher/one mis-
  sile. For more information, see GURPS Basic Set, p. 413. 
            [5] Weight of the barrel (first number), weight of the mounting (second number), and weight of the computer-
  sighting system (third number). TL9 Medium Rocket Launcher, 20+20+10; TL10 Medium Rocket Launcher and 
  TL11 Howitzer, 20+15+5. 
            [6] Can clamp under the barrel of any TL7+ rifle or carbine. Use the rifle’s Bulk. 
            [7] Damage is not halved at 1/2D range, but loses its armor divisor of (10). 
   
   
  
   
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Star Fleet Universe 
  Page 285 
   
  GAMES OF THE STAR FLEET UNIVERSE 
   
  Prime Directive is a game of the Star Fleet Uni-
  verse, an interrelated system of games with a com-
  mon background. These include the classic Star Fleet 
  Battles, the fast-playing Federation Commander, the 
  strategic Federation & Empire, the card game Star 
  Fleet Battle Force, and others. Because these games 
  all have a common background, they all use the same 
  ships, history, and technology. History puts the 
  Klingons and Kzintis at war from Y169-Y185, so SFB 
  and F&E both have battle scenarios for that period. A 
  Klingon D7 battlecruiser has twice the combat power 
  of a Romulan SeaHawk frigate, and this is reflected in 
  SFB and FC by their Basic Point Values, in F&E by 
  their combat factors, in SFBF by the number of icons 
  on their respective cards, and so forth. This is good in 
  that players can move between games and reasonably 
  expect the same things to work the same ways (albeit 
  on a different scale). Of course, for your own cam-
  paign, you can ignore these implications. 
   
  STAR FLEET BATTLES 
   
  This game is the patriarch of the Star Fleet Uni-
  verse. First published in 1979, it has undergone sev-
  eral revisions and new editions. The current rules set 
  has over 40 modules with many pages of rules and  
  different starships. It is a tactical space combat game. 
  Each player commands a ship (veteran players often 
  command entire fleets) as they seek to out-fly, outfight, 
  and out-think their enemies in a warp-speed dogfight.  
   
  Having been around the longest, most of the his-
  tory and background of the entire Star Fleet Universe 
  first appeared in Star Fleet Battles. The primary refer-
  ence source for any SFU research, SFB has the most 
  complete database of ships, weapons, and technol-
  ogy. We have reprinted most of the relevant data from 
  SFB in this product (and there is more in sourcebooks) 
  so players of GURPS Prime Directive need not fear 
  being required to buy hundreds of dollars of tactical 
  space games just to get the maps, histories, timelines, 
  and other background data. 
   
  A detailed explanation of SFB is on the next page, 
  and we invite all players of GPD to pick up a copy of 
  SFB Basic Set or the free Cadet Training Handbook 
  and experience driving a starship for themselves. Ex-
  perienced players can also enjoy this game via the 
  Internet at Star Fleet Battles Online: 
   (www.sfbonline.com/index.jsp). 
  FEDERATION COMMANDER 
   
  This fast-playing game is the game of choice for 
  RPG players who find their characters involved in bat-
  tles between starships. This game has an introductory 
  set of rules which may be freely downloaded from our 
  website at http://www.starfleetgames.com/federation/. 
  An example of play is included on p. 288-289. Com-
  munique, a free online monthly newsletter, keeps FC 
  players up to date. 
   
  FEDERATION & EMPIRE 
   
  The strategic game of the Star Fleet Universe, 
  F&E was first published in 1986 and has (like SFB) 
  been upgraded in several subsequent editions. On a 
  map five feet long (the F&E map is re-created later in 
  this book), players move thousands of die-cut counters 
  representing ships, squadrons, groups, and fleets. 
   
  F&E is primarily a game about money. You collect 
  taxes from your planets and provinces and then use 
  the money to buy, upgrade, and repair starships. After 
  that, you send your ships off to war to conquer your 
  enemies. For those who are interested in this game, 
  we have a detailed description of F&E on our website: 
  www.StarFleetGames.com.  
   
  STAR FLEET BATTLE FORCE 
   
  In this card game you control a group of starship 
  cards from several empires. Each ship card has icons 
  showing the weapons the ship can use. Each turn, you 
  check your hand for weapon cards that match the 
  icons on your ships, and fire the weapons at the en-
  emy. The game system is similar to Modern Naval 
  Battles or Naval War but with improvements and new 
  concepts. While there are several kinds of phasers, 
  the bigger ones can fire the cards from the smaller 
  ones, and, larger plasma torpedo launchers can use 
  the smaller torpedo cards. As your starships take 
  damage, red plastic markers cover some of the icons, 
  preventing you from using those weapons. See our 
  website for more information. 
   
  OTHER GAMES AND PRODUCTS 
   
  We have pewter starships available through our 
  shopping cart: www.starfleetstore.com/. We are adding 
  ships and figurines for gamers in our shop on 
  Shapeways: 
  https://www.shapeways.com/shops/amarillo-design-
  bureau-inc. 
  
   
  Page 286  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Star Fleet Universe 
  LET’S PLAY... 
  STAR FLEET BATTLES 
   
  Let’s play a sample turn of Star Fleet Battles, us-
  ing the rules and ships from the Cadet Training 
  Handbook which is available as a free PDF on both 
  DriveThru RPG and Warehouse 23. The Cadet book 
  is specifically designed to teach you the game, and 
  opens the doors to the entire Star Fleet Universe. 
  Here is your ship, the Federation heavy cruiser (CA) 
  Eagle (the card is called an “SSD”).  
  The first action in 
  each turn is to de-
  termine how much 
  energy 
  you 
  have 
  available. 
  In 
  this 
  case, you can see 
  the 16 boxes of warp 
  power, two impulse 
  boxes, and two APR 
  (auxiliary power re-
  actor) boxes, for a 
  total of 20 points of 
  power. (This is a 
  “cadet ship” for be-
  ginners; the ships in 
  Basic Set are larger 
  and 
  have 
  more 
  systems.) 
   
  A Klingon D7 is 
  out there, so arm the weapons! Two points of warp 
  energy go into each photon, and one point goes into 
  each phaser. This leaves 12 points of warp and one 
  point of impulse, for a total speed of 13, fairly fast for a 
  cadet ship. 
   
   
  As you can see in the map above, your ship is 
  maneuvering toward the Klingon. Looking at the turn 
  mode chart (part of the SSD), you see at a speed of 13 
  your ship has a turn mode of 2, meaning that it must 
  move two hexes forward in a straight line before it can 
  turn. The cadet game turn is divided into 16 impulses, 
  and your ship will move during 13 of these, not moving 
  during Impulses #1, #6, and #11. The map shows only 
  part of the action during the game turn, during which 
  you moved toward the Klingon, turned across his bow, 
  and achieved the position shown by the counter on 
  Impulse #7. 
   
  During each impulse, you will have the opportunity 
  to fire your weapons. At the particular point shown on 
  the map (which is Impulse #7), you have two possible 
  targets, the Klingon ship and a nuclear-armed drone 
  which is maneuvering to hit your ship. You will engage 
  both targets. 
   
  Note the small six-pointed firing arc diagram 
  above the ship, indicating the six possible arcs into 
  which weapons can fire. 
   
  The drone will be engaged by phaser #2, the left 
  side phaser. Note that this phaser can fire into the 
  three 60° arcs designated LF (left front), L (left), and 
  LR (left rear), and that the drone is in the left front fir-
  ing arc. To fire a phaser-1, you will of course use the 
  Phaser-1 Table, which is shown below: 
   
   
   
  You roll one six-sided die, and the result is a 4. As 
  the drone is three hexes away (Range 3), you cross-
  index the die roll with the range to determine that the 
  phaser scored 4 damage points on the drone. Since a 
  drone is killed by 4 damage points, the drone is de-
  stroyed and will not threaten your ship again. 
   
  Now you will fire at the Klingon ship itself. There 
  are two phasers (#1 and #3) able to fire on the 
  Klingon, which is in the right front firing arc (RF). (Note 
  that phaser #2 could not have fired at the Klingon ship 
  in any case, since it cannot fire into the RF arc.) Roll 
  two dice, one for each phaser. You get a 1 and a 5, 
  scoring (at Range 4, as you can tell by the map) 4 
  damage points. 
   
  Now for the photon torpedoes! These work differ-
  ently than phasers. If they hit, they will do 8 damage 
  points regardless of the range (up to a maximum of 30 
  hexes).  
   
   
  
   
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  You roll one die for each photon, with results of a 
  2 and a 3. Since both of these results are within the hit 
  range (1-4) for this range, both have hit! This scores 
  another 16 points of damage on the Klingon D7, for a 
  total of 24. 
   
  Notice from the map that the Klingon ship’s #1 
  shield (the one covering the 60° hex side facing for-
  ward) is facing your ship. This shield stops the first 16 
  points of damage you caused, but is now “down.” The 
  Klingon also used the reserve power from his two 
  batteries to block another two points of damage, leav-
  ing six to be resolved internally. This damage is re-
  solved by die rolls on a Damage Allocation Chart, de-
  stroying two hull boxes, two engine boxes, and two 
  other boxes, which you can see marked on the SSD. 
  Note that one drone has been fired from the rack. 
   
   
   
  Having inflicted severe damage on the Klingon 
  ship, you now turn 60° away from him and move out of 
  his range. 
   
  The Klingon retreats, giving you control of the star 
  system! You have saved another planet from tyranny. 
   
   
  This is a Starline 2500 miniature of the Federation 
  heavy cruiser.  
   
  This is the matching Klingon D7 in the Starline 2500 
  line of miniatures. 
   
  CAPTAIN’S LOG AND OTHER PRODUCTS 
   
  Captain’s Log is the primary way Amarillo 
  Design Bureau, Inc. releases new material for 
  either playtest or use by players. While its focus 
  is on the wargames Star Fleet Battles, Federa-
  tion Commander, and Federation & Empire, it 
  usually has an article pertaining to Prime Di-
  rective. Sometimes it is introducing a new spe-
  cies, sometimes we provide information about a 
  new weapon, sometimes we provide a planetary 
  survey, and sometimes we provide more infor-
  mation about a known species. Many times the 
  fiction can be used to spark an adventure. The 
  system agnostic book Away Team Log collects 
  many of these articles from earlier Captain’s 
  Logs. It is available in paper or PDF. 
   
   
   
  
   
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  LET’S PLAY... 
  FEDERATION COMMANDER 
   
  Your starship, the USS Saratoga, is patrolling the 
  area when the Class I alarm comes through via sub-
  space. A deadly space amoeba is wandering through 
  an inhabited region of the Federation, its deadly en-
  ergy field causing death and destruction wherever it 
  goes. This monster is dangerous, but not particularly 
  evil; it is in fact simply a wild animal that is not aware 
  of how many sentient beings it has killed. 
   
  Saddened that you may have to kill the creature to 
  stop its attacks, but outraged by the number of Feder-
  ation citizens already killed, your ship accelerates to 
  warp seven. Arriving at the last planet devastated by 
  the monster, you follow its ion trail until at last you 
  make contact. 
   
  What to do? While space amoebas are common 
  enough, there are many different kinds, and what will 
  kill, or drive away, one species will have no effect on 
  another. You must approach the monster and gain 
  scientific information points before you can discover 
  the correct solution to this particular problem. 
   
   
  Take Command! 
   
  You are playing Federation Commander, the 
  latest starship combat game from Amarillo Design 
  Bureau, Inc. In fact, you are using a starship from the 
  first product in the FC line (Klingon Border) and a 
  monster from the fourth (Romulan Attack). This is no 
  problem as all elements of the entire line work to-
  gether. You could play the scenario using a Klingon, 
  Gorn, Romulan, or Tholian cruiser and you could be 
  fighting the Planet Killer, Death Probe, Space Dragon, 
  Juggernaut, or even one of the other cruisers. For that 
  matter, an entire fleet of a dozen ships could be at-
  tacking a planet defended by a starbase and a smaller 
  squadron of enemy ships, but save that for your next 
  game. Right now, you have a space amoeba on your 
  scanners and a populated planet only minutes away. 
   
  Target in Sight! 
   
  You place the six mounted map panels in a rec-
  tangle on the gaming table, and decide to use the side 
  with the smaller hexes (and the corresponding smaller 
  counters) in order to give yourself plenty of room. 
  During the game, the space amoeba (using an op-
  tional rule) will continue to move in one direction (to-
  ward the nearby colony). As it approaches the edge of 
  the map, you simply move the panels on the opposite 
  side to extend the map in the direction the monster is 
  moving, and slide the whole array so it stays on the 
  table. 
   
  Your ship begins 200,000 kilometers (20 hexes) 
  away from the monster. At the start of the turn, you 
  count your power (the blue boxes on your ship card) 
  which comes to 36 points (the four batteries are not 
  available as you used them to pre-load your photon 
  torpedoes). You pay 24 points for a baseline speed of 
  24 (to close in on the monster) and head straight for 
  him. The problem is that the monster is moving eight 
  hexes per turn away from you, meaning you will still be 
  four hexes away at the end of the turn. That would 
  give you only 32 points of lab information, and you 
  need at least 40 (since you need 200 total and the 
  most you can get in one turn is 80). During this first 
  turn, you pay five points of power (during five of the 
  eight impulses) to move faster, and end the turn three 
  hexes away. The rest of your power holds the armed 
  photon torpedoes ready to fire. 
   
  As this is your closest approach during the turn, 
  you gain (see the chart in the amoeba diagram) six 
  points for each of your eight labs, for a total of 48 
  points. The amoeba scores four points of damage on 
  your forward shield, reducing it from the original 30 
  boxes to 26. No worries. 
   
  During the second turn, you pay for a baseline 
  speed of 16, enough to catch the amoeba and fly di-
  rectly through his hex. This produces 10 points for 
  each of your eight labs, and your total is now 128. 
  Unfortunately, that close approach cost you eight 
  points of damage. Because you "side-slipped" into the 
  amoeba hex, you take this on the #6 shield, preserving 
  as much as you can of the vital #1 shield. You end 
  Turn #2 five hexes away and pay some leftover energy 
  to fix the shields. 
   
  Plotting 16 points of speed during Turn #3, you 
  make a series of turns to fly back into the amoeba's 
  hex, again gaining 80 points of information (you now 
  have 208 and the science officer wants to talk to you). 
  
   
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  Your ship takes another eight points of damage, this 
  time on the #2 shield. While you didn't need the extra 
  speed to get to the amoeba, you needed it so you 
  could fly past him and reverse course, bringing your 
  forward weapons to bear at the end of the turn. 
   
  If this turns out badly, you have to be ready to 
  attack. 
   
  What Is This Monster Made Of? 
   
  A die roll will now reveal what the science officer 
  has found out. You are hoping to get a "6" which will 
  mean telepathic contact with the amoeba and allow 
  your science officer to ask him nicely to go away. 
  You'll settle for a "2" or a "4" which would be a rela-
  tively easy kill; you would just have to pay a few points 
  of power to load a probe with anti-matter or rip the 
  amoeba's skin apart with a tractor beam. What you do 
  not want is a "5" which will require more laboratory 
  study. This has taken too long as you have a poker 
  game with the planetary governor to get to! 
   
  You get a "3" which means you are going to have 
  to shoot this poor amoeba to death. While the duty is 
  sad, it must be done to save sentient lives. Maybe 
  your lab reports will help scientists learn more and fu-
  ture amoebas can be controlled? No matter, the deed 
  must be done. 
   
  Ok, who's kidding themselves here? We're going 
  to go blow this monster into small pieces, and we're 
  going to enjoy doing it! 
   
  Closing in for the Kill 
   
  You have already decided on a close-range gun-
  fight, which is why you are only a few hexes from the 
  monster and pointed directly at him. If you had plenty 
  of time, you could stay out of the range where the 
  amoeba can damage your ship (say, 11 or 12 hexes) 
  and pick the monster to death. At that range, you'll do 
  an average of 20 points of damage per turn, and will 
  need five or six turns to finish this battle.  
   
  Who wants to wait that long? 
   
  You pay eight points for speed, and that leaves 
  you with 28 points of power and the four batteries. 
  Your ship has four photon torpedoes, which were 
  armed when the game began. To cause maximum 
  destruction, you pay another 16 points (four per tor-
  pedo) to "overload" the tubes, doubling their damage 
  output from eight to 16 each. (This leaves you with 12 
  points of power to spend this turn. Until you started 
  firing weapons, you really didn't have any kind of 
  power shortage to worry about.) 
   
  Closing to a range of one hex (10,000 kilometers), 
  you fire all four photons with an automatic chance of a 
  hit, scoring 64 of the 100 points of damage needed to 
  kill the amoeba. 
   
  You next fire the six phaser-1s that aim forward 
  (paying one point of energy each, leaving yourself with 
  only six), scoring another 28 points of damage. Note 
  that you had to aim your entire ship directly at the 
  amoeba so that the phasers on both sides of the sau-
  cer could fire forward. 
   
  That's 92 damage points, not enough for a kill! 
  (You were hoping for a bit better than average die rolls 
  to cover that deficit, but the dice were not with you.) 
  However, you are not out of phasers yet! 
   
  There are two small "defensive" phaser-3s (de-
  signed as a last ditch defense against Klingon nuclear 
  missiles and Romulan plasma torpedoes) which can 
  fire in any direction. Each costs half of an energy point 
  to fire, and each of them could score four points, but 
  (bad die rolls!) one of them scores only three. Your 
  total is 99, and that's not enough! 
   
  Flying directly over the amoeba, you wait until you 
  are on the other side and use your rear arc "tail guns" 
  to score the final points of damage. The amoeba will 
  never harm anyone again! Of course, this was a very 
  easy "beginner" battle. Most space amoebas are twice 
  this big! 
   
  Run and Gun! 
   
  Everything about Federation Commander is de-
  signed for fast play. Energy allocation (after selecting a 
  speed) is done "on the fly," paying for weapons, accel-
  eration, deceleration, tractors, shield reinforcement, 
  transporters, or special maneuvers as you use them. If 
  you run out of power before the end of the turn, your 
  original speed will carry you out of the way (or so you 
  hope!) so you can attack again on the next turn. Ships 
  come in two scales (so battles with larger fleets can 
  still be played in an hour or two). The entire rulebook is 
  only 64 pages (in very big type) and everything you 
  really need is on one reference card! 
   
  
   
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Star Fleet Universe 
  STANDARD PLANETARY CLASSES 
   
  For purposes of reference, Vulcan scientists 
  established a number of broad categories of planetary 
  types. Some very different planets can fit into a single 
  category, and some planets at the limits of one cate-
  gory may be similar to planets in an entirely different 
  category. The categories are: 
   
  Class A: This is a “hot” gas giant such as Jupiter 
  which generates internal heat. There is no “surface” 
  per se, just an increasingly dense atmosphere. 
   
  Class B: This is a “cold” gas giant (does not 
  generate internal heat), smaller and farther from the 
  star, such as Uranus. It also has no surface. 
   
  Class C: This is a “hothouse” planet such as 
  Venus, with a corrosive and/or toxic atmosphere. 
   
  Class D: This is an airless rock such as Luna. 
  Classes D, I, and J are three different points on the 
  same spectrum of airless rocks floating in space. 
   
  Class E: This is a “super-terrestrial” world, basi-
  cally a larger-than-Earth planet with an atmosphere 
  and biosphere and at least marginally habitable. 
   
  Class F: This planet has a sulfurous atmosphere. 
   
  Class G: A dry desert planet with no oceans, such 
  as Mars. It may be cold or hot. Its atmosphere may be 
  thin or without oxygen. There is rarely a biosphere. 
   
  Class H: This is an “early Earth” planet with a de-
  veloping biosphere (mostly bacteria, some low-grade 
  plants). The atmosphere will be unbreathable. 
   
  Class I: A rocky planet hot enough to melt lead, 
  such as Mercury. The atmosphere (if any) will probably 
  be thin and there will be no recognizable biosphere. 
   
  Class J: This is a cold rocky planet with thin-to-no 
  atmosphere. Temperatures are below freezing, any 
  water (and there may be none or very little) will be 
  frozen, and there will be no recognizable biosphere. 
   
  Class K: This is a desert world with a breathable 
  atmosphere and a working biosphere, such as Vulcan. 
  There will be some small oceans, lakes, or seas, but 
  these will be limited and brackish. 
   
  Class L: A world like Earth, but with far less water. 
  Oceans cover less than 30% of the surface; there will 
  be a breathable atmosphere and a working biosphere. 
   
  Class M: This planet is Earth-like. 
   
  Class N: Like Earth, but oceans cover 90% of the 
  surface and humidity is high. 
   
  Class O: Like Earth, but much colder, with exten-
  sive glaciers trapping most of the water. 
   
  Class P: Most of the atmosphere is frozen into 
  glaciers of carbon-dioxide or other gases. 
   
  Class Q: A frozen iceball that is more of a huge 
  comet than a small planet. The orbit will often be 
  erratic, and this is usually the outermost planet. 
   
  Class R: A toxic atmosphere on a planet that is 
  otherwise Class J, Class K, Class L, Class M, Class N, 
  or Class O.  
   
  Class S: Frozen methane oceans with floating 
  continents, such as Hydrax. 
   
  Class T: A semi-molten planet, such as Tholia in 
  the M81 Galaxy, with high temperatures (above 
  212°F) and with inorganic life. 
  A FEW INTERESTING PLANETS 
   
  There are plenty of planets and GMs should have 
  no difficulty creating whatever kind of planet is desired 
  for an adventure. Here are a few of the more 
  interesting planets found in the Star Fleet Universe. 
   
  Mad Jack’s Hole (1706) is an airless rock with a 
  self-contained Orion colony. This is known as “the 
  most bizarre bazaar in the galaxy” where anything 
  could be bought and sold if you had enough cash. 
   
  Circle Trigon (5109) is a neutral Class-F planet in 
  the Romulan-Gorn-ISC Neutral Zone. Originally an 
  Orion colony, it functions in a similar role to Mad 
  Jack’s Hole, an open marketplace where all manner of 
  stolen and otherwise discovered things can be found. 
  It is a den of thieves, spies, and pirates run by a 
  Klingon renegade who has amassed enough weapons 
  to ensure only a major fleet can challenge his power 
  over the planet. 
   
  The Romulan-Federation Neutral Zone is host to 
  relatively few interesting planets. 
   
  Helvetia (3912) and Denebola (3415) are former 
  Orion colonies which now function as independent 
  trading planets. Federation and Romulan merchants 
  bring their goods here to exchange to avoid tedious 
  customs and security requirements of actually getting 
  a visa. These are lawful, civilized planets (but of 
  course are awash in spies). 
   
  The Klingon-Federation Neutral Zone is host to no 
  end 
  of 
  amusing 
  and 
  entertaining 
  planets 
  for 
  adventurers. 
   
  Adanerg (1909) is a Class-M Federation colony. 
   
  Bezwell Index (2214) is a neutral planet, but 
  Klingons kidnapped some of their leaders in Y162 to 
  stop a treaty with the Federation. 
   
  Iridima (1912) is a rich source of iridium for which 
  the Klingons and Federation are in a bidding war. 
   
  Leebyahh (2013) is a Class-M planet, populated 
  by a humanoid species regarded as comically para-
  noid. They bought billions of credits worth of cheap 
  Klingon weapons to defend against a Federation inva-
  sion that never came. 
   
  Organia (1913) has a population thought to pre-
  date the Old Kings. Using powerful mental abilities, 
  they were able to prevent any combat within 500 par-
  secs of their planet and served as the intermediaries in 
  the Organian Ceasefire Accord. 
   
  Sherman’s Planet (1910) was in the unfortunate 
  position of being the perfect place for a naval base to 
  support attacks on the Klingon Capital. The Federation 
  insisted that its colony there was purely nonmilitary, 
  but the Klingons continually objected as (innocent in-
  tentions or not) it was a direct threat. Numerous 
  Klingon raids (Y165-Y170) failed to disrupt the colony. 
   
  Rita’s World (2114) is a Class-M Federation 
  colony. 
   
  Tyson’s Star (2315) includes a Federation 
  agricultural colony on the third planet and a Klingon 
  mining colony on the fourth. 
   
  Vanecek (2315) is an unoccupied Class-M planet 
  suitable for colonization. 
  
   
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  MAP OF THE STAR FLEET UNIVERSE 
   
   
   
   
   
  The map at left shows the main area of the Star 
  Fleet Universe, which is also known as the Alpha Octant 
  of the Milky Way Galaxy. To be technically accurate, the 
  map should be curved (as it is a section of the outer rim 
  of the galaxy) but the distortion is minimal and can be 
  ignored. 
   
  This is, literally, the map of the game Federation & 
  Empire, and is used in that game to define everything 
  from ownership to economic power, from supply lines to 
  travel distances, from planetary locations to areas of 
  pirate activity. Larger scale versions of this map are 
  shown on subsequent pages; this small version is 
  provided to show the overall sweep of the Alpha Octant. 
  The map shows the borders that were in effect from the 
  end of the Early Years (about Y125) through the start of 
  the General War (Y168). 
   
  The Federation occupies the center of the map. The 
  Kzintis are to the left of the Federation and the Gorns to 
  the right, both along the top edge, which is toward the 
  center of the Milky Way Galaxy. (The bottom edge of the 
  map is the Galactic Rim.) Enemies are also nearby, the 
  Klingons to the left and the Romulans to the right. 
   
  The Lyrans (allied with the Klingons only because of 
  the Lyrans’ hate for the Kzintis) and the Hydrans (allied 
  with the Federation if only because the Klingons and 
  Lyrans keep invading Hydran space) are to the left (west) 
  end of the map. The Inter-Stellar Concordium is to the 
  right/east. 
   
  Small neutral powers are scattered across the map. 
  The Tholians are in the bottom center; they occupy 
  territory that once belonged to the Klingons and were 
  briefly allied with the Federation. Mostly, the Tholians 
  (refugees from another galaxy) just wanted to be left 
  alone. The Seltorians (former slaves of the Tholians) set 
  up a base in Klingon space near the Tholians. The Lyran 
  Democratic Republic (lower left) is a rebellious province 
  of the Lyrans who broke away to form an independent 
  nation; the county got away with this only because two 
  rival Lyran factions could not afford to see the LDR join 
  the other side. The WYN Star Cluster (upper left) is 
  populated by rebels, refugees, and renegades from the 
  Kzintis, Lyrans, and Klingons. The Orions (just below the 
  map center) are a member of the Federation but declared 
  themselves neutral during parts of the General War. 
   
  The Carnivons once occupied the upper left (north-
  west) corner of the map but were driven away (or 
  destroyed) decades earlier. The Paravians once occupied 
  some territory in the upper right (part of Gorn space, as 
  well as areas later occupied by the Romulans or ISC). 
   
  The Orion Pirates (who are, and are not, linked to the 
  Orion planet and enclave) operate over the entire map 
  (although not in Tholian territory as the Tholians 
  aggressively patrol and protect their small area). Orion 
  Pirates are divided into cartels, each of which controls 
  about 10% of the Alpha Octant. The boundaries between 
  these cartels are fluid and constantly changing. 
   
  The Andromedans invaded our galaxy from outside 
  and operated across most of the Alpha Octant. 
   
  The Omega Octant is to the right of this map, east of 
  the Inter-Stellar Concordium. 
   
  
   
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  Neutral zones separate the empires. Adjoining 
  empires can send a limited number of ships into these 
  areas and can develop colonies there under various 
  treaty limitations. Neutral zones are not “free highways” 
  that would allow, for example, the Federation to attack 
  the Lyrans without going to war with the Klingons. 
   
  Only major industrial planets are on the map. Every 
  hex has a thousand stars and a hundred planets, at least 
  a few of which are occupied by colonists or native 
  sentient species. Most stars that can be seen from Earth 
  are in hex 2908. Some names of nearby stars and 
  features have been reused for more distant stars and 
  features. 
   
  Mention should be made of the handful of “free 
  planets” which existed in neutral zones. They often 
  provided the only direct communications between op-
  posing empires, and the only trade. They were all awash 
  in spies, and everyone tolerated the enemy spies in the 
  hope that their own spies could do a better job. The 
  balance of power made these planets safe havens for 
  Orion Pirates, and they became an open market for 
  stolen weapons and pirate loot. The odd stolen freighter 
  could, for a price, be reregistered at these planets under 
  a number of national flags. 
   
  Mad Jack’s Hole is on a small moon. Ships of many 
  empires made port calls there (the entertainment facilities 
  were legendary). When the General War began and the 
  Klingons captured most of Kzinti space, they left Mad 
  Jack’s Hole as a “free zone” since they could at least 
  count the pirate ships coming and going. A major battle 
  was fought around this base in Y175 when the Federation 
  became annoyed to find its latest fighters on sale to its 
  Kzinti allies and Klingon enemies. 
   
  Denebola was an important trading post between the 
  Federation and Romulans, and was solely responsible for 
  the Federation taste for Romulan Ale. Spies knew each 
  other on a first-name basis, and what passed for peace 
  talks (military conferences to reduce tension) took place 
  here. On the Day of the Eagle (the Romulan invasion of 
  the Federation in Y173), one of the first battles took place 
  at Denebola. 
   
  The planet Revlis is in Romulan space, but was so 
  infested with Orion Pirates that the Romulans (who had 
  only a tenuous hold on the outer areas of their empire) 
  knew better than to try to control it. Pirates used it as an 
  exchange point, buying and selling loot taken from 
  Federation and Romulan convoys. The last Klingon ship 
  operating in Romulan space was able to obtain 
  replacement drones at this bizarre bazaar, and used 
  them when it stopped a Romulan attempt to negotiate a 
  separate peace with the Federation at Oxvind V. 
   
  EASTERN AREA 
   
  The map at left shows the eastern half of the Alpha 
  Octant of the Milky Way Galaxy. This area was domi-
  nated by two empires (the Romulans and the Gorns) 
  although about a third of the Federation is here. The 
  neutral ISC did not even become known to the Romulans 
  and Gorns until Y169 and did not expand to the size 
  shown on the map until the early years of the General 
  War. 
   
  EASTERN AREA INDEX 
   
  Aberdeen (Federation colony) 
  3411 
  Aliser VI (primitive) 
  3404 
  Andichron VI (Federation colony) 
  3309 
  Ankrogea (ancient, dead) 
  3301 
  Aurellius (Romulan minor planet) 
  4313 
  Bazaligth (ISC major planet) 
  5908 
  Cestus (Gorn minor colony) 
  4007 
  Chicago (Federation major colony) 
  3306 
  Circle Trigon (neutral) 
  5109 
  Corrieth (ISC minor planet) 
  5510 
  Dastaal (ISC colony) 
  5313 
  Debrock (Federation protectorate) 
  3514 
  Denebola (neutral) 
  3415 
  Filsingth (ISC minor planet) 
  6111 
  Fornax (Federation protectorate) 
  3413 
  Frallia (Federation associate member) 
  3201 
  Geslok (Gorn minor planet) 
  4001 
  Geydar (Ghdar II, Gorn major system) 
  4403 
  Ghdar (Ghdar I, Gorn capital) 
  4402 
  Gihdahr (Ghdar III, Gorn major system) 
  4503 
  Gijard III (Gorn minor planet) 
  4705 
  Gistardistang (Gorn minor planet) 
  4702 
  Golgotha (Gorn minor planet) 
  4903 
  Gordan’s Planet (Federation planet) 
  3612 
  Gorngella (Gorn colony) 
  4108 
  Gornshima (Romulan colony) 
  4512 
  Gyrennia (Gorn minor planet) 
  5004 
  Helvetia (neutral) 
  3912 
  Hokan (Gorn mining colony) 
  4408 
  Justinia (Romulan minor planet) 
  4112 
  Korlivala (ISC member system) 
  5910 
  Midketh (neutral) 
  4309 
  Morkedia III (Federation mining colony) 
  3414 
  Mynie (Federation associate member) 
  3204 
  Naramar III (Federation minor planet) 
  3005 
  New Marseilles (Federation colony) 
  3504 
  Oxvind (Romulan minor colony) 
  3615 
  Pavarak (neutral) 
  5403 
  Pronhoula (ISC member system) 
  5910 
  Q’naabia (ISC member planet) 
  5810 
  Remus (Romulan secondary capital) 
  4514 
  Revlis (free planet in Romulan space) 
  4018 
  Romulus (Romulan primary capital) 
  4613 
  Rovilla (ISC member system) 
  5910 
  Scylla-Charybdis (navigational feature) 
  3506 
  Sebelia IV (Federation minor planet) 
  3711 
  Sigma Draconis (Federation major planet) 
  3509 
  Skoleos (Federation planet, Gorn 
  mercenaries) 
  3704 
  Tellarite Prime (Federation associate member) 
  3706 
  Tiberius (Romulan major system) 
  4514 
  Tibernia IV (Romulan major planet) 
  4716 
  Trajanus (Romulan minor planet) 
  5619 
  Tuscana (uninhabited) 
  4209 
  Veltressa (ISC member system) 
  5910 
  Vespasia (Romulan minor planet) 
  5117 
  Vesuvius (Romulan major system) 
  4613 
  Vidalia (Federation minor planet) 
  3210 
  Voabalt (ISC minor planet) 
  5507 
  
   
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  WESTERN AREA 
   
   This area is actually “older” than the eastern half; the 
  empires here were fighting wars before the empires in the 
  eastern half of the Alpha Octant had established contact 
  with each other. The current borders were defined by the 
  Four Powers War which preceded the General War. 
  Airsis IV (neutral) 
  2113 
  Aklar III (Klingon Ockt-tah Academy) 
  1513 
  Allen’s Planet (Federation colony) 
  2002 
  Alpha Centauri (Federation member system) 
  2908 
  Altroth (Hydran Lost Colony) 
  Off Map 
  Andor (Federation member system) 
  2908 
  Annox (Federation colony) 
  2209 
  Antares (Federation member system) 
  2610 
  Anthraxan (Hydran major system) 
  0617 
  Arcturia (Federation associate member) 
  2715 
  Bakuria (Klingon warrior colony) 
  1210 
  Bargantine (Klingon subject world) 
  1114 
  Bcalath (Lyran colony) 
  0604 
  Bezwell Index (neutral) 
  2214 
  Big Valley (Federation colony) 
  2106 
  Blackfoot Pass (navigational feature) 
  1909 
  Bolmark (Lyran major planet) 
  0408 
  Byrantan (Lyran major planet) 
  0307 
  Codimark (Federation minor colony) 
  2510 
  Cromarg (Klingon subject race) 
  1513 
  Darmot (Klingon colony) 
  1416 
  Degomark (Lyran minor planet) 
  0205 
  Demorak (LDR capital) 
  0711 
  Diablo Asteroid Field (Orion base) 
  2106 
  Dimitris (Kzinti minor planet) 
  1802 
  Dunkaria (Klingon subject race) 
  1112 
  Earth-Sol (Federation member system) 
  2908 
  Farlin (Klingon colony) 
  1407 
  Foremark (Lyran minor planet) 
  0607 
  Frakmark (Lyran major system) 
  0408 
  Garar VI (Lyran minor planet) 
  0709 
  Hilidaria (Klingon subject race) 
  1010 
  Hycoman (Hydran colony) 
  0516 
  Hydrafahl (Hydran minor planet) 
  0519 
  Hydramax (Hydran major system) 
  0617 
  Hydrax (Hydran capital system) 
  0617 
  Hydraxaport (Hydran major planet) 
  0718 
  Hyurdju (Hydran colony) 
  0814 
  Iridima (neutral) 
  1912 
  K’brogrh (Klingon minor planet) 
  2216 
  K’t’tothos IV (Klingon mining colony) 
  2316 
  Kadrak (Klingon major system) 
  1411 
  Kalesta (Klingon colony, held by Tholians) 
  2919 
  Kangor (Klingon major system) 
  1411 
  Keevarsh (Kzinti major system) 
  1401 
  Kelanon (Klingon colony, held by Tholians) 
  2919 
  Kindlai (Kzinti major planet) 
  1502 
  Klardon (Klingon major system) 
  1411 
  Klegarine (Klingon planet) 
  1611 
  Klinshai (Klingon capital system) 
  1411 
  Klomarth (Klingon major planet) 
  1714 
  Kordahn (Klingon colony, held by Tholians) 
  2919 
  Krooth (Hydran Lost Colony) 
  Off Map 
  Kypruss (Klingon major planet) 
  2518 
  Kzintai (Kzinti capital system) 
  1401 
  Landfalk (Klingon colony) 
  1114 
  Leebyahh (neutral, pro-Klingon) 
  2013 
  Lumien (Kzinti minor planet) 
  1504 
  Lyrantan (Lyran capital system) 
  0408 
  Mad Jack’s Hole (neutral-pirate) 
  1706 
  Meva (Federation planet) 
  2704 
  Minxitith (Hydran Lost Colony) 
  Off Map 
  Novorosibirsk (Federation minor planet) 
  2509 
  Organia (neutral) 
  1913 
  Orion (Orion capital planet) 
  2812 
  Osiris (Orion minor planet) 
  2811 
  Pacifica (Federation major planet) 
  2708 
  Paktar (Federation member system, Deians) 
  2505 
  Phtha III (Hydran minor planet) 
  0416 
  Phylos (Klingon system) 
  1707 
  Pleiades Star Cluster (astronomical feature) 
  2011 
  Pollux IX (Federation minor colony) 
  2213 
  Ponderosa IV (Federation colony) 
  2106 
  Prelaria (Federation associate member) 
  2705 
  Rigel (Federation member system) 
  2908 
  Rita’s Planet (Federation colony) 
  1912 
  Roon (developing planet) 
  2805 
  Sefaria (Klingon warrior colony) 
  1312 
  Selnar (Klingon minor colony) 
  1110 
  Sentria (primitive) 
  2803 
  Sheboygan III (Federation minor planet) 
  2403 
  Sherman’s Planet (neutral) 
  1910 
  Shiloh (Federation colony) 
  2106 
  Shresha-Cygnus (Federation member) 
  2306 
  Silmark (Lyran major planet) 
  0810 
  Skagmark (Lyran major planet) 
  0509 
  Slirdaria (Klingon subject race) 
  1511 
  Southfork IX (Federation colony) 
  2106 
  Thetis (Federation colony) 
  2314 
  Tholia (Tholian Dyson sphere) 
  2919 
  Tyson’s Star (disputed) 
  2315 
  Valoria (Klingon warrior colony) 
  1514 
  Vanecek (disputed) 
  2315 
  Vielsalm (Kzinti major system) 
  1401 
  Volmark (Lyran major system) 
  0408 
  Vronkett (Kzinti major planet) 
  1401 
  Vudar (Klingon subject race) 
  1619 
  Vulcan (Federation member system) 
  2908 
  Vultrax (Vulcan secondary planet) 
  2908 
  Walkuria (Klingon warrior colony) 
  1916 
  Zamyan (Kzinti minor planet) 
  1001 
  Zelkrat (Kzinti minor planet) 
  1105 
  Zilmark (Lyran minor planet) 
  0709 
  Zimdars (Kzinti minor planet) 
  1202 
  Zoolax (Klingon subject race) 
  1210 
  Zursk (disputed) 
  1506 
  
   
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  WARP FACTORS & SPACE MOVEMENT 
   
   
  Starship movement is needed in Prime Directive 
  to get the characters from one place to another (usu-
  ally from where they are to where the planned adven-
  ture takes place). This is a factor of how far you need 
  to travel (including any detours to avoid enemy terri-
  tory, ongoing wars, active piracy zones, or whatever), 
  what kind of ship you have (cargo and merchant ships 
  cannot go as fast as warships), and whether it is using 
  its normal cruising speed (which has the most eco-
  nomical fuel consumption) or its faster “dash” speed 
  (which burns fuel and spare parts like crazy). Warp 
  Factors are one term in a complex equation defining 
  speed, but are the most easily grasped term in com-
  mon speech. For movement in GPD, however, calcu-
  lations are done in parsecs (a measure of distance 
  rather than speed). 
   
  The following chart provides the relevant data. 
   
  Freighters include standard commercial ships not 
  intended for combat. They have no “dash speed.” 
   
  Non-Tactical Warp is the earliest form of warp 
  drive, e.g., used by Romulan sublight ships. 
   
  Auxiliary Warp is used by naval auxiliaries, basi-
  cally freighter hulls with military-grade engines. Some 
  civilian-owned ships have this type of engine. 
   
  Early Tactical Warp is used around Y100-Y125 by 
  the first ships built “from the keel up” for warp. 
   
  Standard Warp is the military grade engines seen 
  on most starships. Note that a few civilian ships have 
  this type of engine. 
   
  Fast Warp is used only by fast cruisers, light 
  dreadnoughts, Federation Express high-speed trans-
  ports, and the later X-ships. 
   
  Dash speed (shown for auxiliary, standard, and 
  fast ships) is explained under Dash Speed below. 
  Early and non-tactical warp ships cannot use dash 
  movement. Note that auxiliary ships cannot “dash” 
  more than 1,004 parsecs in a 30-day period as their 
  engines cannot take the heat. 
  Drive Type 
  Warp 
  Factor 
  Parsecs 
  per 
  Month 
  Parsecs 
  per Day 
  Freighters 
  4.5 
  149 
  4.97 
  Non-Tactical 
  Warp 
  5.5 
  272 
  9.07 
  Auxiliary Warp 
  5.5 
  272 
  9.07 
  Early Tactical 
  Warp 
  6 
  353 
  11.77 
  Standard Warp 
  7 
  561 
  18.7 
  Fast Warp 
  7.25 
  623 
  20.77 
  Auxiliary Dash 
  8.5 
  1,004* 
  108.41 
  Standard Dash 
  9.25 
  13,088 
  436.27 
  Fast Dash 
  9.5+ 
  14,094 
  469.80 
   
  *Note that auxiliary ships can only use dash speeds for 
  fewer than 10 days in any 30-day period. 
   
   
  Calculating Movement 
   
  You are playing GURPS Prime Directive and you 
  need to get your ship from where it is to where you 
  want to be. This is a relatively simple procedure. First, 
  find the origin and destination on the map. For simplic-
  ity, just count the hexes (each is 500 parsecs across). 
  (See Precise Distance on p. 297 for more complex cal-
  culations.) 
   
  Determine whether your ship will use normal cruis-
  ing speed or (if it can) dash speed. Get the relevant 
  number from the chart, and divide it into the distance. 
   
  For example, you need to get from Earth (hex 
  2908) to Orion (hex 2812) in order to foil a plot to se-
  cretly build a new pirate starship. This is a distance of 
  5 hexes or 2,500 parsecs. You are flying in a Free 
  Trader with military auxiliary engines (9 parsecs per 
  day). Divide 9 into 2,500 and it will take you 277 days 
  to reach there. Or perhaps you are in a Prime Trader 
  with standard starship engines (18 parsecs per day). 
  This will take you only 134 days. Even this is still too 
  slow; the pirates must be stopped! Dash speed for 
  your standard engines is 436 parsecs per day, so you 
  will need only a little under six days to get there, but 
  this will burn a lot of fuel and spare parts (5% of the 
  cost of your ship!). But you’re on government per 
  diem, so go right ahead. 
   
  Having foiled the pirates, you now need to go from 
  Earth to the Klingon capital (hex 1411) in the company 
  of a special ambassador. This is a distance of 15 
  hexes (7,500 parsecs) and travel at dash speeds will 
  take 17 (7,500 ÷ 436) days plus a few hours. The only 
  problem here is that you will need to stop and refuel 
  twice in this trip (as dash speed is limited to 3,000 par-
  secs without more fuel) and each refueling will take 
  half a day (plus time for side trips, adventures, bar 
  fights, etc.). Figure 20 days and you’d be about right. 
  You can get fuel at the Federation base in 2308 and 
  (since you have been invited) can buy fuel at the 
  Klingon base at 1809. You could also get fuel from the 
  neutral planet in 1910. 
   
  Dash Speed 
   
  The concept of “dash speed” is one that is im-
  portant to understand. Dash speed is used only when 
  the ship has a clear path, a known and well-marked 
  destination, and a serious need to be somewhere else 
  in a major hurry. It is much faster than normal cruising 
  speed, but the penalties are severe (and most of them 
  do not show up in game terms, causing players to be-
  lieve, incorrectly, that dash speed is free and the most 
  common way of moving around). Dash speed means, 
  literally, driving the ship to its maximum speed, going 
  “hell for leather” or “riding with wild abandon.” The 
  distortion of space needed for this speed is so severe 
  that navigation is difficult (requiring outside help) and 
  the ship is nearly blind and defenseless (meaning that 
  
   
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Star Fleet Universe 
  Page 297 
   
  dash speed is rarely used to get into trouble). The en-
  gines will be strained (causing a serious maintenance 
  cost and shortening the time to the next dockyard 
  overhaul) and tremendous quantities of fuel are used. 
   
  Dash speed is often used for emergency strategic 
  redeployments; Fleet headquarters really needs more 
  ships in the other part of the Federation (or Empire, or 
  whatever) and really needs them to be there right now. 
  (Sometimes this would happen in peacetime, when a 
  special ship or team of experts is needed to deal with 
  an immediate crisis.) There must be a navigational 
  beacon at the destination (of the kind only provided by 
  major industrial planets, starbases, and other major 
  bases; minor colonies do not have this capability). 
  Fortunately, such redeployment is made along a net-
  work of bases, which provide the fuel, quick mainte-
  nance overhauls, and navigation beacons needed for 
  dash speed. Warships can conduct extended strategic 
  movement only if they make a half-day “pit stop” at a 
  base every 3,000 parsecs (or whatever the normal six-
  month movement distance is). This type of movement 
  is known as “Strategic Movement” in the strategic 
  game system Federation & Empire; such redeploy-
  ment is also just about the only time that dash speed is 
  used for extended periods. For price comparison, each 
  month of this movement would typically cost 10% of 
  the price of the ship. 
   
  Dash speed is used for shorter periods in an 
  operational context. This could be broken into three 
  types of operational maneuver. 
   
  The movement of reserve ships to a critical sector 
  is controlled by bases with powerful scanners to guide 
  their movement, and a wartime fleet of 200 ships 
  would be able to maneuver no more than a dozen 
  ships by this method in any six-month period. This 
  would be limited to a maximum of 3,000 parsecs for 
  normal warships (basically, six months of movement in 
  a single week). In peacetime, this might be used to get 
  a special ship, team, or supplies to a critical planet. 
  Civilian ships could in theory use this for some reason 
  important to their adventure or enterprise. For price 
  comparison, a trip at this speed would typically cost 
  5% of the price of the ship. 
   
  The movement of warships to intercept enemy 
  forces or to respond to a crisis often uses dash speed, 
  but this is limited to 500 parsecs (1,000 parsecs if the 
  maneuver is guided by the powerful sensors of a base 
  or scout-ship). This type of maneuver can also be 
  used to retreat from the immediate area of a battle or 
  threat (up to 500 parsecs). For price comparison, a 
  maneuver at this speed would typically add 3% of the 
  cost of the ship to the trip. 
   
  Warships which have been damaged in battle or 
  which are trying to escape from an area where the en-
  emy has overwhelming force might use retrograde 
  movement. This allows warships to move up to 3,000 
  parsecs (basically, a distance equal to their normal 
  operational movement) but only out of combat or dan-
  ger and only when moving to a major base or industrial 
  planet or a specialized fleet repair facility. In peace-
  time, characters might use this type of movement try-
  ing to rush a wounded person to a specialized medical 
  facility, or to return key items (evidence, artifacts, wit-
  nesses, whatever) to a major headquarters. For price 
  comparison, a maneuver at this speed would typically 
  add 5% of the cost of the ship to the trip. 
   
  In all cases, the GM may decide to waive the cost 
  if the characters are using a government ship for the 
  convenience and business of the government in ques-
  tion, or if the government has some reason to reim-
  burse them for the cost. If a ship is hired to carry 
  something somewhere, and the people doing the hir-
  ing want delivery right away, the characters need to be 
  sure to make them pay the cost. If you are a Star Fleet 
  crisis team and Star Fleet Headquarters wants you on 
  Rigel-IV, then Star Fleet can (and will) pay for it. If you 
  are the only engineer who knows how to fix an old 
  Mark-II reactor and somebody wants it fixed, they can 
  pay to get you there. In some cases, however, when a 
  team is conducting a mission within a defined budget, 
  the GM may decide that even though the cost doesn’t 
  come out of the characters’ personal funds, it does 
  come out of their operating budget, and using dash 
  speed may mean that they don’t have money they will 
  later wish they had saved. 
   
  Precise Distance 
   
  There are two methods for improving accuracy in 
  distance calculations; either or both may be used. 
   
  In one case, do not count hexes but measure the 
  distance from the center of the starting hex to the 
  center of the destination hex with a ruler (or marks on 
  a slip of paper) and then transfer this to a straight row 
  of hexes and determine the equivalent number of 
  hexes (including fractions). By this method, the dis-
  tance from Earth to Orion is about 4.6 hexes (2,300 
  parsecs) and from Earth to Klinshai is 13.7 hexes 
  (6,850 parsecs). 
   
  The second method is to assume that the origin 
  and destination are not in the center of the hex. The 
  GM might want to define the precise point in space for 
  each planet (as a distance from each hex side) or you 
  could simply calculate the nominal distance and roll 
  2d6 on this chart: 
   
  Die Roll 
  Modify Distance by 
  2 
  -400 parsecs 
  3 
  -300 parsecs 
  4 
  -200 parsecs 
  5 
  -100 parsecs 
  6 
  -50 parsecs 
  7 
  No change 
  8 
  +50 parsecs 
  9 
  +100 parsecs 
  10 
  +200 parsecs 
  11 
  +300 parsecs 
  12 
  +400 parsecs 
  
   
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Star Fleet Universe 
   
  GMs might want to keep a record of such dis-
  tances for future use, or assume that temporary local 
  conditions along the route mean that every trip be-
  tween two points takes a slightly different route and a 
  slightly different distance. 
   
  Interstellar Communications 
   
  Subspace radio will allow two-way communica-
  tions without time-lag anywhere in the same hex. After 
  that point, assume a time-lag of one quarter-hour per 
  hex. And by all means, if the pace of the adventure 
  means that the team should not be able to talk to base 
  so easily, all kinds of ion storms can cause havoc with 
  communications. Messages might have to be rerouted 
  through bases not in a direct path to the characters. 
   
  CIVILIAN TRANSPORTATION 
   
  The Star Fleet Universe is at the same time a 
  very large and a very small place. Long-range 
  transport requires a starship, but short-range travel 
  (within a single 500-parsec map hex) is handled by a 
  variety of ships, shuttles, and systems. There is very 
  advanced transportation technology available and the 
  implications of this technology are not always obvious. 
  This article will explain transportation options that are 
  available for use and, where possible, refer to histori-
  cal methods of transportation to illustrate what the raw 
  numbers represent. 
   
  On major planets, characters have several options 
  to get from here to there: they can avoid going alto-
  gether and instead trivideo conference, or get any-
  where on the planet or within 50kkms via transporters, 
  or they can use shuttlecraft. The GM will need to de-
  termine the availability of transporters on each world 
  (transporters do take trained people to operate them 
  which limits their use somewhat). The standard ad-
  ministrative shuttlecraft is a very versatile craft and, 
  while it is not designed for high-speed travel in the at-
  mosphere, it has plenty of power to reach orbit. Regu-
  lar commercial travel by these shuttles (mostly the 
  much larger size-4 versions) is as available as current 
  air transport. A yacht has much more room and com-
  fort, but is the same speed as a shuttlecraft. To get to 
  the other side of the typical Class-M world only takes 
  about 20 minutes: 7 minutes to climb from sea level to 
  50 miles altitude at 400 mph (a conservative subsonic 
  speed), 6 minutes to get clearance from the local traf-
  fic control and orbit the planet at high speed, and 7 
  minutes to descend back to sea level. As a point of 
  comparison, in the early 21st century a person who 
  only had to spend 20 minutes each way getting to 
  work in a major city would be considered lucky. 
   
  As you move beyond 50kkms, the transporter 
  ceases to be an option and you are left with trivideo 
  conferencing or shuttlecraft. Major planets strongly 
  discourage use of high warp within 15 light-hours from 
  the system’s sun (this is approximately a second of 
  travel for a ship at high warp), some to the point of 
  firing on any craft that hasn’t identified itself and is us-
  ing high warp within this distance (and since the 
  slightest amount of damage will vaporize a large ship 
  at high warp, it’s not something to risk). Even without 
  using high warp, a solar system is still a fairly small 
  place. Using a shuttle’s tactical warp engines (Warp 
  2.5), a trip from Earth to Luna will take approximately 
  eight minutes (seven minutes to clear Earth’s atmos-
  phere and a second to get to Luna and then a minute 
  to land). Traveling out to any point in Sol’s asteroid 
  belt could take as long as nine minutes. Even the outer 
  planets are not far away; traveling from Earth to Pluto 
  will take about 30 minutes by shuttle at Warp 2.5. The 
  high-warp limit of 15 light-hours will take less than an 
  hour to travel by shuttle. 
   
  Once you leave a solar system, a shuttle starts to 
  become much more inconvenient. While shuttles and 
  yachts can be equipped with a “long-range” pod to 
  provide the fuel and supplies for such a trip, traveling 
  to other star systems by shuttle/yacht takes a lot more 
  time. A trip from Sol to Alpha Centauri at Warp 2.5 will 
  take approximately 36 hours; traveling from Earth to 
  Vulcan will take about six days. While these times 
  don’t seem completely unreasonable (on 21st century 
  Earth, trips by automobile of such durations were 
  common for things like annual vacations), for the sim-
  ilar passage a shuttle or even a yacht will seem very 
  small after a few days. (Remember that even a large 
  yacht is only about three times the size of an admin 
  shuttle so it would have about 258 square feet of floor 
  space). 
   
  However there are many other options available 
  for interstellar travel. Numerous companies run regu-
  larly scheduled trips between systems. The craft used 
  for this are a mix of passenger liner and ferry designs, 
  often based on the standard small freighter with its 
  98.4 feet x 656.2 feet cargo pod. (Such a ship already 
  has no less than 16 docking ports able to handle shut-
  tlecraft, and by simply removing some interior parti-
  tions on Decks 5 and 6, dozens of shuttles could be 
  parked inside, leaving the other 70% of the ship to 
  carry standard cargo.) For short duration runs, you will 
  see craft that have large shuttle bays. People just fly 
  their shuttles up to the ship, dock, and stay in the 
  shuttle the entire trip (with a small lounge for people 
  who board by transporter). For longer trips, you will 
  have more space allocated to lounges, sleeping quar-
  ters, etc. 
   
  The various types of ships available and the transit 
  times for the design are (in order of increasing cost): 
   
  Slow freighter, Warp 4.5: Earth-Alpha Centauri, 6 
  hours; Earth-Vulcan, 24 hours. 
  Fast freighter, Warp 5.5: Earth-Alpha Centauri, 3 hours 
  20 minutes; Earth-Vulcan, 13 hours 10 minutes. 
  Surplus Early Years-era warship conversion, Warp 6: 
  Earth-Alpha Centauri, 2 hours 30 minutes; Earth-
  Vulcan, 10 hours 10 minutes. 
  Surplus General War-era warship conversion, Warp 7: 
  Earth-Alpha Centauri, 1 hour 35 minutes; Earth-
  Vulcan, 6 hours 30 minutes. 
  Federation Express, Warp 7.25: Earth-Alpha Centauri, 
  1 hour 25 minutes; Earth-Vulcan, 5 hours 45 min. 
  
   
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Star Fleet Universe 
  Page 299 
   
   
  In addition to the standard high warp speeds listed 
  above, some ships can also operate at dash speed. 
  This is very expensive as it costs the base cost of the 
  ship in supplies over five years of operation. Because 
  of this, only smaller starships are used for dash transit, 
  and this reduces the cargo that can be carried and 
  drives up the ticket costs. Such service is normally 
  only available on the highest-traveled routes (similar to 
  the use of the supersonic Concorde aircraft in the early 
  21st century). It does significantly cut down on the 
  travel time, but the craft requires about eight hours of 
  maintenance for every 16 hours in flight. A ship of this 
  type makes a lot of short fast trips with long delays in 
  between. For extremely short trips, the ship could 
  potentially 
  make 
  several 
  trips 
  before 
  requiring 
  maintenance. 
   
  A Federation Express Courier operating at dash 
  speed (Warp 9.5+) will make the Earth-Alpha Centauri 
  run in about 4 minutes and the Earth-Vulcan run in 
  about 16 minutes (not counting loading/unloading, 
  docking, and the hour to enter and leave each solar 
  system, surface-to-orbit, etc.), which could easily ex-
  tend the travel time by several hours. 
   
  USING SFB AND FC FOR SPACE 
  COMBAT 
   
  Those groups who want to use Star Fleet Battles 
  or Federation Commander to resolve space combat 
  can do so with these rules. First, assign each charac-
  ter a job on the ship. The jobs to be done include 
  Captain, Weapons Officer, Navigator, Engineer, Sci-
  ence Officer, Marine Officer, Communications Officer, 
  Fighter Squadron Leader, and First Officer. 
   
   
  If your group has fewer members, you could use 
  an NPC or characters will have to double up but will 
  have a -1 penalty on both jobs. (The Captain will have 
  no penalty on two jobs.) Anyone with three jobs will 
  have a -2 penalty on all three (and any additional) 
  jobs. If your group has more players, divide the weap-
  ons or engineering job between two characters. Play-
  ers could agree to divide up the jobs in other ways, 
  e.g., give Fred control of the left-bearing weapons, 
  tractors, and electronic warfare. Players might agree 
  that each job is assigned to one primary officer and 
  one backup; conducting a backup job action would 
  have a -1 penalty while conducting an action not part 
  of your assigned job would have a -2 penalty. 
   
  Each officer on a starship with a large NPC crew 
  can conduct three actions in a given impulse (e.g., fire 
  weapons at three targets, adjust electronic warfare 
  levels, tractor a drone). A subsequent action in the 
  same impulse has a penalty of two applied; this dou-
  bles for every subsequent action in the same impulse. 
  If the PCs (and NPCs they control) are the entire crew 
  of the ship, then each can conduct as many actions in 
  an SFB/FC impulse as he can in a GURPS combat 
  turn. 
   
  Most officers will be on the bridge but some (engi-
  neer, Marines, doctors, scientists) could be in other 
  appropriate locations around the ship. 
   
  The enemy starship or monster can be controlled 
  by the GM, or by an SFB/FC player the GM recruits for 
  this task. 
   
  Jobs for Players 
   
  Captain 
   
  The captain decides on maneuvers (e.g., “Helms-
  man, turn left!”) and weapons (e.g., “Gunner, shoot at 
  that fighter!”). In SFB, he does Energy Allocation each 
  turn after listening to each officer request power. (In 
  FC, he makes decisions on the fly as each officer re-
  quests power.) Each impulse of SFB/FC, the captain 
  can give no more than three commands. (If the captain 
  has a Leadership skill of 16 or more, he can give four 
  commands. If this skill is 11 or less, he can give only 
  two.) To get more done with those commands, he 
  might give sweeping authority to an officer (e.g., “Gun-
  ner, don’t let those drones hit us!”) and hope that the 
  gunner uses the available weapons wisely. GURPS 
  skills don’t really apply here; he either tells the gunner 
  to shoot or he doesn’t. Of course, the other officers 
  might act on their own initiative without orders, or dis-
  obey orders. The captain may have to roll a quick 
  contest (Leadership vs. the other officer’s Will) to force 
  an officer to obey. In the place of one of his orders 
  each impulse, the captain may attempt to encourage 
  one of his officers with Leadership (or threats). The 
  captain makes a Leadership roll; if successful, the of-
  ficer adds one to his skills (not his SFB/FC die rolls) 
  for that impulse. Rival captains could conduct a quick 
  contest of Tactics skills to resolve “you first” situations. 
   
  Weapons Officer 
   
  This officer fires the weapons and controls seeking 
  weapons in flight. Typically, the minimum Gunner skill 
  for a professional military officer firing a starship 
  weapon is 12 in that weapon. If there are more than 
  one type of weapon (for example, phasers and photon 
  torpedoes), then it is expected that the officer will have 
  at least 12 in each weapon. For skill levels above and 
  below this point, die roll modifiers are used as per the 
  chart on p. 300. Each target engaged with direct-fire 
  weapons is one action. If seeking weapons are in 
  flight, all of them (combined) count as one action each 
  (and every) impulse, even if they are not actually 
  moving. 
   
  Navigator 
   
  This character actually steers the ship, which uses 
  two of his actions on any given impulse (i.e., he cannot 
  do more than one other thing without a penalty for “too 
  many actions at once”). When he tries to turn or per-
  form some other movement function (other than mov-
  ing straight ahead), roll against Piloting skill pertaining 
  to the craft. Success means the ship performs the 
  
   
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Star Fleet Universe 
  normal SFB/FC maneuver, but failure means that the 
  maneuver will be delayed to the next impulse; a critical 
  failure means the order is ignored (but can be 
  reissued). 
   
  Engineer 
   
  Typically, the minimum Engineer (Starships) skill 
  for a starship’s chief engineer is 12. For every point 
  less than 12, he must roll against his skill at the start of 
  each turn during SFB’s Energy Allocation; fail and the 
  ship has one power-producing SSD box that just 
  doesn’t produce any power this turn (critical failure 
  loses two points of power). In FC, this roll occurs at the 
  start of each turn; failure means a loss of one in avail-
  able power. If his skill is 15 or more, the engineer can 
  coax one extra point of power out of the warp engines 
  each turn. In SFB, if his skill is less than 10, the ship 
  has one less point in the first damage control track 
  box; if his skill is 15 or more, it has one extra point in 
  that box. In FC, this applies to the Frame Damage 
  track. Monitoring the engines takes up all of his time, 
  but he can handle one tractor beam, damage control, 
  and any reserve power decisions at the same time. 
   
  Science Officer 
   
  This officer makes the die rolls for lab information, 
  identifying drones (as well as plasmas, shuttles, etc.), 
  and tracking cloaked ships. This officer also controls 
  electronic 
  warfare. 
  In 
  SFB, 
  if 
  his 
  Electronics 
  Operations (Sensors), skill is less than 10, the ship’s 
  limit on combined ECM and ECCM is reduced by one; 
  if his skill is 15 or more, it is increased by one. (FC has 
  no equivalent ability.) 
   
  Marine Officer 
   
  This officer makes the die rolls for boarding party 
  combat and hit-and-run raids, with bonuses and/or 
  penalties based on his skill as in the chart to the right. 
  In SFB, if using the advanced system, this character 
  also controls the deployment and movement of 
  boarding parties between the areas of the ship. 
  Transporter 
  operation 
  involves 
  rolling 
  against 
  Electronics Operation (Transporter). This officer 
  controls manned shuttles in flight (one of his actions 
  for all of them) and must roll against his Leadership 
  skill to change the mission of any shuttle in the bay. 
  He assigns and releases guards. 
   
  Communications Officer 
   
  This officer rolls against his Electronics Operation 
  (Communications) skill to communicate with other 
  starships, bases, planets, etc. This character uses his 
  Cryptography skill to try to intercept and decode en-
  emy communications. (The GM decides what data is 
  learned.) 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Fighter Squadron Leader 
   
  This officer controls all of the fighters, using his 
  own Piloting or Gunner skill as needed. (To be a 
  “good” pilot, a character must have Gunner (each 
  fighter weapon)-12, Pilot (Shuttlecraft)-14, and Tactics-
  12. To be an Ace, he must have Gunner (each fighter 
  weapon)-16; Pilot (shuttlecraft)-18; Tactics-15. 
   
  First Officer 
   
  This officer controls any non-player characters 
  who are part of the crew and deserve special notice. 
  Alternatively, the GM may assign NPCs to the relevant 
  department head above. NPCs use their own stats and 
  skills for their actions. 
   
  SFB/FC Skill Levels and Effects on Die Rolls 
  Skill Level 
  Effect 
  20+ 
  Bonus of 2 
  16-19 
  Bonus of 1 
  12-15 
  Roll normally 
  10-11 
  Penalty of 1 
  7-9 
  Penalty of 2 
  4-6 
  Penalty of 3 
  1-3 
  Penalty of 4 
   
   
  Whether a given bonus is plus or minus depends 
  on the chart in question. In SFB and FC, low die rolls 
  are generally good and higher ones are bad. So a 
  skillful weapons officer with a “bonus of 1” would get a 
  -1 when firing a phaser. These shifts are not cumula-
  tive with the SFB rule (G22.0) concerning legendary 
  officers, but could cancel them out if one is negative 
  and the other positive. If both are the same, use the 
  larger one. 
   
   
   
   
  
   
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  PRIME TEAMS 
   
  All species and empires have formed special elite 
  teams of highly trained and capable individuals to take 
  on special missions. Often a few elite characters can 
  do things entire starships would fail to accomplish. 
  These teams are formed from the most elite personnel 
  available, and in GURPS PD are usually 175-point or 
  higher characters. The Federation knows these as 
  “Prime Teams” (since they were originally formed to 
  enforce the Prime Directive); other empires have other 
  names for them as are listed below. 
   
  Prime teams are multi-mission units capable of an 
  incredible variety of tasks. A team might face missions 
  as diverse as hostage rescue, planet survey, treaty 
  negotiations, 
  first 
  contact, 
  espionage, 
  prisoner 
  snatches, crisis resolution, or disaster relief. A starship 
  carries a prime team and uses it as a troubleshooter 
  on various missions. 
   
  Federation Prime Teams are trained at Prime 
  Central (on Earth’s moon) and contain four to eight 
  people with a wide variety of skills. Many teams re-
  main as intact units for decades (with new people re-
  placing those who are lost, transferred, or retired); rel-
  atively few teams are disbanded. New teams are 
  formed as needed; the number doubled during the first 
  three years of the General War. 
   
  Klingon Dagger Teams are more rigidly orga-
  nized, including 10 people (when at full strength) in 
  two teams of five: commander, sergeant, combat spe-
  cialist (scout or heavy weapons), engineer, doctor (or 
  scientist). Despite this organization, only some mem-
  bers of the team (selected by the commander) go on 
  each mission. Due to Klingon politics, each service 
  (Fleet, Army, Police, Intelligence, and Security) has its 
  own Dagger Teams, but all Dagger Teams have at 
  least one member of the ESS. Two humans known to 
  have defected to the Klingons served on a Dagger 
  Team for Klingon Intelligence. 
   
  Romulan Praetorian Teams have four to eight 
  members, and always come in pairs of two teams. 
  One team conducts a mission; the other provides sup-
  port and backup. The second team is always ready to 
  take over the mission should the first team fail. Some 
  work for great houses. 
   
   
  Kzinti Cabals include two five-member elements. 
  The “Left Hand” includes the field commander, engi-
  neer, scientist, doctor, and combat specialist. The 
  “Right Hand” includes the intelligence specialist, com-
  munications specialist, armorer, tactical coordinator, 
  and combat trainer. Sometimes members will move 
  between the two Hands of a Cabal or the Left Hand 
  may borrow a specialist from the Right Hand. 
   
  Gorn Vanguard Teams are not pure prime teams 
  but specialize in mission types. Diamond Teams deal 
  with recon, raids, and search & rescue. Circle Teams 
  deal with first contact, exploration, and scientific re-
  search. Oval Teams deal with diplomatic missions and 
  espionage. Slash Teams are pure combat units. 
   
  Tholian Wolfspider Teams consist of eight mem-
  bers, including the field commander, engineer, com-
  mando-scout, weapons specialist, scientist, and doc-
  tor, plus the tactical planner and armorer (who rarely 
  go on missions). 
   
  Orion Pirate Crime Teams usually consist of 
  about five members: commander, scientist-doctor, 
  engineer, combat specialist, and covert specialist. 
   
  Hydran Triads consist of three sub-teams. The 
  First includes the commander, scientist, and doctor. 
  The Second includes the scout, technologist, and 
  weapons specialist. The Third includes the executive 
  officer, 
  logistics 
  specialist, 
  and 
  communications 
  specialist. 
   
  Andromedan Invader Teams consist entirely of 
  robots, usually a mixture of various types. 
   
  Lyran Stalker Teams consist of six members: 
  leader, scientist, doctor, scout, combat specialist, and 
  engineer. 
   
  WYN Rogue Teams have no set organization. 
   
  Inter-Stellar Concordium Marshals come in 
  teams of five or six, always of mixed species and vari-
  ous skills. 
   
  Seltorian Avenger Teams rarely undertook 
  “prime” missions and functioned mostly as pure 
  commandoes. 
   
  Jindarian Salvager Teams vary from caravan to 
  caravan and have no universal organization. 
   
  
   
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  BACKGROUND FILES 
   
  THE PRIME DIRECTIVE 
   
  This is a much misunderstood Federation doctrine, 
  not least because it becomes confused with the differ-
  ent (and unrelated) Federation policy on non-interfer-
  ence. The basic text of the Prime Directive is brief, 
  leading to arguments over its interpretation: 
   
   
  “The Federation believes in the right of all pre-
  spaceflight societies to develop at their own pace and 
  in their own way. Members of the Federation will avoid 
  contact with such societies. When such contact is 
  necessary or is authorized by the Federation Council 
  for scientific purposes, the people and government of 
  such societies are not to be told that the visiting Fed-
  eration citizens are from another planet, nor that there 
  are societies on other planets with spaceflight capabil-
  ities, nor is any Federation citizen to take an action 
  which would make known their presence as aliens ca-
  pable of spaceflight. Federation members, citizens, 
  and officials are to take steps to prevent any such 
  contact by other spaceflight-capable species, and to 
  remove or balance such contamination if it occurs. The 
  governments of societies which achieve spaceflight 
  may be contacted if authorized by the Federation 
  Council, and societies within the Federation Treaty 
  Zone which achieve warp-capable spaceflight will be 
  contacted and encouraged to join the Federation, in-
  cluding the acceptance of its laws. Violation of this Di-
  rective is subject to the harshest penalties available 
  under Federation law.” 
   
   
  The intent is clear: species which haven’t achieved 
  warp-capable spaceflight are to be left alone. When 
  study of them is authorized (which might be done un-
  der standing policies) or when emergency situations 
  place Federation citizens on such a world, they are not 
  to tell the locals about other species. Most societies 
  which can see stars and have telescopes have 
  guessed that other societies exist on other planets, but 
  guessing and knowing are two different things. Pirates 
  and criminals often try to contact such planets to sell 
  them “miraculous” items of common TL12 technology 
  and cheat them out of resources. As unscrupulous 
  local businessmen or officials usually keep their con-
  tacts with off-world pirates secret, cleaning up such 
  contamination is usually possible when detected. A 
  Federation starship could destroy an asteroid about to 
  hit a populated pre-spaceflight planet so long as it 
  could do so without exposing itself to detection. A 
  Federation starship would not normally intervene in a 
  situation of a natural disaster or intra-planetary war if 
  its presence would become known, but exceptions are 
  sometimes granted by the Council (rarely, retroac-
  tively) under the doctrine of “exigent circumstances”. 
  More than one starship captain has convinced himself 
  that he must violate the Prime Directive to save mil-
  lions of lives, even if it means that the surviving society 
  cannot continue normal independent development as it 
  would learn of other starfaring species. In some cases, 
  captains have been imprisoned, dismissed from the 
  service, or transferred to non-starship jobs, and in rare 
  cases a captain is found to have done the right thing. 
  It’s a case-by-case evaluation; a society which is una-
  ble to develop because of some enslaving force might 
  be “rescued” by Star Fleet, but usually after months of 
  debate in the Federation Council. 
   
  A more complex issue, beyond the scope of the 
  Prime Directive, is the non-interference policy, which 
  changes periodically. The Federation expects all plan-
  etary societies which become members to adhere to a 
  certain standard of rights for sentient beings, including 
  a multi-party free-market democracy. Planetary gov-
  ernments which are dictatorships are not invited to join 
  the Federation, and no planet within the Federation 
  Treaty Zone would be allowed to join any other empire 
  (e.g., the Klingons, Romulans, etc.). Many planets 
  within the Federation Treaty Zone which have space-
  flight and have been contacted remain as nonmem-
  bers for a variety of reasons, some permanently and 
  others for a period of adjustment and transition. The 
  Federation tries to avoid interfering in the internal af-
  fairs of nonmember planets even if they do not meet 
  the standards of the Federation, but intervention has 
  been authorized in extreme cases (usually involving 
  nuclear wars or genocide). The problem is not so 
  much a principle of avoiding intervention because in-
  tervention is “evil” as it is due to limited Federation re-
  sources (Star Fleet cannot send entire fleets of ships 
  and divisions of Marines to every planet which has a 
  rotten government) and the fact that intervention often 
  does more harm than good. The Federation can and 
  will intervene in the case of a member planet which 
  violates Federation standards of law, human rights, 
  and fair government. 
   
  KLINGON SUBJECT RACES 
   
  Much confusion relates to 
  the concept of Klingon “subject 
  races.” These are not slaves 
  and, in most cases, not even 
  conquered -- they simply inhab-
  ited planets that happened to be 
  within the borders of the Klingon 
  Empire. Members of subject 
  races have various degrees of 
  rights on their own planets 
  (where each government manages its own affairs) al-
  though the Empire Security Service (the ESS) acts to 
  prevent any rebellion. 
   
  Citizens of subject race worlds must get permis-
  sion to travel to other planets and get such permission 
  only when the Empire finds that such travel or emigra-
  tion suits its own ends of economic development. 
   
  Members of subject races are clearly second-class 
  citizens of the Empire (after ethnic Klingons), with 
  
   
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Star Fleet Universe 
  Page 303 
   
  fewer rights than Klingons. Many sub-
  ject race personnel join the Klingon mil-
  itary, but only a few are allowed to be-
  come officers and only the most trusted 
  are given training in how to actually 
  navigate the ship or fire its weapons. 
  The Empire Security Service has a de-
  tachment on every ship to prevent mutiny by subject 
  races (or cowardice by Klingons). But it is not a crime 
  to simply be a member of a subject race. 
   
  This social stigma is ignored by the Orions, WYNs, 
  and the Federation. Indeed, sentient beings rights 
  groups in the Federation often make it a point to treat 
  the oppressed subject race members better than eth-
  nic Klingons. 
   
  SENTIENCE, SAPIENCE, & INTELLIGENCE 
   
  The Star Fleet Universe uses the term “sentient” 
  to describe “intelligent” species which are capable of 
  space flight or at least have that potential. This is the 
  way the term is used in most science fiction. There are 
  those who define the term differently, and they could 
  be right. Sentient means “self-aware” and some argue 
  that dogs, dolphins, and earthworms qualify; others 
  argue that they do not. There are those who argue that 
  plants are self-aware and those who disagree. Within 
  the Star Fleet Universe (and Star Trek for that mat-
  ter), the term “sentient” would apply to only one spe-
  cies on Earth: Homo sapiens, or Human beings. (One 
  could argue that dolphins are smarter, as they never 
  invented the income tax, but we digress.) 
   
  Sapient means “intelligent” and could be consid-
  ered a more precise term for the “sentient” term used 
  by science-fiction writers, but it isn’t commonly used.  
   
  The Semi-Intelligent Terrilek Boar 
   
   
  Sentience, sapience, or intelligence is hard to de-
  fine because it is a sliding scale. The most basic and 
  simple test is: can the species communicate, make 
  and use tools, create and use fire, pass their 
  knowledge to their offspring, and alter their environ-
  ment? The problem is that a lot of species on Earth 
  (and, presumably, trillions of species on other planets) 
  can do some or all of these things to some degree. 
  Hundreds of Terran species communicate, otters use 
  selected rocks to open clams, packs of hunting dogs 
  will take advantage of a grass fire to corner their prey, 
  dolphin mothers can teach their children to attack 
  sharks even with no shark in sight, and wasps can 
  keep out the cold with nests made of mud. 
   
  In the final analysis, whether we can define it with 
  a tidy rule or not, everyone gets the point. A species 
  that can do all of the skills to some degree and shows 
  the potential to build spaceships within ten thousand 
  years could be safely assumed to qualify. The heck of 
  it is, a few more would also be able to build space-
  ships eventually, and it would be impossible to predict 
  the forces of evolution. GMs can, in questionable 
  cases, simply tell the characters if that thing they just 
  ate was a sentient being or not. 
   
  THE ROMULAN CODE OF HONOR 
   
  The following comprises the Code of Honor to 
  which all Romulans adhere (at least nominally). Each 
  of the four points of the code is taken in order from the 
  first to the last, with the earlier points taking priority 
  over the later ones. 
   
  1. Defend the honor, territory, and property of the 
  Empire from all enemies, internal and external. 
   
  2. Always be prepared to give your life for the Em-
  pire, but never give it frivolously. 
   
  3. In all of your actions, be honest and coura-
  geous. Display integrity at all times and in all things. 
   
  4. Defend the position of your House and its im-
  portance to the Empire. 
   
  For many Romulans, there are informal fifth and 
  sixth points, such as taking care of the family, loyalty 
  to a particular commander, or personal decisions not 
  to engage in certain behaviors (e.g., drinking ale). 
   
  MARINE UNIT ORGANIZATIONS 
   
  Each empire (or species) organizes its military 
  forces in its own way, but all begin at the lowest level 
  with a squad or team of five Marines. (This is because 
  a standard transporter holds six, and with each squad 
  having five there is space for the various attachments 
  such as command or medical personnel.) 
   
  The Federation has a 
  squad of five (led by a ser-
  geant), a platoon of 18 (in-
  cluding a lieutenant, gunnery 
  sergeant, and medic), and a 
  company of 55 (three pla-
  toons plus a heavy-weapons 
  team and a command ele-
  ment). Most companies are 
  independent; larger units are 
  formed as needed. 
   
  The Klingons have a squad of five (led by a cor-
  poral), a platoon of 18 (led by a sergeant), a company 
  of 50 (led by a lieutenant). The company has no heavy 
  weapons but the battalion has a weapons platoon, a 
  commando platoon, and an independent infantry 
  platoon. 
  
   
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  The Romulans have a platoon of four squads and 
  a century of five platoons. A cohort consists of two 
  centuries plus attached weapons and commando 
  units. 
   
  The Kzintis have a platoon of five squads and a 
  company of two platoons. A battalion has three com-
  panies plus heavy weapons and commandoes. 
   
  A Gorn battalion has three command units, six 
  platoons (each with four squads), plus commando and 
  heavy-weapons units. The battalion is continually re-
  organized under the three command units as the mis-
  sion requires. 
   
  A Tholian company consists of two platoons (each 
  four squads) and a weapons squad; a battalion con-
  sists of two, three, or four companies plus a com-
  mando unit. 
   
  An Orion company consists of two platoons (each 
  four squads), a weapons squad, and a commando 
  squad. 
   
   
  A Hydran Light Company consists of three pla-
  toons, each three squads, with no heavy weapons. 
  Each battalion has two light companies, plus a heavy 
  company including three platoons (command, weap-
  ons, and assault). 
   
  Andromedan ground units consist of robots which 
  are continually reorganized into teams and elements of 
  widely varying sizes as each mission requires. 
   
  A Lyran company consists of two large platoons 
  (five squads each) plus a weapons squad. A battalion 
  consists of four such companies, plus two assault 
  platoons (each four squads and a weapons team). The 
  Lyrans often use Tarakaz (“Half Battalions”) with two 
  companies and one assault platoon. The LDR uses 
  the same organization. 
   
  A WYN platoon has four squads; a company has 
  two such platoons and a weapons squad. A battalion 
  will include two, three, or four companies and a com-
  mando unit. 
   
  An ISC company includes two platoons (each 
  three squads), plus a support platoon (two squads and 
  a weapons team). Battalions have three companies. 
   
  Seltorian companies have two huge platoons (six 
  squads) plus a weapons team. Battalions have two 
  companies, plus weapons, commando, and infantry 
  squads. 
   
  Every Jindarian ship uses its own organization. 
   
  Paravian companies have four platoons (two 
  squads each) plus a weapons team. 
   
  Each Carnivon Horde uses its own organization. 
   
  COMMERCIAL PASSENGER 
  SERVICE 
   
  From time to time, player characters may want to 
  travel to a new star system but not have a ship (or 
  even a shuttle) to do so on their own. Commercial 
  travel is readily available (at least inside any given 
  empire, and across or between empires assuming vi-
  sas and the lack of open war). 
   
  As a general rule of thumb, commercial passenger 
  service is available on a regularly scheduled basis 
  between any planets with a significant population (say, 
  over one million). Business-class travel can be had for 
  $250 per hex on the map (see p. 291) including the 
  hex you start in, the hex you end in, and all hexes in 
  between. The maximum charge for travel would be 
  $2,000 (all the way across the map) plus $250 for 
  each national border crossed. First class travel would 
  be twice this expensive (express travel at “fast dash” 
  speeds would cost four times the base rate) and econ-
  omy class would be two-thirds this cost. Characters 
  might have to wait up to a week to catch the next ship 
  headed in their direction. Calculate the time of the 
  travel based on the data on p. 291 using “Aux Dash” 
  speed. 
   
  Travel to minor planets not on regularly scheduled 
  routes would involve using a regularly scheduled trip to 
  the hex and then paying an additional $250 fee for a 
  “commuter spaceline” or “space taxi” to take you to the 
  minor planet by a “scheduled as needed” route. Figure 
  a week to find such a connection and actually make 
  the trip (with several stops en route). This fee can be 
  modified for first class or economy class travel as 
  above. 
   
  Of course, a helpful GM could arrange for you to 
  travel on a military or commercial ship that just hap-
  pens to be going to your exact location. 
   
  
   
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  SAMPLE DECK PLANS: FREE TRADER 
   
   
  The “Free Trader” is one of the most common 
  cargo ships used by independent (non-governmental) 
  operators. The design is fairly common and is built 
  (under license or otherwise) by many different em-
  pires. The advantage of a common (or nearly com-
  mon) design is that spare parts and docking facilities 
  are easily available anywhere in the Alpha Octant of 
  the galaxy, encouraging free trade and efficient 
  commerce. 
   
  The ship is fairly small as ships go, being only 68 
  meters long (not counting engines) and 50 meters 
  wide. There are three decks in the forward half of the 
  ship, and two decks (with higher ceilings) in the rear 
  half. The ship has an oversized shuttle bay on the up-
  per rear deck (with a large hatch). The Free Trader 
  can land on skids or directly on its belly. Loading 
  ramps are built into the skids, and the cargo doors on 
  the sides of the lower aft deck can function equally 
  well when the ship has landed on skids or on its belly. 
  The two large cargo elevators can drop through 
  hatches in the bottom of the ship to load cargo directly 
  from the surface when the ship is landed on skids. 
   
  There are “space docking” facilities on either side 
  of the top forward deck with flexible extending tubes 
  (two meters in diameter) which allow convenient 
  docking to various kinds of spaceports. Space docking 
  can also be achieved through hatches in the forward 
  landing skids, and the lower cargo hatches will mate 
  with the same type of cargo loading docks on bases 
  designed to handle the standard small freighter. 
   
   
  Side 
   
   
  
   
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Star Fleet Universe 
  Top 
   
   
   
  Front 
   
   
   
  Upper Deck
   
  There is no turbolift due to the relatively small size; 
  elevators behind the bridge and spiral staircases suf-
  fice for vertical access. The large cargo elevators can 
  also be used to move large items between the upper 
  and lower cargo bays. The side airlocks lead to the 
  stored extendable tubes which can dock with most 
  standard airlocks. 
   
  The top-forward deck includes the bridge, cap-
  tain’s and VIP staterooms, the “office” where the ship’s 
  business is conducted, lounges, briefing room, the 
  transporter room, the phaser and shuttle bay controls, 
  the phaser mounts, the tractor beam and its controls, 
  the electronics compartment, and the utility compart-
  ment. There are also two “custom” compartments 
  which are fitted out as the owner wants. 
   
  The top-rear deck includes the shuttle bay, spare 
  shuttle, and upper cargo bays, as well as the upper 
  
   
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  engineering access deck. VS = ventilation shaft, RR = 
  restroom. 
   
   
   
   
  Free Salvor                                Free Prospector 
   
  Salvage and Prospecting Variants 
   
  Above are the overlays for the upper deck for two 
  variants, the Free Salvor and Free Prospector. In 
  practice, the two types are interchangeable and the 
  designation is almost arbitrary; the difference (obvi-
  ously) is that one has three working shuttles with one 
  spare and the other has two working shuttles with two 
  spares. Ships of this type are used for asteroid mining 
  and for the salvage of wrecked ships. Most empires 
  have ships of this type in their regular navy fleets for 
  use in rescue and recovery work; many more serve as 
  prospectors in peacetime and as salvage ships in war-
  time (wherever the profit is greatest). 
   
   
  Shuttle 
   
  Notes on Free Traders 
   
  Furnishings vary radically from ship to ship, and 
  most of them have been “redecorated” many times 
  since being built. Some ships use built-in desks, 
  bunks, and even chairs while others have freestanding 
  furniture in the rooms.  
   
  Most Free Traders make their living from trading, 
  i.e., from being able to take whatever they can buy at 
  one planet and sell it on some other planet. Profit is 
  not so much in packing every cubic foot of the ship 
  with cargo as in having the right kind of cargo for the 
  market. In cases where there is a virtually limitless 
  supply of a commodity (e.g., grain, metals, other mate-
  rials) and an endless market, the more efficient stand-
  ard freighters are already serving these sources and 
  markets on regularly scheduled routes. Free Traders 
  must be nimble. They must be able to recognize a 
  bargain and already know of an opportunity. Even if 
  they planned to go to Cygnus, if they find a supply of 
  something that would turn a tidy profit on Argela they 
  must be ready to change their plans in an instant. In 
  some cases (e.g., a newly opened titanium mine on a 
  new colony world) the ship might well be packed as full 
  as it can be with the ore from this mine, refining it en 
  route to the Rigel system where titanium finds a ready 
  market. Such opportunities are rare, but Free Traders 
  must (frankly) find such rare opportunities for profit as 
  a regular course of business. A Free Trader that sud-
  denly leaves for or arrives at any port is not an unusual 
  event deserving extra attention; that provides cover for 
  whatever your group is really doing and could give you 
  an opportunity to do your business unnoticed and 
  leave. 
   
   
  
   
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  “Wanna buy a tribble? It’s going cheap!”
   
   
   
  Middle Deck 
   
   
  The mid-forward deck 
  includes the heavy weapon 
  controls, 
  crew 
  quarters, 
  secure cargo lockers (for 
  high 
  value 
  items 
  that 
  cannot just be left lying 
  around), maintenance and 
  machine shops (which can 
  manufacture spare parts as needed; they are often 
  used during travel to convert something bought at the 
  last planet into something that can be sold at the next 
  one), medical bay (which, in emergencies, can expand 
  into the adjacent recreational facility), mess hall, gal-
  ley, food storage, and navigational deflector. The large 
  shower facility is used only when large numbers of 
  people are on board since each bunkroom has shower 
  and toilet facilities. The brig is rarely used for prisoners 
  
   
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  (more likely, for valuable cargo kept locked up). On 
  some Free Traders, the showers and/or brig were in-
  stead fitted out for other uses (storage, machine 
  shops, passenger quarters, etc.). VS = ventilation 
  shaft, RR = restroom. 
   
  At right is the lower deck used on both the Free 
  Salvor and the Free Prospector. Note that it includes 
  laboratory space needed for these types of missions 
  and a smelting facility allowing ore and salvage to be 
  processed on the ship. (Finished metal takes less 
  space than raw ore; salvaged components take less 
  space than big chunks of wrecked warships.) 
   
  The lower deck includes the air and water supplies 
  and recycling systems, fuel storage, landing skids, 
  cargo docking ports, main engineering, and the for-
  ward cargo hold (which has a lower ceiling as it is for-
  ward of the transverse bulkhead; it is often used when 
  carrying large numbers of passengers), the main cargo 
  hold (with the higher ceiling of the rear half of the 
  ship), the cargo transporters, and the ship’s main ar-
  mament (usually a phaser-2). 
   
  The nominal crew of the Free Trader is 30; this 
  varies widely and may be as large as 60. (Commercial 
  shipping must make a profit, and paying people to ride 
  along to the next planet isn’t profitable. It is easier to 
  travel with a minimal crew and hire dock workers at 
  each planet to load and unload the cargo. Some ships 
  do manufacturing en route and will have two dozen 
  machinists and technicians aboard for this purpose. 
  Some ships make space for paying passengers.) A 
  typical crew includes several officers (captain, engi-
  neer, navigator, and others), maintenance technicians, 
  a small security detail (which often doubles as cooks 
  or technicians when not actually guarding something), 
  and “business” people (officers and others) who keep 
  track of the cargo, operating costs, and other such 
  matters. There is no standardization, as there are 
  thousands of Free Traders, doing hundreds of different 
  kinds of business. Some ships are owned by the cap-
  tain, others have an owner (or the owner’s agent) on 
  board and the captain is an employee. Most are 
  owned by individuals or small companies, but some 
  large transport and trade companies own dozens of 
  these ships plus many other ships of various different 
  classes. 
   
  Numerous variants of the Free Trader exist for 
  military and pirate use, all being indistinguishable from 
  the outside. VS = ventilation shaft, RR = restroom. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Lower Deck 
  Free Trooper 
   
  Used primarily by the military, the Free Trooper 
  and Free Tanker variants are used for transporting 
  large numbers of personnel and heavy ground vehi-
  cles (respectively). 
   
  The Free Trooper (which is also used by corpora-
  tions to move seasonal workers from planet to planet) 
  
   
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Star Fleet Universe 
  replaces the lower forward cargo bay with barracks 
  space, including an extra tractor beam (used for land-
  ing the ship on planetary surfaces). It also has a se-
  curely locked arms room and extra facilities for trans-
  porters. (On the civilian version, the arms room is used 
  for expensive tools during transit.) There are extra 
  shuttles in one side of the main rear cargo bay which 
  are used to move passengers. On some military ships, 
  these shuttles have been lost in combat (forcing the 
  ship to land itself or use its transporters) while some 
  civilian ships skip the extra shuttles in favor of more 
  cargo (such as ground vehicles used in construction or 
  agriculture). The “custom” compartments on the upper 
  deck hold batteries for reserve power on this variant. 
   
  Lower Deck of the Free Trooper 
  Free Tanker 
   
  The Free Tanker (used in peacetime to move 
  heavy 
  construction 
  equipment) 
  has 
  two 
  heavy 
  transport shuttles (which can carry a ground combat 
  vehicle, even a tank, on their open rear deck) and two 
  standard shuttles stored in the rear cargo deck. (The 
  upper shuttle deck is used only for cargo in this vari-
  ant; the “custom” areas on the upper deck hold bat-
  teries for reserve power.) The vehicles themselves can 
  be stored in the upper or forward cargo bays. In many 
  cases, the ship does not have the extra shuttles (using 
  the space for more tanks or other vehicles) and lands 
  directly on the planet. Some military ground vehicles 
  can be landed in sections via the cargo transporter. 
   
   
  Lower Deck of the Free Tanker 
   
   
  Prime Trader 
   
  One variant of the Free Trader of particular inter-
  est to the players of Prime Directive is the Prime 
  Trader. This is used by owners who want more capa-
  bility in their ship, and is often used for exploration and 
  other tasks. 
   
  The overlays to the right above show changes to 
  portions of the upper and lower decks. The upper rear 
  deck shows space for an extra shuttle (which would be 
  whatever suited the mission, or was available) such as 
  a ground assault shuttle, prospecting shuttle, or other 
  special type. This variant has considerably less cargo 
  space. 
   
  The lower deck shows that the forward cargo hold 
  is fitted out as compartments for the laboratories. This 
  variant has two weapons in the forward part of the ship 
  rather than only one, and has added batteries for re-
  serve power. The engines are more powerful, but are 
  the same physical size as they are more efficient 
  military-grade types. 
   
  Ships of this type are often used by governments 
  (or by government-funded exploration and survey mis-
  sions); a few are run by major universities; many are 
  run by corporations which find a need for special re-
  search facilities when exploring new colony worlds for 
  commercial development. Your party might want to 
  buy or get assigned to such a ship, as it has nearly the 
  non-combat capabilities of a Star Fleet cruiser at a 
  fraction of the cost. It also looks (from the outside) just 
  like a few thousand standard Free Traders. 
  
   
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  Federation 
  Police 
  Cutter 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  ADVENTURE SEEDS 
   
  There is no end of ideas for adventures, but here 
  are a few that might help you get started. 
   
  Beyond the Border 
   
  Your group gets tourist visas into Klingon space to 
  see the sights and spend some tourist dollars. Of 
  course, what you are really doing is trying to stir up 
  trouble. Don’t those “subject races” realize how horri-
  ble it is to be subservient to the Klingon Empire (when 
  they could be tax-paying members of the Federation 
  instead?). You travel around trying to sound like a 
  tourist while you search for signs of unrest, subject 
  race members willing to sell out the Klingons, or 
  chances to start a riot. 
   
  For King and Country 
   
  After the Klingons conquered Hydran space in 
  Y87, and again during the General War, the Hydrans 
  in the Lost Colonies prepared for their return to power. 
  One way to do this was to send teams of spies, sabo-
  teurs, and commandoes into Klingon-occupied space 
  to conduct special missions (or just cause as much 
  trouble as they can). 
   
  Similar adventures could be run for Federation 
  teams going into space occupied by the Klingons dur-
  ing the General War’s darkest years, Y171-Y180. 
   
  The Derelict 
   
  Who can resist a derelict starship? This might be 
  from an ancient empire, or a Romulan Warbird disa-
  bled in some battle, or an Orion smuggler that hid out 
  too long. Any ship could have undergone a mysterious 
  catastrophe, with the crew missing or dead or insane 
  or just waiting for you. You could even imagine a ship 
  that lost engine power a century ago and is now occu-
  pied by the grandchildren of the original crew, who 
  may or may not have developed a unique culture. The 
  derelict spaceship could be floating in space or 
  crashed on a planet, or even at the bottom of an 
  ocean! 
   
   
   
  The Evil Alien Entity 
   
  This is one of the most overworked plot devices to 
  be sure, but it can still be a hoot. The GM gives each 
  player a written note to read silently and then return. 
  Some of the notes are blank, some provide a secret 
  (bootleg IRD chips with Klingon operas are in your 
  knapsack and they are worth a bunch of money if you 
  keep them to the end of the adventure), but one of 
  them says “Your character is possessed by the Evil 
  Alien Entity. You must not let anybody know this, but 
  must secretly work to accomplish this goal. If the goal 
  
   
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  is accomplished by the end of the adventure, your 
  character will be returned to you unhurt.” 
   
  The Lost Weapons 
   
  Federation Marines under orders from the Council 
  have landed on the planet of Andiraq after the Ando-
  rian warlord of this planet threatened to bombard 
  nearby planets with weapons of mass destruction. The 
  Marines haven’t been able to actually find these 
  WMDs. Can you? 
   
   
  Crystal Rain 
   
  For the past few months, a drug that is incredibly 
  addictive has been on a steady rise through all layers 
  of the Cygnan population. Federation police have de-
  termined that a single Cygnan drug syndicate is re-
  sponsible. The Cygnan government has been trying to 
  stamp this out, but corrupt officials leak plans for gov-
  ernment raids to the cartel, which moves its inventory 
  one step ahead of the police. Desperate, the Cygnan 
  President asks the Federation to send in a team from 
  off-world, a team with no connection to any Cygnan 
  official or organization, a team that by definition are the 
  only people he can really trust. You have to find the 
  stockpile of the drug and arrest the cartel that is im-
  porting it without the help of the Cygnan police. Some 
  of the Cygnan police will resent your interference and 
  try to arrest you, and some of the Cygnan police are 
  corrupted by the drug syndicate and will try to kill you! 
   
  And just who is shipping the drug to Cygnus? Is it 
  an Orion cartel? Or Klingon military intelligence? Or a 
  Kzinti warlord wanting a return to the old days when 
  his father was the Hegemonic Governor of the Cygnan 
  Slave Colony? 
   
  The Missing Fighter 
   
  The prototype of the Federation’s new stealth 
  fighter has been stolen! Go to one of the Neutral Zone 
  bazaars (Mad Jack’s Hole, Denobola, Circle Trigon, 
  Revlis, even Leebyaah) with a GIA guide and an open 
  checkbook and try to buy it back before the enemy can 
  grab it. While you are at it, try to identify the group or 
  individual who stole it and determine if the missing pi-
  lot is a hostage or a traitor. 
   
  The Truth about Plasma 
   
  Scientists have always noted that the plasma tor-
  pedo, quantum wave torpedo, and plasmatic pulsar 
  device were all extrapolations of the same principle. 
  Were they independently derived based on the availa-
  ble resources (the distribution of which made drones 
  common in the Gamma Sector and plasma common in 
  the Alpha Sector)? Or was there some connection? 
  There are rumors that the ISC got their plasma tech-
  nology from a wrecked Paravian ship, and an “infor-
  mation broker” (or con artist?) has just sold you the 
  location of the crash site. Go there and find out if there 
  is a wreck (or was) and if the ISC know it yet. 
   
  Stuplich’s Lost Ark 
   
  As detailed in GURPS Klingons, a human ex-
  plorer named Stuplich tried (in the earliest days of 
  warp travel) to establish a series of six colonies on a 
  straight line from Earth into (what he didn’t know was) 
  Klingon space. Five of these have since been found 
  (including #5, which was deported by the Klingons), 
  but the fate of the sixth group of colonists has never 
  been established. As a profit-making venture, the 
  Klingons (during peacetime) issue permits to Federa-
  tion amateur archaeologists to explore empty worlds 
  and look for signs of this lost colony. With a Klingon as 
  a guide, begin an adventure on an empty planet in the 
  Klingon Empire and see if you can find anything of 
  interest (ancient civilizations, lost colonies). The 
  Klingons pay rewards for the best finds. 
  
   
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  THE STAR FLEET UNIVERSE 
  TIMELINE 
   
  The timeline and history for the Star Fleet Uni-
  verse is one which has been firmly established in the 
  many years since the birth of Star Fleet Battles, and it 
  is included here to allow you to establish a setting for 
  your adventures. It does not follow the standard anno 
  Domini system, but instead features a 225-year period 
  that begins with Y1, when Humans had their first con-
  tact with the Vulcans. 
   
  Please note: The numbers and letters in parenthe-
  ses, such as (SL11) or (SH8), refer to scenarios in the 
  Star Fleet Battles game wherein these historical 
  events are recreated in a boardgame setting. 
   
  -Y? (Date Unknown) A group of Vulcan rebels flees its 
  home planet and eventually settles on the twin 
  planets of Romulus and Remus. The Vulcans 
  (and 
  Romulans) 
  have 
  non-tactical 
  warp 
  spaceflight from at least this time.  
  -Y117 Seltorians revolt in M81, the Tholian home gal-
  axy. Most Tholians are wiped out but some 
  escape in various directions. Two groups (a 
  small Dyson Sphere and the 312th Battle 
  Squadron) head for the Milky Way Galaxy. 
  Seltorians later send expeditions to other gal-
  axies to hunt down and destroy the last of the 
  Tholians. 
  -Y25 (Date Approximate) The Old Kings return their 
  Klingon starship crews to Klinshai, abandon 
  some of their obsolete or inoperative equip-
  ment in various locations, and leave for parts 
  unknown. 
  Y1 First contact between Humans and a neighboring 
  species (the Vulcans) as the Humans develop 
  what will be known as non-tactical warp. The 
  Vulcans are already in contact with other 
  spacefaring species in the immediate vicinity 
  (Andorian, Rigellian). 
  Y2 (Date Approximate) Klingons build chemical-energy 
  rocket boosters and primitive space capsules, 
  and use these to reach the obsolete ships left 
  in their system by the Old Kings. Within a few 
  years, the Klingons have been able to make 
  some of the old ships operational. 
  Y4 
  The 
  Humans, 
  Vulcans, 
  Andorians, 
  Alpha-
  Centaurans, Rigellians, and others form a 
  loose pact (cooperation, trade, and non-ag-
  gression) which over time evolves into the 
  Federation. While it is not clear exactly when 
  each of the other species began expanding 
  into space, it can be reasonably assumed that 
  (with the exception of the Vulcans) they began 
  their expansion during about this same time 
  period. 
  Y5 Tractor beams enter service in the Federation. 
  Other species develop them about the same 
  time. 
  Y8 Klingons, using star maps drawn by the last of the 
  Klingons who served on ships of the Old 
  Kings, contact the first of the other Old King 
  subject races (the Dunkars) and begin to use 
  them as subject race crewmen, just as the Old 
  Kings had used both species. 
  Stay in Touch! 
  You can reach us at our BBS: 
  http://www.starfleetgames.com/discus/ 
  You can reach us on the Forum: 
  http://www.starfleetgames.com/federation/php
  bb2/ 
  You can find the Prime Directive fan group on 
  Facebook: 
  https://www.facebook.com/groups/SFUPRIMEDI
  RECTIVE/ 
  Email us: prime@starfleetgames.com 
   
  
   
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  Y10 Klingons re-contact the Vergarians, another Old 
  King subject race, and quickly dominate them. 
  Y12 After an unsuccessful fleet-wide mutiny by Ver-
  garian crewmen, the Klingons execute all Ver-
  garians on their ships, bombard Vergar, and 
  install security stations on all ships to prevent 
  any further mutinies. Vergarians are not al-
  lowed into space for decades, and the planet 
  is forced to pay huge tributes to the Empire. 
  Y17 The Klingons are able to reverse-engineer the 
  abandoned ships and produce their own prim-
  itive starships. Unlike the Old King ships the 
  Klingons inherited, the new ships are pat-
  terned on a predatory marine reptile found in 
  the oceans of the Klingon homeworld. 
  Y21 The Federation encounters the Orions, a smaller 
  starfaring culture on their border. The Orions 
  quickly set up trade relations. 
  Y24 Gorns and Paravians first meet. Early discussions 
  quickly determine that neither species is native 
  to its home planet, but had been brought there 
  at some point in the ancient past. The Para-
  vians, it is found, are the successors to a 
  Gorn-like species that had been destroyed by 
  an asteroid. War breaks out by Y30; the con-
  flict lasts for decades at a relatively low level. 
  As with most conflicts in this period, lasers and 
  atomic missiles are the predominant weapons. 
  Y33 First Gorn-Romulan contact. Relations are tense 
  as both sides almost automatically assume 
  that war between them is inevitable. 
  Y36 First Gorn-Romulan War begins. They begin to 
  develop the first of what will become perma-
  nent borders. The Gorns lose this war in Y39 
  at the Battle of Gorn-Shima, but Gorn-Romu-
  lan skirmishes and raids continue indefinitely. 
  Y38 First Lyran-Klingon War begins. While few details 
  are known, it is clear that both have been ex-
  panding for some time from their respective 
  homeworlds (now imperial capitals). While 
  these expansions were not at the same rate in 
  each direction, this was the first contact either 
  species had with a military-capable spacefar-
  ing species. (If either species previously en-
  countered any minor planet-bound species, it 
  presumably absorbed and/or enslaved them.) 
  Y39 The Klingons and Lyrans, each trying to outflank 
  the other, expand their “frontline” (eventually 
  to be their border) toward the core and rim. 
  Y40 First Federation-Romulan War starts as the ex-
  Vulcans (now the Romulans) begin what they 
  see as a historic march back to their original 
  home planet. The Federation fleet uses a 
  variety of weapons, as each planet has built its 
  own ships. During this war, the Romulans and 
  Federation never actually meet face to face, 
  thus the Federation does not realize that the 
  Romulans are the long-lost Vulcan renegades. 
   
  Lyrans, trying to outflank the Klingons, attack what 
  they believe is a Klingon mining colony. The 
  outpost is, instead from a previously unknown 
  species the Hydrans. The attack starts the 
  First Lyran-Hydran War. The Hydrans had 
  been expanding from their own homeworld, 
  which is now the Royal Capital. 
  Y42 Lyran-Klingon War ends when several Lyran 
  counties abandon the war to protect their 
  homes from the Hydrans. Lyrans are forced to 
  accept an unfavorable settlement. 
  Y43 Lyrans defeat Hydran invasion, but reach a nego-
  tiated settlement rather than continue the war. 
  First Lyran-Hydran War ends. 
  Y44 Gorns battle a mysterious ship which they later 
  learn is a time-traveling Federation cruiser. 
  Y45 A treaty between the Federation and the Orions 
  effectively brings the Orions into the Federa-
  tion, albeit preserving some legal semblance 
  of a semiautonomous zone. This language, all 
  but forgotten over the years, will come back to 
  haunt the Federation 126 years later when the 
  Orions invoke a clause of the treaty to become 
  independent and neutral. 
  Y46 First Federation-Romulan War ends with a cease-
  fire; Orion support for the war effort has given 
  the Federation a major advantage. Because of 
  the Romulan threat in this direction, the Fed-
  eration develops more rapidly in its “south-
  east” area as the need for fleet support infra-
  structure drives the creation of colonies and 
  bases. 
  Y48 Lyrans, trying to outflank the Klingons by moving 
  around the (then unoccupied) WYN Cluster, 
  run into the previously unknown Kzintis. The 
  first Lyran-Kzinti War breaks out almost im-
  mediately and ends eight years later (Y56) 
  with both empires suffering devastation of their 
  thinly settled worlds in the region. 
  Y50 First Klingo-Kzinti War begins as the Klingons, 
  unaware that the Lyrans are fighting the Kzin-
  tis, also encounter this new foe. The Kzintis 
  are confused by the attack, and assume that 
  this is the second prong of a joint invasion by 
  the “allied” Klingon and Lyran forces. The 
  Kzintis do not learn until many years later that 
  the Klingons and Lyrans were bitter enemies 
  at this point in time. 
   
  Romulans deploy the Vulture-class dreadnought, 
  their largest ship until the later Condor. 
  Y55 First known contact between the Kzintis and Car-
  nivons (a canine species), and between the 
  Lyrans and the Carnivons. Some earlier con-
  tacts may have occurred, but if so the Kzinti or 
  Lyran ships did not survive to report. The Ly-
  rans and Kzintis are, apparently, both trying to 
  outflank the other when they encounter the 
  new foe. 
  Y56 The First Kzinti-Lyran War ends. The Carnivons 
  begin attacking both felinoid species, taking 
  advantage of their exhausted forces in the 
  region. 
  Y62 First cruiser capable of tactical warp is launched 
  by the Federation; it is also the first ship not to 
  
   
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  be under command of any specific planet (al-
  though the formal creation of the Star Fleet is 
  almost a decade away). This ship is, in fact, a 
  conversion of a sublight cruiser of the class 
  known much later as the “Old Light Cruiser.” 
  (Tactical warp allows ships to fight at warp 
  speed, although only up to Warp 3.2.) This 
  ship includes the first tractor beam that could 
  be used by ships traveling at warp speed, but 
  its range was limited to 10,000km and it could 
  only function in the rear arc.  
   
  Developed in conjunction with tactical warp, the 
  transporter first enters service. It is limited to a 
  range of 10,000km. Federation ships refitted 
  with tactical warp had their heavy weapons 
  replaced by photon torpedoes. 
   
  Other empires develop tactical warp power over 
  the next several years, although the Romulans 
  fail to develop this technology and remain lim-
  ited to non-tactical warp power, putting them 
  at a significant disadvantage. Until the Treaty 
  of Smarba, the Romulans are limited to non-
  tactical warp and the original tractors, limited 
  to 1,000km and dead-astern towing only. The 
  other empires begin converting existing NTW 
  ships into TW technology. As each empire 
  moves to tactical warp, it develops transport-
  ers and extends the range of its tractor beams 
  to 10,000km (still dead-astern towing only). 
  Most also replace their earlier heavy weapons 
  with new ones (disruptors, plasma bolts, etc.). 
   
  Second Gorn-Romulan War begins. Both empires 
  have made their first progress toward tactical 
  warp. Each has a breakthrough in a different 
  area. The Romulans, having fought the Fed-
  eration before (and knowing that the Federa-
  tion now has tactical warp capability), focus on 
  ways their existing ships can deal with tactical 
  warp ships. The Gorns, unaware of the Feder-
  ation, use tactical warp drive as a means of 
  positioning themselves to launch sublight 
  missiles. 
  Y63 Klingons convert the first of their sublight D3 
  cruisers to use tactical warp and disruptors. 
  Y65 Drones are first used in combat. Klingons and 
  Kzintis deploy these new weapons simultane-
  ously in an outgrowth of tactical warp technol-
  ogy. For a brief period, both empires are de-
  ploying non-tactical warp ships (which fight at 
  sublight) armed with warp-speed weapons. 
   
  Carnivon forces reach the WYN Cluster, having 
  driven a wedge between the Lyrans and Kzin-
  tis and having occupied several of their border 
  provinces. The Kzintis and Lyrans will not re-
  gain direct contact until Y106, the longest pe-
  riod of peace between each other in their 
  histories. 
  Y66 Gorns develop tactical warp power, but their ships 
  are still armed with sublight weapons (atomic 
  missiles and lasers). The Romulans, on the 
  other hand, have ships unable to use tactical 
  warp, but have developed plasma bolts and 
  systems to target ships moving at warp speed 
  in combat. The conflict between the Gorns and 
  Paravians sharply accelerates at this time, 
  which may explain why the Gorns did not 
  press the Romulans. 
   
  Incidents erupt along Hydran-Klingon border. 
  Klingons want settlement rights on oxy-
  nitrogen planets in Hydran territory; Hydrans 
  want the same rights on Klingon methane 
  worlds. The Klingons cannot tolerate the idea 
  of foreign worlds inside the Empire, and the 
  Hydrans cannot tolerate the idea of “foreign 
  corporations” in their space either. 
  Y67 Gorn Vanguard Teams conduct lightning raids on 
  numerous vital Romulan research facilities, 
  stopping the development of tactical warp 
  technology. Romulan research has been 
  hampered by the system of great houses. 
  Each house does its own research, often re-
  fusing to exchange progress reports with other 
  houses. Some houses even go so far as sab-
  otaging the work of other houses, or blocking 
  them from getting enough government money 
  to proceed with possibly successful research. 
  This may have been exacerbated by an espe-
  cially weak emperor (Ruvellus) who could not 
  force the houses to cooperate. Ruvellus ap-
  pointed seven praetors in less than two years 
  as powerful great houses maneuvered to de-
  pose (or assassinate) any praetor controlled 
  by another great house. 
  Y68 Ruvellus appoints his eighth and last praetor. 
   
  Gorns win the Second Gorn-Romulan War. 
   
  Gorns turn to deal with Paravian raids. Most Gorn 
  ships have already been upgraded with TL10 
  tactical warp and begin receiving plasma bolt 
  refits at forward bases, while the TL9 Paravian 
  ships must return to their home planet to get 
  tactical warp and the new quantum wave tor-
  pedoes. Using this decisive advantage, the 
  Gorns quickly destroy virtually every unrefitted 
  Paravian ship. Many Gorn ships, hurriedly re-
  fitted, are sent into combat with tactical warp 
  and plasma bolts, but without their phasers. 
  The first Paravian tactical warp ships give 
  these semi-refitted Gorn ships a rough time, 
  but there are relatively few mismatches of this 
  type. 
   
  Second Lyran-Hydran War begins. 
  Y70 The Paravians fully deploy tactical warp, phasers, 
  and quantum wave torpedoes. 
  Y71 Federation forms the United Star Fleet. Member 
  planets begin disbanding their “national” fleets 
  (comprised of NTW ships) in favor of the 
  United Star Fleet, which consists exclusively 
  of photon-armed tactical warp ships. This is 
  
   
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  one of the cornerstones of Federation cohe-
  siveness, as the United Star Fleet makes the 
  national fleets obsolete. To “facilitate training” 
  however, the Federation Council agrees to al-
  low each planet to convert a few old ships to 
  tactical warp and photon torpedoes. In fact, 
  the member planets still do not entirely trust 
  each other and these refitted ships are a sym-
  bol of political power. While there will never be 
  a Federation civil war, there are moments in 
  which tensions over trade concessions and 
  other matters reach high levels. 
   
  Second Lyran-Hydran War ends when improved 
  Hydran weapons (e.g., nova cannon) give 
  them a decisive advantage over the Lyrans. 
  Y72 Klingon-Hydran “incident” (brief border war). 
  Y73 Hydrans attack the Klingons. They do not have a 
  formal alliance with the Kzintis (who are still at 
  war with the Klingons), but are considered as 
  cobelligerents. Klingons are hard-pressed to 
  fight a war on two fronts and outgunned by the 
  new Hydran nova cannon. 
   
   
   
  Y75 A badly outnumbered Klingon fleet defending the 
  Hydran 
  Frontier 
  is 
  decisively 
  defeated. 
  Klingons agree to a settlement granting Hy-
  drans trade concessions and allowing them to 
  colonize several methane-atmosphere planets 
  within the Empire. Kzintis howl with rage be-
  cause Hydrans will not continue the war. 
  Klingons purchase war material (at ridiculously 
  inflated prices) from Hydrans and launch a re-
  newed offensive against the Kzintis. 
  Y76 Klingons, expanding their territory to the Galactic 
  Rim, encounter the Vudar, and later absorb 
  them into the Empire under special semiau-
  tonomous conditions. Only the Vudar can sur-
  vive for extended periods in the radiation 
  zones along the Rim (their home). Other 
  Klingon explorers contact the Romulans, and 
  report that the backward state of Romulan 
  technology makes them ripe for conquest. 
  Several Klingon ships raid Romulan territory, 
  and Romulan ale becomes a trophy much in 
  demand in the Klingon fleet. The Romulans 
  are not entirely certain who this new enemy is. 
  Y78 Based on lessons from the Hydran War, the 
  Klingons launch the D4 class cruisers, the first 
  designed from the keel up to include tactical 
  warp. The Lyrans, Hydrans, and Kzintis follow 
  suit with their own ships of this type. 
  Y79 Tholians arrive in the Milky Way Galaxy, settling 
  in the tip of the same spiral arm that includes 
  the Klingons. The Klingons explored and 
  claimed this territory only a few years previ-
  ously, and had set up a few colonies there, but 
  no Klingon ships were present at the precise 
  point of Tholian arrival so they remain 
  undetected. 
   
  Federation launches the first of the Republic-class 
  cruisers 
  and 
  begins 
  refitting 
  the 
  older 
  Province-class cruisers to the improved (and 
  faster) tactical warp engines. 
  Y80 At about this time, most empires develop tractor 
  beams able to function in a 360° arc, but this 
  technology is still limited to 10,000km. Also at 
  about this time, most empires are able to ex-
  tend the range of their transporters to 
  20,000km. The Gorns do not reach these 
  technological goals until Y90; the Romulans 
  do not reach them until the Treaty of Smarba 
  in Y159. 
  Y82 First Klingo-Kzinti War ends. Klingons capture 
  three key planets. 
  Y83 Tholians make their first known contact with the 
  Klingons and establish the borders of the 
  Holdfast. First of several vicious border wars 
  lasts two years, causing heavy losses among 
  the Klingon ships (who cannot fight the new 
  technology effectively). Tholians wipe out 
  three minor Klingon colonies, the largest of 
  which is Kalesta (intended as the jumping-off 
  point for the conquest of the Romulans). The 
  Klingons will forever after regard the Tholians 
  as “foreign invaders.” The shame of having a 
  part of the Empire occupied by a foreign 
  
   
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  power will stain the honor of the warrior class 
  forever. Although no one knows it at the time, 
  the Tholians probably saved the Romulans 
  from being conquered by the Klingons. Miss-
  ing the chance to conquer the Romulans will 
  give the Klingons much anguish. Had they 
  done so, they might have had the resources to 
  dominate the entire Alpha Octant. 
   
  The Long Lance (type-III) drone enters service. 
   
  Federation Marine Major General Kripney delivers 
  the famous report “Case for Primary Contact 
  Action Teams in Novel Contact Environments” 
  to Star Fleet Command. 
  Y84 Klingons, having defeated the Kzintis, attack the 
  Hydrans. This is known as the “Second 
  Klingo-Hydran War” to Federation historians, 
  as the “War of Retribution” to the Klingons, 
  and as the “War of Infamy” to the Hydrans. 
   
  Lyrans attack the collapsing Hydran border (Third 
  Lyran-Hydran War) and capture several plan-
  ets, but are not formal allies of the Klingons. 
   
  First contact between the Tholians and Federa-
  tion. The Tholians have no interest in sugges-
  tions for commerce and the free exchange of 
  ideas. 
   
  In the Federation, Tumball Massi is placed in 
  charge of the Primary Contact program; this is 
  the genesis of the later Prime Teams. 
  Y85 First contact between the Klingons and Federa-
  tion (although the Vulcans had previously told 
  the other Federation members of past meet-
  ings with the warrior empire). The Klingons, 
  involved in a war with the Hydrans, furious 
  with the Tholians, and still watching the Kzinti 
  border, decide not to provoke this new enemy 
  but instead send Klingon civilians and diplo-
  mats to hold trade talks and discuss coopera-
  tion treaties. For several years, the Klingons 
  and Federation remain on friendly terms, 
  which are increasingly strained as both try to 
  snap up good colony worlds in the relatively 
  unexplored territory between them. While both 
  assume the other empire is not particularly 
  warlike, both note that the other is positioning 
  colonies for strategic advantage and both 
  quickly intensify intelligence-gathering efforts. 
   
  Ground-breaking ceremonies for the Cultural In-
  doctrination Center and for the Prime Central 
  facility on the Moon. 
   
  The Gorns succeed in blockading the Paravian 
  homeworld (in the process destroying all or-
  bital and space-related facilities) and begin 
  hunting down the surviving Paravian ships. 
  Unknown to the Gorns, some Paravians es-
  cape to the Omega Octant. The Gorns, un-
  willing to actually annex territory claimed by 
  the Paravians, set up the Trusteeship Zone 
  covering the Paravian areas. In theory, this 
  territory (and profits from it) will be returned to 
  the Paravians when they agree to peaceful 
  coexistence. 
  Y87 Klingon forces smash the Hydran fleet and de-
  stroy Hydran colonies. Many atrocities are 
  committed by the Klingons. All Hydran ships 
  larger than police corvettes are destroyed, and 
  the Hydran Kingdom is reduced to a Klingon 
  client. (Later analysts will note that only the 
  presence of Klingon colonies inside Hydran 
  space made such a rapid advance possible, 
  as all wars were limited to how far ships could 
  be supported by supplies from prewar bases.) 
  The Klingons establish governors over Hydran 
  planets. Due to the difference in atmospheres, 
  however, these governors are never really 
  able to control the populace and rule from or-
  biting satellites. These satellites have powerful 
  weapons aimed at the planet below, but are 
  poorly defended against attack from space. 
  Y88 First Federation-Kzinti War begins as Kzintis at-
  tack. The Klingons provide the Federation with 
  useful intelligence and tactical advice, and for 
  a few years Klingon officers are honored 
  guests on Federation cruisers fighting the 
  Kzintis. The Klingons expect to eventually fight 
  the Federation simply because they have 
  fought all of their neighbors, but do not do so 
  at this point because there are no bases on 
  the Federation border to support fleets, and 
  there is enough trouble with their other 
  neighbors.  
   
  Under tremendous pressure, the Federation Coun-
  cil agrees to allow each member planet to 
  keep a “squadron” of old ships refitted with 
  tactical warp and photon torpedoes. As the 
  size of these squadrons is not defined, the 
  move in effect legalizes the “training” units that 
  had grown far larger than the original law of 
  Y71 intended. Some of these ships will serve 
  in combat later. These squadrons will, in 
  Y113, evolve into the National Guard. 
   
  Second Lyran-Klingon War begins in arguments 
  over the division of the Hydran Empire. In the 
  confusion, the Hydran colonies of Altroth, 
  Minxitith, and Krooth are not found or occu-
  pied by the Klingons or Lyrans. These colo-
  nies were established much earlier by the Hy-
  dran merchant guilds, and the later power of 
  the guilds stems from this period. The guilds 
  maintain 
  the 
  monarchy 
  through 
  Prince 
  S’Lenthna, the last heir of Hydraxan IX. As the 
  guilds hold the real power, the Prince is a vir-
  tual puppet, but his presence is important in 
  rallying the Hydrans. The guilds begin con-
  verting merchant shipyards into facilities able 
  to produce warships. 
   
  Romulans develop seeking plasmas and the 
  masking device (an early version of the 
  cloaking device), installing them in their ships. 
  
   
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  Y89 Kzintis make gains against the Federation, cap-
  turing several planets. 
   
  Romulans attack Tholians in order to test their 
  new 
  weapons, 
  but 
  abandon 
  the 
  “First 
  Romulan-Tholian War” in less than a year, as 
  winning this war is never their real objective. 
  Y90 Third Gorn-Romulan War begins with Romulan 
  attack. The Romulans, using their new tech-
  nology, drive deep into Gorn territory despite 
  the fact that they are practically sitting ducks in 
  combat. The Romulans will, for the next 35 
  years, plunder their own resources trying to 
  fund wars of aggression using inferior ships, 
  reducing their empire to near the poverty level. 
   
  Civil wars erupt in the Hydran “Lost Colonies” as 
  Prince S’Lenthna tries to break the guilds’ 
  power. 
  Y91 Klingons and Lyrans settle their differences by 
  negotiation. The Klingons are anxious to do so 
  because they plan to rid the galaxy of the 
  “Tholian Menace.” The Klingons and Lyrans 
  become firm allies, finally cementing their 
  good relations about Y100. 
   
  Federation begins counter-offensive to regain 
  Kzinti-occupied territory and makes steady 
  progress. 
   
  Greatest extent of Romulan gains into Gorn terri-
  tory. Gorns rush the first of the new cruisers 
  designed “from the keel up” for tactical warp 
  into service. 
  Y92 The Great Klingo-Tholian War begins; it lasts 10 
  years and accomplishes nothing. 
   
  First Federation-Kzinti War ends, with the Federa-
  tion frontier re-established in the original loca-
  tion, creating a temporary “border.” 
   
  A Federation Primary Contact Team (the Wraiths) 
  encounters energy creatures on Vetrised IV. 
   
  Last known battle between Gorn ships and Para-
  vian raiders outside of the Blockade. 
  Y93 Extended-range drones enter service. 
  Y94 A sun snake plunges into the Paravian home star, 
  causing it to go nova and effectively destroy-
  ing the Paravian species in the Alpha Octant. 
  The Gorns are overcome with shock, shame, 
  and guilt. 
  Y95 Star Fleet Marine Corps and the Federation Mer-
  chant Service are formally brought under the 
  umbrella of Star Fleet Command. 
  Y96 Third Gorn-Romulan War ends as the Gorns drive 
  the Romulans back to the original border and 
  (suffering from “Paravian Guilt”) refuse to ad-
  vance beyond it. The Romulans continue at-
  tacks, raids, and harassment along the border 
  at varying levels over the next 24 years, often 
  blaming the attacks on “Privateers” (the 
  Romulan government denied the attacks were 
  government-sanctioned), an excuse they will 
  use again and again. 
  Y98 Klingons attack the Tholian homeworld. While 
  causing much damage, they cannot destroy it, 
  and are forced to withdraw. 
  Y100 At about this time, most empires are able to ex-
  tend the range of their transporters to 
  30,000km. 
  Y101 Hydran civil wars intensify. Much of Minxitith is 
  rendered uninhabitable. 
  Y102 Klingons abandon the Great War against 
  Tholians. 
   
  Noting the problems of an undefined Klingon bor-
  der, the Federation Council declares the bor-
  der of the Federation to be 4,750 parsecs from 
  the center of the Primary Member Zone (an 
  area that will later be known simply as “the 
  capital”). This declaration is announced as a 
  great peacemaking effort, in that the Federa-
  tion will not attempt to control territory beyond 
  this limit. The limit, defined by the distance 
  from the capital to the Romulan Neutral Zone, 
  includes territory occupied by the Kzintis and 
  disputed by the Klingons, neither of which is 
  impressed 
  with 
  Federation 
  diplomatic 
  statements. 
   
  Federation Primary Contact teams are officially 
  renamed Prime Teams, a designation they 
  have carried unofficially for several years. 
  Y103 Second Klingo-Kzinti War begins. 
   
  A series of incidents on the Federation-Klingon 
  “border” begins with the declaration by the 
  Federation; the frequency increases over the 
  next six years. 
  Y105 Gorn Confederation is the last major empire to 
  extend the range of its transporters to 
  30,000km. The Romulans still do not have 
  transporter technology.  
   
  Federation colony on Aberdeen III is found to be 
  completely abandoned under mysterious cir-
  cumstances that are never explained. 
  Y106 Kzintis win the second Klingo-Kzinti War and 
  regain the planets. They immediately launch 
  an attack on the Carnivons. Sensing the 
  weakness of the Carnivons, the Lyrans attack 
  them as well. Over the next few years, the 
  Carnivons are defeated decisively and annihi-
  lated. While rumors of surviving Carnivons will 
  continue for a century, no confirmed contact is 
  ever made and the species is presumed to be 
  extinct. 
  Y109 Second Lyran-Kzinti War begins when a Kzinti 
  strike cruiser destroys a Lyran exploration 
  ship. The Lyrans claim a moral outrage over 
  the attack, but ignore the fact that their “explo-
  ration ship” was exploring Kzinti territory (al-
  beit just liberated from the Carnivons) for new 
  colony sites. 
  Y110 First Federation-Klingon War begins with Klingon 
  attack on territory claimed by the Federation 
  Declaration of Y102. 
   
  Tholians capture disruptor technology from the 
  Klingons in a daring raid. The Klingons are fu-
  rious but unable to react due to their new war 
  with the Federation. The fact that the Tholians 
  
   
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  had weapons superior to the Klingons (e.g., 
  phaser-1s) may have been the reason that the 
  Klingons abandoned the war with the Federa-
  tion so quickly. 
   
  Romulan Senate votes to launch a new war 
  against the Federation, but after the sudden 
  death of Emperor Ramillius, the Senate re-
  verses its decision and recalls the ships sent 
  to the Federation border. At least one Federa-
  tion ship is destroyed in a skirmish with the in-
  itial Romulan probes, but the Romulans with-
  drew before the Federation detected any 
  Romulan attack and the ship (which was una-
  ble to transmit a warning) was written off as 
  “fate unknown.” This is, much later, spoken of 
  as “the forgotten war.” 
  Y111 First Federation-Klingon War ends as the 
  Klingons abandon their attacks and launch 
  diplomatic protests over the new Federation 
  border. 
  Y112 The planet Aurora III is colonized. To date, this 
  system is the most coreward that the Federa-
  tion has colonized. 
  Y113 When Federation member planets stall on the 
  mandated scrapping of their “national” fleets, 
  the Federation Council passes the Federation 
  Defense Act, creating the National Guards of 
  each planet. These are, officially, a reserve for 
  the Star Fleet, but this will not become fact for 
  a generation. In the interim, each planet re-
  gards its National Guard as its defense 
  against domination by other members of the 
  Federation and for local defense (as some 
  doubt that Star Fleet can or will protect every 
  member planet equally). 
   
  Sixteen Orion ships and 9,000 skilled crewmen 
  mutiny and disappear. These actually go to 
  secret Orion colonies in Romulan space and 
  become the nucleus of the Orion Pirates. 
  Y114 Second Lyran-Kzinti War ends. 
   
  Klingon-Tholian “Incident” shows their conflict is 
  not over. 
  Y116 Kzinti Civil War. The Usurper attempts to over-
  throw the Patriarch and fails. After his defeat, 
  the Usurper flees to WYN Cluster. 
  Y117 Orion Pirates are in widespread operation and 
  begin eliminating or co-opting non-Orion pi-
  rates who had been in operation for decades. 
  Y119 Romulans replace the masking device with the 
  improved veiling device and they develop 
  mauler technology. 
  Y120 Fourth Gorn-Romulan War begins and continues 
  for five years. 
   
  At about this time, most empires are able to ex-
  tend the reach of their tractor beams to 
  20,000km and the range of their transporters 
  to 40,000km. All empires begin building base 
  stations along their borders, replacing previ-
  ous haphazard networks of various types and 
  sizes of bases. This tends to solidify the bor-
  ders over the next two decades. 
  Y121 The Klingo-Tholian “Incident” renews border 
  tensions. 
  Y123 Third Klingo-Kzinti War begins. 
  Y124 The last of the Romulan “Old Series” mauler 
  ships is destroyed in combat. The weapon, 
  which needed too much power to be used ef-
  fectively, was regarded as a failure. The de-
  sign will be resurrected when Klingon warp 
  engines provide the Romulans with a better 
  source of power for their ships. 
  Y125 Fourth Gorn-Romulan War ends in a Gorn vic-
  tory. Gorns occupy some Romulan territory to 
  establish a clearly defined border, and destroy 
  Romulan bases used to launch aggression. 
   
  Lyrans attack Kzintis (Third Lyran-Kzinti War) with 
  part of their fleet, taking advantage of the 
  Klingo-Kzinti War. 
   
  The Federation Council votes for a massive pro-
  gram of exploration toward the unexplored and 
  uninhabited coreward regions. Aurora III be-
  comes the staging area for this program. A 
  fleet base station is built there, and supplies 
  for the program are stockpiled as explorers, 
  traders, colonists, and Star Fleet await final 
  approval of the campaign. 
   
  The Klingons launch the first of the new D6 class. 
  Y126 The first of the new Federation heavy cruisers 
  known as the Constitution class is launched. 
  Y128 Hydran civil war ends as Prince S’Lenthna abdi-
  cates in favor of his underage grandson. All of 
  the boyking’s regents are heads of guilds. 
  Y129 Hydran “Lost Colonies” begin preparations for 
  restoration of the kingdom. Technology is ac-
  quired from unknown foreign sources, later 
  said to be Kzinti or perhaps Orion. 
  Y130 Federation Constitution-class heavy cruisers are 
  simultaneously inaugurated as the flagships of 
  all of the numbered fleets. Some have been 
  de facto flagships for some time. 
   
  The Federation Aurora colony disappears mysteri-
  ously after sending a report of a very unusual 
  cosmic storm. Every starship in the sector is 
  sent to investigate but finds nothing; the entire 
  Aurora system has disappeared, star, planets, 
  asteroids, bases, colonists -- everything! The 
  Federation Council attempts a cover-up, but 
  the news leaks. The resignation of pro-explo-
  ration members of the Council delays such 
  exploration for decades. A century will pass 
  before Aurora is found in the Omega Octant. 
  Y131 The Third Klingo-Kzinti War ends; the results are 
  inconclusive. 
   
  Third Lyran-Kzinti War ends. 
   
  Orion Pirates board a Federation commercial star-
  liner, The Celestial Queen, with numerous 
  dignitaries on board. Highlanders Prime Team, 
  under the command of Sheroc Kelleret, liber-
  
   
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  ates the Starliner with no civilian fatalities. 
  While the Orions fought to the death rather 
  than surrender, Orion propaganda convinces 
  many that a vengeful Prime Team executed 
  the pirates. 
  Y132 Hydran agents from the Lost Colonies begin in-
  filtrating Klingon-occupied planets of the 
  Kingdom. 
  Y133 Gatling phaser is developed by the Hydrans. 
  Y134 New Hydran ship classes (Ranger, Lancer, 
  Scout) are in service in the Lost Colonies, 
  along with the first fighters in the Alpha Octant 
  capable of tactical warp combat. (The Romu-
  lans had used sublight fighters to provide local 
  planetary defense for decades.) 
  Y135 Hydrans from the Lost Colonies under King Hy-
  draxan XI attack the Klingon satellites over the 
  Hydran planets. In a swift campaign lasting 
  only a few weeks, the Hydran Kingdom is re-
  stored. The personal popularity of Hydraxan XI 
  makes him “unacceptable” to the guilds, and 
  he dies under mysterious circumstances. 
  While Hydraxan XII ascends the throne, the 
  guilds solidify their power. 
   
  Kzintis field the first battle tug, which defeats an 
  Orion attack on a convoy. 
   
   
  Y136 Second Federation-Kzinti War begins as Kzintis 
  attack Federation border stations. 
   
  Orions discover the Kzintis living in the WYN Clus-
  ter and establish their first base there. 
  Y137 Third Klingon-Hydran War begins as the Hy-
  drans attack the Klingons. 
  Y139 Klingon-Tholian Incident (yes, another one). 
  Y141 Third Klingon-Hydran War ends. Hydrans have 
  gained no territory but have regained their 
  self-respect. For reasons that remain obscure, 
  four new kings take the throne in less than a 
  year. The last, Hydraxan XVI, lasts for two 
  years. 
  Y142 Second Federation-Kzinti War ends with no 
  change in the border. 
  Y143 The brief Fourth Lyran-Hydran War begins and 
  ends as Hydrans recapture two planets from 
  the Lyrans. Lyrans are unable to devote full 
  attention to the war due to troubles on Kzinti 
  border. 
  Y144 Fourth Lyran-Kzinti War begins. 
  Y145 Kzinti renegades (of a neo-samurai cult) raid 
  Allen’s Planet, slaughtering all 3,000 colonists 
  with the exception of one human infant, Wil-
  liam S. Gerard, whom they take with them. 
  The Marquis (the Kzinti noble in charge of the 
  Federation border) captures and executes the 
  renegades to preserve peace, but he cannot 
  return Gerard without explaining what the 
  samurai had planned to do with him. Gerard is 
  raised as a son of his own house. 
   
  The Revolt in the Lyran Dark Star County results 
  in a democratic government still loyal to the 
  Lyran Empire. 
  Y146 Hydran “civil war” begins, but all combat will take 
  place within the palace over the next five 
  years. 
  Y149 Klingon-Tholian Incident. A Klingon fleet slips 
  into Tholian territory to capture a patrol cor-
  vette and the secret of web technology, but 
  Tholian ships surround the Klingons, and the 
  captured ship must be abandoned during the 
  retreat. 
  Y152 Hydraxan XXIII (“The Great”) ascends the 
  throne, which he will hold for almost two 
  decades. 
  Y153 Lyrans face off against the rebellious Dark Star 
  County at the Battle of Vandha. 
  Y154 Second Federation-Romulan War begins. 
   
  Lyran Dark Star County declares independence 
  and becomes the Lyran Democratic Republic. 
  Y155 Treaty of Pelione re-establishes the Neutral 
  Zone and ends the second Fed-Romulan War. 
   
  Fourth Lyran-Kzinti War ends. 
   
  Orions destroy Federation border station K4 
  (SH49). 
  Y156 Second Federation-Klingon War begins. War 
  ends the same year with the Organian Treaty. 
   
  Orions destroy a Kzinti border station in a raid 
  (SH8). 
   
  Lyran Civil War; one of many, few details known. 
  
   
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  Kzinti-Hydran Treaty signed. Each pledges to at-
  tack the Klingons and/or Lyrans if the other is 
  attacked by them. The Klingons and Lyrans 
  sign a joint defense treaty six weeks later. 
  Many Lyran nobles oppose this treaty, result-
  ing in a sporadic civil war. 
  Y157 Gorn-Federation “war” starts as the result of a 
  small incident where two brash young captains 
  shoot first and face embarrassing questions 
  later. Both fleets mobilize, but no space com-
  bat takes place. The Romulans attempt to dis-
  rupt treaty negotiations (SH52), but the “war” 
  ends six weeks later with the Treaty of Al-
  goran. The Federation apologizes for entering 
  the territory of the previously unknown Gorns, 
  while the Gorns pay reparations for the colony 
  destroyed in a ground raid and imprison an of-
  ficer who used excessive force. 
   
  Fifth Lyran-Hydran War begins. 
   
  Lyran Civil War ends abruptly. 
   
  Klingons launch an abortive attack on the LDR. 
  Y158 Fourth Klingon-Kzinti War begins. Citing their 
  treaty, the Hydrans almost immediately launch 
  an 
  attack 
  against 
  the 
  Klingon 
  border 
  squadrons.  
   
  The Lyrans join the Klingons in fighting Hydrans 
  and Kzintis. This is known as the Four Powers 
  War and is regarded as a prelude to the later 
  General War. All previous wars had been 
  small (mostly consisting of border raids) but 
  new logistical systems developed in this war 
  (notably the semi-portable “mobile base”) will 
  make actual invasions of enemy territory pos-
  sible. Fighters are deployed by the Kzintis in 
  large numbers for the first time, establishing 
  the concept of “attrition units” which make it 
  possible to fight savage battles without losing 
  quite so many ships that take years to build. 
   
  The Federation, anxious to reduce the threat 
  posed by the Klingons, shifts fleet units to the 
  Klingon border and discusses a limited action 
  with the Organians to restore the balance of 
  power. This is, however, a “hoax” intended to 
  influence the Klingons to negotiate an imme-
  diate settlement to end the war, as the Feder-
  ation would never consider military power as a 
  solution to the problem. The plan backfires. 
  Y159 Klingon-Romulan Treaty of Smarba signed. 
  Klingons begin supplying advanced technol-
  ogy to the Romulans, allowing the conversion 
  of old Warbirds into War Eagles. These in-
  crease pressure on the Federation border. 
  The Federation transfers ships back from the 
  Klingon border to the Romulan border. This 
  allows the Klingons to transfer ships to fight 
  the Kzintis. The Federation’s attempt to use 
  the “threat of force” as a substitute for simple 
  force has failed and planted the seeds of the 
  General War. 
  Y160 Minor skirmish on the Gorn-Romulan-Federation 
  border (SH53). 
   
  ISC forces observe a Gorn-Romulan battle. 
   
  Phillip Kosnett becomes captain of the heavy 
  cruiser Kongo. In one of his first missions, he 
  protects the planet Pollux IX from a meteor set 
  on course by the Klingons (SH3). 
   
  Marcus Tal is selected by the Romulan Preditrate 
  for Praetorian duty (equivalent to Prime 
  Teams). 
  Y161 The Kongo under Captain Kosnett is sabotaged 
  while on a special mission and attacked by a 
  Klingon battlecruiser (SH1). Kosnett rescues 
  Federation hostages held by the Klingons 
  (SH7). 
  Y162 Kongo converted to a command cruiser. 
   
  The Kzinti noble known as “The Marquis” (in failing 
  health) sends William S. Gerard home in an 
  AAS fighter, the first time the Federation has 
  seen a craft of this type. 
   
  Fifth Lyran-Hydran War ends. 
   
  Romulans begin mass conversion of Warbirds to 
  War Eagles and update other old ships. 
   
  The Fourth Klingon-Kzinti War ends with inconclu-
  sive results. 
  Y163 Klingon-Tholian Incident. 
   
  The Federation Galactic Survey cruiser Marco 
  Polo is attacked by the Romulans and rescued 
  by the cruiser Hood (SL44). 
   
  Romulan Praetorian Marcus Tal distinguishes him-
  self during the Sherioki Incident. 
  Y164 The Federation tug Al Rashid is disabled near 
  the Kzinti-Klingon border (SH55). Kzinti ships 
  arrive to rescue the ship; Klingons arrive and 
  claim that the Kzintis are pirates. 
   
  The Klingon D6 Gnasher raids Rita’s Planet in the 
  Neutral Zone, massacring the Federation col-
  onists. The Kongo arrives and rescues Burt 
  Engles, the only survivor, and takes him to 
  Organia to testify against Klingon Commander 
  Kremler; the Gnasher tries but fails to stop the 
  Kongo. 
   
  Ardak Kumerian assumes command of frigate 
  Vigilance. Due to a combination of circum-
  stances, history will record more about him 
  than any other Klingon officer. As an admiral, 
  his most famous quote will be “Never fight a 
  battle you do not have to win.” 
  Y165 The Romulans begin building the new genera-
  tion of ships known as “the Hawk series.” 
   
  Federation begins “refits” that add improved sys-
  tems to their ships; other empires follow suit. 
  Destroyer Kublai intercepts the Klingon D6 
  Devastation, which had been harassing ship-
  ping (SH56). 
   
  Andromedans build a base in the Lesser Magel-
  lanic Cloud and begin conquering it. 
  Y166 Series of incidents on Klingon-Kzinti border (un-
  declared war). Kumerian destroys Kzinti shut-
  
   
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Star Fleet Universe 
  tle squadron #26 (SH5) and is promoted to 
  command the D6 Destruction. 
   
  Klingon D6 Devastation operates as experimental 
  semi-carrier and conducts several raids on 
  Kzintis to test fighters. 
   
  William S. Gerard graduates from Star Fleet 
  Academy. 
   
  First encounter with an Andromedan Intruder. 
   
  Federation-Kzinti ambassadors sign articles of 
  agreement and become allies. 
   
  Ensign 
  Peltier 
  graduates 
  from 
  Star 
  Fleet 
  Academy. 
  Y167 Kumerian and the Destruction are sent to the 
  prestigious Tholian Border Squadron, where 
  he serves as commander of the 2nd Fighting 
  Division. He destroys the Tholian 3rd Patrol 
  Squadron after it forms a pinwheel; he is pro-
  moted to commodore in command of the 
  Squadron. In the flagship Darkslayer, he leads 
  a demonstration attack against a Tholian base 
  (SH6). Threlvis Kren, an officer under Ku-
  merian’s command, starts an incident with the 
  Tholians that backfires. Needing a scapegoat 
  to quiet Federation complaints, the Klingons 
  pick Kumerian. He is stripped of his position 
  as commodore, but is allowed to retain his 
  rank as captain and command of his original 
  ship Destruction. The ship is sent to the West-
  ern Fleet. Korath replaces Kumerian in com-
  mand of the Tholian Border Squadron. 
   
  Romulan attempt (with Klingon help) to ambush 
  the Gorn cruiser Reptilicon fails when the 
  ships enter Federation territory and the Feder-
  ation command cruiser Lexington intervenes. 
   
  Deth O’Kay’s ship, the Hammerfield (an Orion Pi-
  rate heavy cruiser), attacks a convoy. 
  Y168 On the Tholian border, the Federation destroyer 
  Ares is destroyed. Excalibur rescues the crew 
  (SH59) from Tholian slavery. 
   
  The Federation CC Excalibur, the Klingon D7C 
  Darkslayer, the Tholian CA Arrrakk, and the 
  Orion raider Gossamer Phoenix defeat the 
  extragalactic Juggernaut. The Darkslayer is 
  destroyed, but Korath is given the new Dire-
  slayer and a Federation commendation. 
  Korath has, however, sworn revenge against 
  Federation Captain Gray for calling him a 
  coward during the battle. 
   
  The General War begins when war erupts on the 
  Lyran-Kzinti border. This is at first known as 
  the Fifth Lyran-Kzinti War. Technology im-
  proves during the course of the war. 
  Y169 Klingons join Lyrans and declare war on Kzintis. 
  Korath, the Direslayer, and the Tholian Border 
  Squadron deploy to the Kzinti border where 
  Korath eventually becomes an admiral com-
  manding that sector. 
   
  The Hydrans launch a preemptive strike on the 
  Lyrans and begin their attempted break-
  through to Federation territory. 
   
  William S. Gerard serves as an “observer” with the 
  Kzinti fleet, where he exhibits his skill as a 
  fighter pilot. 
   
  To atone for his failure and to gain revenge 
  against the Federation, Kumerian raids Sher-
  man’s Planet where he personally leads Ma-
  rines in hand-to-hand combat. 
   
  Klingons begin construction of the B10 battleship 
  Invincible and obtain mauler technology from 
  the Romulans. 
   
  ISC forces defeat a Romulan squadron and make 
  initial contact with the Gorns. 
   
  The Federation tries to capture the pirate raider 
  cruiser Berol Turquoise, but the pirate cruiser 
  Hammerfield intervenes. 
  Y170 Klingon D6 battlecruiser Destruction mutinies 
  and is interned at Federation Starbase 16. It is 
  returned to Klingons the next year. The 
  Klingons are outraged that the Federation 
  dismantled the Ubitron Interface Module and 
  want to declare war, but are restrained by the 
  Organians. Kumerian, captain of the Destruc-
  tion, is demoted in disgrace and sent to com-
  mand the penal frigate Insufferable. His son, 
  Kollos, graduates from the Deep Space Fleet 
  Academy but is refused a naval commission. 
  He transfers to the Internal Security (Police) 
  Forces. 
   
  The Kzintis attack the Klingon carrier Berserker 
  (SH15). 
   
  The Klingon advance into Hydran territory de-
  pends on a tenuous supply line (SH18). 
  Y171 The Organians disappear. Several empires are 
  blamed for this, but none know the true 
  situation. 
   
  Kraknora, a Klingon penal colony, revolts. A task 
  force is sent to quell the rebellion, but is never 
  heard from again. ISF ships sent to investigate 
  find the entire star system missing. Klingon 
  scientists compare this event to the disap-
  pearance of the Federation’s Aurora colony 41 
  years earlier, but remain as baffled as their 
  Federation counterparts. 
   
  Klingons declare war on the Federation and attack 
  the border with hundreds of ships. This had 
  been planned before the Kraknora colony dis-
  appeared.) (It is unknown if the Klingons took 
  advantage of the Organian departure or if the 
  Organians left because they knew the 
  Klingons were going to start a major war.) The 
  Federation cruiser Hood is reported destroyed 
  by three Klingon cruisers (SH19), but the sau-
  cer returns to Federation lines in Y174. 
   
  Under pressure from the invading Klingons, the 
  Orion semiautonomous zone within the Fed-
  eration briefly declares its independence and 
  neutrality. 
   
  Seeking an alliance, the Klingons send Ambassa-
  dor Thad Vak Kaleen to the Romulans. The 
  Federation 
  attempts 
  to 
  intercept 
  Kaleen 
  (SH80), but he succeeds in reaching Romulus. 
  
   
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Star Fleet Universe 
  Page 323 
   
  While the Romulans do not yet declare war on 
  the Federation, they launch a series of raids 
  (SH60, SH69).  
  Y172 The Federation responds to the Klingon attack 
  with raids by new carriers. Federation fleets 
  are sent to assist the Kzintis, and a Federation 
  expedition (Operation Hydra) unsuccessfully 
  attempts to reach the Hydrans. In an unusual 
  case, a group of pirates is trapped between 
  Klingon and Federation fleets (SH61) fighting 
  on the border. 
   
  Deth O’Kay carries a contract cargo to Hydran 
  territory; he is betrayed and attacked by the 
  Hydrans, but wins. 
  Y173 With their invasion running out of steam, the 
  Klingons convince the Romulans to declare 
  war on the Federation and to launch a mas-
  sive attack. Federation Commodore Stocker 
  discovers the invasion and launches a 
  preemptive attack with Lexington, catching a 
  Romulan squadron unprepared and badly 
  mauling it (SH2). Another Federation squad-
  ron is ambushed at Denebola during treaty 
  negotiations with an Orion base. The old 
  cruiser Republic fights two groups of Romulan 
  raiders. 
   
  Lieutenant Peltier completes Prime Central train-
  ing with honors and rejoins the Saratoga as 
  leader of the Black Eagles Prime Team. Deth 
  O’Kay is captured by Stocker but rescued by 
  his own ship and resumes his command. 
  Y174 The Gorns ally with the Federation. The General 
  War has now reached virtually complete es-
  calation. 
  The 
  Grand 
  Alliance 
  (Gorn-
  Federation-Kzinti) 
  fleets 
  battle 
  Coalition 
  (Romulan-Klingon-Lyran) fleets. Hydrans have 
  co-belligerent status with the Grand Alliance 
  but are not formal allies. 
   
  Orions begin operating against the Grand Alliance, 
  using unprecedented numbers of ships. 
  Y175 The Klingon D7C Demonslayer mutinies (SH62). 
   
  Klingons trap a Federation fleet in a stasis field; 
  Rear Admiral John “Cracker Jack” Radey and 
  his carrier group rescue them (SH81). 
   
  Federation Police Commissioner Robert Scorpio 
  orders the construction of the first Federation 
  police carrier. 
   
  Black Eagles Prime Team disrupts dangerous spy 
  operations on Data Processing Station 119. 
  Y176 Alliance forces recapture large areas of Federa-
  tion territory, reaching the Tholian border and 
  cutting off contact between the Klingons and 
  their Romulan allies. The Tholians tentatively 
  accept membership in the Grand Alliance. 
   
  ISC begins incursions into Romulan and Gorn ter-
  ritory. These increase over time. 
  Y177 Vulkalis Kurlak, commander of the Tholian Bor-
  der Squadron, finds himself as a fleet com-
  mander without ships in a backwater of the 
  war. Amassing hundreds of fighters, he at-
  tacks the Tholians, exposing their weakness. 
  Exploiting his success, the Coalition launches 
  “Operation Nutcracker” to destroy the Tholians 
  once and for all. Besieged, the Tholians allow 
  ships of their allies to enter the Holdfast, but 
  only those of the Gorns and Kzintis (since they 
  would not pose as much of a threat after the 
  War). 
   
  The Romulans attempt a long-range cloaked at-
  tack on Rigel IV (SH63), throwing the Federa-
  tion into a panic. 
   
  Ardak Kumerian is restored as captain of D6 De-
  struction, and fights on the Federation front. 
  Y178 The Neo-Tholian 312th Battle Squadron arrives. 
  After these ships get into action, “Operation 
  Nutcracker” begins to break down (SH22). 
   
  Direct contact between Klingons and Romulans is 
  broken and will never be reestablished. This 
  causes serious logistical problems for the 
  Romulans; they can no longer obtain an ade-
  quate supply of spare parts for their Klingon-
  built ships, and there is insufficient Romulan 
  production available to make up for the lost 
  shipments. 
   
  A Gorn offensive culminates in the disastrous Bat-
  tle of Delmac. The Gorn carrier Archaeopteryx 
  (SH21) escapes from a Romulan trap. 
   
  PX123, an ISC mining colony, disappears in the 
  same fashion as the Aurora and Kraknora 
  systems did in earlier years. Investigations re-
  veal nothing until decades later when all three 
  systems are found in the Omega Octant. 
  Y179 Ardak Kumerian is re-promoted to commodore, 
  but in a staff position under the commander of 
  the Western Fleet. While an average ship 
  captain, he proves to be a genius at staff work, 
  even if he hates the assignment. 
  Y180 Romulans penetrate the Gorn lines and are en-
  gaged by support forces (SH64). Later, the 
  Gorns and Romulans fight a major battle over 
  the planet Hokan. A Romulan ship disappears 
  on the frontier (SN19). 
   
  Klingon political prisoners revolt on K’t’tothos IV 
  (SH65). 
   
  Deth O’Kay, the chief “enforcer” ship captain for 
  the Orion Hamilcar Cartel, and his ship, Ham-
  merfield, disappear under mysterious circum-
  stances. (They were kidnapped by a species 
  known as “the Masters” who used entire ships 
  to play wargames for their own amusement.) 
   
  The Red WYN Express (an Orion convoy) delivers 
  high-technology equipment to the WYN Clus-
  ter, but not in the quantities wanted (T6). 
  Y181 The Alliance launches “Operation Remus”: the 
  Federation and Kzintis attack the Romulans 
  from the west while the Gorns drive from the 
  north. The Kzinti fleet surprises a Romulan 
  fleet at anchor and destroys it. Reasoning that 
  
   
  Page 324  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Star Fleet Universe 
  their mission to guard the flank of the Federa-
  tion fleet has been fulfilled, and responding to 
  reports of Klingon attacks on their territory, the 
  Kzintis withdraw without warning, collapsing 
  an Alliance drive that could have captured the 
  Romulan capital. Facing heavy pressure, the 
  Gorns are diverted westward and cannot 
  reach Remus. The Federation Fleet reaches 
  Remus alone; forces of both sides annihilate 
  each other. CVA MacArthur crashes into the 
  planet, rendering it almost uninhabitable. 
   
  Ardak Kumerian promoted to admiral and made 
  the commander of the Red Fleet, which is the 
  Klingon training command for its new ships, 
  not a tactical formation. 
   
  Phil Kosnett promoted to commodore on the 
  Klingon frontier. 
  Y182 “Operation Cavalry” is launched. Gorn fleet units 
  transfer to the Klingon frontier for a major as-
  sault in cooperation with Kzinti and Federation 
  units. Kumerian and his Red Fleet are hastily 
  reorganized as a tactical formation and sent to 
  stop the “Cavalry.” His fleet is all but de-
  stroyed, and he is reported missing in action. 
  The Alliance forces attack a Klingon starbase 
  and are themselves badly beaten. 
   
  The Amazons, an all-female Alpha-Centauran 
  Prime Team, foil an attempt on the life of the 
  Federation President during the Susturia 
  Conference. Although the culprits are Orion 
  mercenaries, 
  Romulan 
  involvement 
  is 
  suspected. 
  Y183 Battles between Federation/Kzinti and Klingon 
  forces. Fed CVA Napoleon is heavily dam-
  aged and forced out of the war. Kzinti forces 
  trap the Klingon 701st PF Flotilla. Battles are 
  fought at Blackfoot Pass. The cruiser Australia 
  rescues the tug Messier, which had been 
  trapped by the Klingons (SH23). 
   
  Kosnett launches an attrition campaign (U5). 
  Kzinti, Federation, Klingon, and pirate forces 
  battle for control of a key sector on the triple 
  border. 
   
  On the Hydran front, PFs raid an advanced 
  Klingon base. The Klingons track down the PF 
  tenders that carried them into range. 
  Y184 Pleiades Turkey Shoot (SH17). The Klingons 
  launch a massive fighter attack on the 
  Federation Zhukov carrier group, reasoning 
  that if they can destroy it, they can win the 
  war. “Cracker Jack” Radey bets the entire 
  General War on a single battle and wins. 
   
  The Black Eagles Prime Team uncovers the 
  source of the mysterious disappearances of 
  Federation citizens on Meva Station. 
   
  Romulans launch a series of raids to keep the 
  Gorns off balance. One notable success is at 
  Gijard III (SH28). 
   
  Foreshadowing the Invasion, Andromedan Domi-
  nator-class dreadnoughts appear for the first 
  time. One Dominator suffers an inexplicable 
  breakdown and explodes; its satellite ships 
  flee for a rendezvous point with help from the 
  Orion Pirates, but stumble into one of the last 
  major battles on the Federation-Romulan front 
  (T7). 
  Y185 Klingons launch a desperate final attack on the 
  Kzintis, which is blocked by the White Ele-
  phant Squadron of fighter-conveyor PFs 
  (SH32). 
   
  Organians return and halt the General War. They 
  offer no explanation for their absence, but ex-
  press hope that the “Lower Empires” (as they 
  call the others) have “learned the futility of 
  war.” This hope is in vain. 
   
  The Romulan Civil War begins between the Impe-
  rial and Republican factions. 
  Y186 ISC forces begin occupying Gorn and Romulan 
  territory and enter Federation territory. 
  Y187 Federation forces dispute the ISC-mandated 
  neutrality of the Fornax star system (SH24). 
   
  ISC briefly attempts to pacify the Tholians but de-
  cides that the Tholians really do want to be left 
  alone. 
   
  Romulan Civil War ends as a powerless Empress 
  becomes head of the Republican state. 
   
  Federation Prime Team Templars, under the com-
  mand of Lt. Commander Jerod Kent, uncovers 
  a plot by the Governor of New Marseilles to 
  hide the existence of a primitive sentient spe-
  cies on his world. 
  Y188 The ISC completes its “conquest” of the galaxy, 
  effectively occupying the Neutral Zones be-
  tween most of the warring parties. The 
  Klingons resist ISC interference (SH25). 
  Y190 The Andromedans launch a full-scale galactic 
  invasion. 
   
  The ISC Echelon of Judgement (consisting entirely 
  of new X-ships) arrives at the ISC capital 
  barely in time to halt an Andromedan 
  Dominator. 
   
  The Andromedans raid Hydraxaport (SH26). 
  Y192 The Andromedans attack the Federation. 
  Y195 Survey ships discover the first Andromedan 
  base on the Rapid Transport Network. 
  Y197 The height of Andromedan power is reached. 
  Y198 Andromedan power begins to decline sharply as 
  the Rapid Transport Network is heavily 
  disrupted. 
  Y201 The Galactic Powers launch “Operation Unity” in 
  an effort to destroy the primary Andromedan 
  base (U6) in the Lesser Magellanic Cloud. 
  Y202 Final defeat of Andromedans as Operation Unity 
  destroys the Desecrator (the starbase in the 
  Lesser Magellanic Cloud). 
  Y203 Organians declare “Era of Tranquility.” 
  Y205 Era of Second Generation X-ships and Trade 
  Wars begins. 
   
  Klingon X-frigate Vandal disappears into a time 
  warp. 
  Y225 End of recorded history. Presumably a third 
  generation of X-ships was developed, but The 
  
   
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Star Fleet Universe 
  Page 325 
   
  Next Generation is not within the scope of the 
  Star Fleet Universe. 
   
   
   
   
   
  Orion Cartels circa Y176 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Space Combat 
  Page 325 
   
   
   
  The ships of the Star Fleet Universe were de-
  signed to interact with each other via the Star Fleet 
  Battles rules (see p. 286 for an introduction to the free 
  Cadet version of this game) or Federation Com-
  mander (see p. 288). However, some GMs may prefer 
  to use the native GURPS system for starship combat. 
  To do that, you will need GURPS Spaceships (4e) 
  and may also want to have GURPS Space (4e) 
  available. 
   
  The SSDs that go with the free SFB Cadet game 
  are included with that download. Many of the 
  Federation Commander ship cards can be found on 
  ADB’s website. An index to these cards can be found 
  in 
  the 
  “Master 
  Ship 
  Chart” 
  located 
  here: 
  http://www.starfleetgames.com/federation/Command-
  ers%20Circle/resources.shtml 
   
  This chapter provides details on how the space 
  combat system, provided in GURPS Spaceships (4th 
  edition), can be modified to fit better with the ships, 
  weapons, and technology of the Star Fleet Universe. 
  This chapter is not a complete combat system hence 
  the need for GURPS Spaceships. 
   
  Battles in the Star Fleet Universe take place at 
  tactical warp speeds, and within two light seconds of 
  distance. Ships and other manned vehicles cannot 
  participate in combat if their speed is greater than 31 
  times the speed of light. Some seeking weapons are 
  able to move faster. Most long-range weapons are not 
  able to fire more than 185,000 mile or 300,000 kilo-
  meters. Note that all weapons in this section are faster 
  than light (FTL). 
   
  It should be noted that ships in the Star Fleet Uni-
  verse come with one or more of several types 
  of engines: 
   
   
  Impulse engines are used by most ships for low-
  speed maneuvers. Some ships have only this type of 
  engine and cannot perform range-changing maneu-
  vers except against other such impulse-only ships. 
   
  Freighter-type engines are relatively slow (Warp 
  4.5), and are not designed for the constant speed 
  changes that warships make. 
   
  Military-Auxiliary 
  engines 
  are 
  used 
  by those 
  freighters and cargo ships operated by the military 
  (and some wealthier planets and corporations). They 
  have more power (Warp 5.5) and can maneuver more 
  easily. 
   
  Starship-type engines are powerful (Warp 7) and 
  capable of all maneuvers. Some ships have “hot,” 
  “fast,” or “X” types of engines, but these are consid-
  ered standard starship engines for combat purposes. 
  INITIATIVE 
   
   
  As per GURPS Spaceships surprised crews may 
  find some or all crew members not at their normal sta-
  tion. Ambushes and surprise have a greater effect on 
  ships in the Star Fleet Universe, as weapons will take 
  some time to arm. It could be several turns before 
  a surprised ship would be able to return fire. 
   
  Weapon Status 
   
   
  Ships do not cruise around with their weapons 
  armed waiting for an enemy to show up. This costs 
  power, which ultimately translates into fuel and then 
  into money. A ship could enter combat in one of three 
  conditions (the GM can rule which is the most logical, 
  as well as on any special cases or conditions): 
   
   
  Unprepared: No enemy was thought to be in the 
  area, so no energy-based weapons are armed and no 
  combat shuttles are prepared. Batteries are fully 
  charged at any level. A ship which is completely sur-
  prised would have this weapon status. 
   
  Normal: The enemy was thought to be somewhere 
  around, so energy-based weapons are armed and 
  phaser capacitors are fully charged. One shuttle can 
  be prepared for a special role (p. 333). A ship which is 
  partly surprised would be at this level. 
   
  Deliberate attack: You know exactly where the 
  enemy is and can accurately predict when combat will 
  start, so you have everything ready and the energy-
  based heavy weapons can be overloaded (which 
  causes more damage but has a limited range) and 
  phaser capacitors are fully charged. Two shuttles can 
  be prepared for special roles and every plausible 
  preparation for combat has been made. 
   
  Space Combat Turns 
   
   
  In the SFU, the actions are structured in a particu-
  lar order. On a vessel’s turn, the following activities 
  take place: 
   
   
  1. Maneuvering: The captain picks a Pilot Maneu-
  ver. Any contest of skill that particular maneu-
  ver requires is resolved. This is also when Tho-
  lian ships may construct webs. 
   
  2. Missile Attack: Missiles the vessel launched on 
  its last turn which were not shot down now attack their 
  targets. 
  
  Page 326  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Space Combat 
   
  3. Beam and Gun Fire: The vessel’s gunners may 
  fire railguns, torpedoes, anti-drones, and beam weap-
  ons. Tractor beam locks may also be attempted on this 
  phase. 
   
  4. Missile Launch: The vessel’s gunner may 
  launch missiles (which will reach their targets on the 
  vessel’s next turn). After the launch of all drones tar-
  geted on ships, units can launch drones targeted on 
  enemy drones. The next turn, the drone trying to hit 
  the other drone is resolved first, after which surviving 
  drones conduct attacks on ships. 
   
  5. Other Actions: The vessel¹s crew may perform 
  other actions (repair, moving about the ship, etc.). This 
  includes the use of transporters. The GM may have 
  characters roll against skills to repair equipment dam-
  aged in combat. 
   
   
  After this, the active part of the vessel’s turn is 
  over and the next vessel in the sequence takes its 
  turn. However, the maneuver the vessel chose is con-
  sidered to remain in effect until the start of its next 
  turn. 
   
  Additional Maneuvers and Actions 
   
   
  All of the maneuvers and actions from GURPS 
  Spaceships (4e) are available. Range, Pilot Maneu-
  vers, and Space Movement are handled as in those 
  rules. Ships with freighter-type engines cannot use the 
  “Closing” maneuver with unfriendly ships.  
   
  Ships 
  with 
  Military-Auxiliary 
  engines 
  cannot 
  use the “Closing” maneuver except against a base or 
  against a ship with auxiliary or freighter engines. 
   
  Collision Course 
   
  Ships with freighter-type engines or Military-Auxil-
  iary engines cannot select Collision course after 
  choosing the Closing maneuver. Ships with Starship-
  type engines can select Collision course only if they 
  have expanding sphere generators (ESG).  
   
   
  Note: A collision course, sometimes called ram-
  ming, is impossible in the Star Fleet Universe except 
  with the Lyran ESG weapon. The mechanics of warp 
  and impulse movement simply do not allow ramming; 
  the warp bubbles slide past each other. Ships at warp 
  or impulse speeds can collide with items too large to 
  avoid, such as planets, moons, or asteroid/dust fields. 
  Low-speed collisions due to sloppy docking are possi-
  ble. If you want to ram anyway, rules exist in GURPS 
  Spaceships for this.  
   
  Evasive Action (Web Defense) 
   
  Tholian ships may use an existing web as a defen-
  sive shield. A web must already be in place before this 
  maneuver can be made. It works just like the Evasive 
  Action, except that if the Tholian ship successfully 
  evades, he passes through the web, using it as a bar-
  rier between the ships, and may remain at short range. 
  The enemy ship may not fire any weapons at 
  the Tholian ship, but the Tholian ship may fire 
  back with phasers only. (This is due to the interaction 
  of web and all weapons.) If a non-Tholian ship using 
  an attack vector rolls a Critical Failure during its Quick 
  Contest, it gets stuck in the web. (Note: There is no 
  way around this, no way to “trick” the web. Only a Tho-
  lian ship with a Tholian crew firing Tholian phasers can 
  fire through a web. There are no exceptions or qualifi-
  cations.) 
   
  Web Construction 
   
  Any ship with the Tholian web device may attempt 
  to construct a new web or maintain an existing web. 
  This is a form of Hold Course maneuver because while 
  constructing the web no sudden maneuvering may be 
  attempted. A Tholian ship may not be protected by a 
  web evasive action since the web is not yet complete. 
       
  Types of Webs  
   
  The device can be used to create two types of 
  webs. While “spinning” the web with the Web Con-
  struction maneuver, no other maneuver may be taken 
  until its completion, or the web collapses. The time 
  needed to spin a web listed below includes all neces-
  sary “starting” and “stopping” activities. Ships engaged 
  in spinning web can be fired upon and if their web 
  generators are destroyed, they would not be able to 
  spin web but could still serve as an anchor. 
   
  Linear web: This type of web can be created by 
  one ship. A linear web extends between two anchor 
  points. These may be asteroids, anchor buoys, sta-
  tions, or other Tholian ships including the ship itself. It 
  can take one to three turns to connect the web be-
  tween the two anchor points. (If anchor points are pre-
  existing, the GM will determine how many turns apart 
  they are. If anchor points are laid by the Tholians, 
  the Tholian player may place them at a distance of his 
  choosing up to three turns apart.) If an anchor point is 
  destroyed, the web collapses. Enemies of the Tholians 
  would need a number of combat turns equal to three 
  times the length of the web to maneuver around it and 
  have a clear shot at the Tholian ship. 
   
  Globular web: This type of web takes two ships 
  with web devices to create. (More than two ships can-
  not be used.) It is laid in a sphere and anchored to 
  itself. It takes two turns to make one globular web; the 
  resulting sphere is about 20,000km in diameter. A 
  globular web could be used to protect Tholian ships or 
  planets or bases inside, or could be formed around a 
  stationary enemy ship (those using only the Controlled 
  Drift maneuver). 
   
  Effects of Webs  
   
  A Tholian ship may pass through a web with no 
  penalty, enabling it to use it as a protective barrier [see 
  Evasive Action (Web Defense) above]. A linear web 
  protects the ship for only one turn because the enemy 
  may maneuver around it, but a globular web may pro-
  tect the Tholian ship indefinitely if the ship stays within 
  the web’s protective circle. To maintain this protec-
  tion, the Tholian ship may make no other maneu-
  vers besides Controlled Drift. 
   
  An enemy ship may attempt to break through a 
  web by entangling itself for two turns using 80% of its 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Space Combat 
  Page 327 
  energy to push through. No weapons may be fired at 
  this time and only the Controlled Drift maneuver may 
  be taken while trapped. Non-Tholian shuttles and 
  seeking weapons cannot move through web at all. Af-
  ter four turns the web will dissipate into nothing unless 
  a Tholian ship spends one turn with a Web Construc-
  tion maneuver strengthening it. An unmaintained web 
  will dissipate four turns after it was last maintained. A 
  ship performing this maneuver could be on either side 
  of the web, and thus would be protected from enemy 
  ships on the opposite side, but not from enemy ships 
  on the same side. 
   
  Advantage, Disadvantage 
   
  Under the GURPS Spaceships combat system, 
  ships might be “advantaged” (in a good firing position) 
  or “disadvantaged” (in a bad firing position). Weapons 
  are presumed to be hull-mounted and firing only in the 
  “advantaged” direction unless otherwise noted. Some 
  phasers are marked 360° (able to fire when advan-
  taged or disadvantaged) or “REAR” in which case they 
  can only fire if the ship is “disadvantaged.” 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  WEAPON TYPES 
   
   
  Weapons in the Star Fleet Universe are divided 
  into two groups: direct-fire weapons (photons, phas-
  ers, disruptors) which are fired in the Beam Weapon 
  and Gun Fire stage, and seeking weapons (drones 
  and plasma torpedoes) which are launched in the Mis-
  sile Launch stage of the turn. (See p. 325 for the 
  stages.) Direct-fire weapons strike their targets simul-
  taneously, while seeking weapons must travel to the 
  target. Seeking weapons can be intercepted by vari-
  ous counter-weapons, while direct-fire weapons can-
  not be intercepted. All weapons can be affected by 
  electronic warfare, terrain, shield reinforcement, and 
  some other conditions. The following are the most 
  common weapons in the Star Fleet Universe.  All of 
  these weapons can be used at speeds up to Warp 3.2. 
     
  Beam and Gun Fire (Direct-Fire Weapons) 
   
   
  The term “heavy weapon” for these purposes in-
  cludes photon torpedoes, disruptors, and phasers.  
  Phasers and most heavy weapons can fire at a target 
  at any range (see specific weapon descriptions for 
  details), but firing at targets that are at point-blank or 
  short range is easier. Guns or beams might be in one 
  of three possible mounts: 
   
   
  Hull: These can fire only at targets to the front. 
   
  360°: These can be fired at any targets. 
   
  Rear: These can be fired only at targets behind 
  the ship (e.g., against which you are disadvantaged). 
   
   
  The phasers on a starship are positioned around 
  the hull in different areas to protect the vessel from all 
  directions. Some face the front, some the rear, and 
  some are 360° mounts. Most heavy weapons face the 
  front. If the ship is advantaged it can fire all “hull 
  mounted” or “forward” weapons, plus the 360° weap-
  ons. If disadvantaged, it can only fire “rear” phas-
  ers and the 360° phasers (which can always fire). 
  If neither ship is advantaged, then before firing, 
  a Quick 
  Contest 
  of 
  Tactics 
  Skill 
  must 
  be 
  made between 
  captains 
  (or 
  Piloting 
  skills 
  on 
  smaller ships or fighters, GM’s decision). The winner 
  of this contest may fire all of his forward and 
  360° weapons. The loser may fire only 50% of 
  his forward phasers (and all of his 360° phasers), and 
  may not fire any of his heavy weapons (except those 
  designated as firing to the rear. If a given ship wins by 
  5+, then the other ship may fire only 25% of its “for-
  ward” weapons and all of its 360° weapons. 
   
  If an enemy has left the battle through Retreat (the 
  start of the next turn after Retreat), vessels still in 
  the original battle cannot fire at it (and vice versa). 
   
  Each gunner may make one attack roll per turn for 
  each type of weapon. When one gunner fires multiple 
  identical weapons, only one roll to hit and one damage 
  roll are made, but if the attack hits, damage that pene-
  trates cDR is multiplied by the number of weapons 
  fired. Thus, four phasers in a quad mount do four 
  times damage after cDR. 
   
  SFB Option: To simulate how weapons are used 
  in the Star Fleet Battles board game, each weapon’s 
  “to hit” and cDAM are rolled separately. One gunner 
  may fire and control as many weapons as needed on 
  one particular ship, or at multiple targets. This option is 
  contrary to the rules GURPS Spaceships, and GM’s 
  may feel this is an unrealistic option. 
   
  Weapons vs. missiles: Certain weapons may be 
  fired at incoming missile attacks. If a hit is scored on a 
  Scaling Damage 
   
  Large vehicles such as tanks, warships, 
  and starships can have huge DR and HP 
  scores, and their weapons can inflict massive 
  amounts of damage. To avoid excessive die 
  rolling, it is best to adjust the damage scale. 
   
  Decade Scale (D-Scale): Use this for 
  battles involving tanks or ships. Divide DR, HP, 
  and damage dice by 10 before combat starts. 
  Round fractions of 0.5 or more up. (Exception: 
  If the converted damage is under 1d, treat 
  fractions up to 0.25 as 1d-3, fractions up to 0.5 
  as 1d-2, and larger fractions as 1d-1.) Convert 
  damage multipliers to dice first; e.g., 6d×25 
  becomes 150d, which scales to 15d. Do not 
  divide armor divisors. 
   
  Century Scale (C-Scale): Use this for 
  combats involving huge vehicles, such as giant 
  space battleships. Follow the rules above, but 
  divide by 100 instead of by 10. 
   
  Example: A tank has DR 700 and 300 HP; 
  its main gun does 6d×30(2) and its machine 
  gun does 7d. In D-scale, it would have dDR 70 
  and dHP 30; its main gun would do 6d×3(2) 
  and its machine gun would do 1d-1. 
   
  After the battle, multiply remaining HP by 
  10 or 100, as appropriate, to convert back. 
  
  Page 328  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Space Combat 
  missile, score damage as normal. Most drones are 
  built to take a considerable amount of damage and 
  may actually survive some attacks. Certain drones are 
  armored to absorb even more hits, usually wasting 
  enemy phaser fire. 
   
  Drones may be shot down by phasers, drones, 
  plasma torpedoes, or anti-drones. Each tractor beam, 
  if it is not doing anything else, could grab one drone 
  and hold it until its fuel is exhausted. 
   
  Plasma 
  torpedoes 
  may 
  only 
  be 
  damaged 
  by phasers. No other weapon will damage them. 
  . 
   
  While the weapons don’t match neatly to the 
  weapons in GURPS Spaceships, the Heavy Weapons 
  Table below provides the information you would need 
  for them. 
   
  Phasers 
   
  Phasers are used by virtually all empires. These 
  are beam weapons of phased energy. Phasers fire 
  every turn. 
   
  Energizing Phasers: Before phasers can be fired, 
  they must be energized (i.e., warmed up). Ships do not 
  normally cruise in peacetime with their phasers ener-
  gized because they are not expecting to face combat. 
  If using Energy Allocation (p. 332), it costs one point of 
  power for one turn to energize all the phasers on 
  board the ship. After this the phasers can be fired 
  normally. GMs might rule that the ship had adequate 
  time to do this before combat actually started. 
   
  Low-Power Phaser Fire: Any phaser can be 
  powered as any smaller phaser if needed. This may be 
  done to save power because there is not enough 
  power or because of some special circumstances. 
   
  Firing a Phaser: Phasers are unlike any beam 
  weapon in GURPS Spaceships. Instead of firing 
  a concentrated beam directly at a target, it sweeps the 
  general area with an arc, almost guaranteeing a hit. 
  Damage is determined by how much of the beam hits 
  the target. Phasers automatically hit to some degree, 
  but a Gunner skill roll is still made to determine how 
  effective the hit was. For every point the gunner makes 
  his skill roll, add 5% cDAM points per phaser. For 
  every point the gunner missed his skill roll, subtract 
  5% cDAM. No more than 25% can be added per 
  phaser with this bonus. 
   
  Photon Torpedoes 
   
  These are the primary heavy weapons of the 
  Federation. Some Tholian and Orion ships use them 
  as well. They are basically an antimatter bomb in a 
  propulsive shell. For purpose of GURPS they could be 
  considered beam weapons (they cannot be inter-
  cepted or shot down), although they are more properly 
  an extremely fast projectile. Photon torpedoes are un-
  able to fire upon incoming missile attacks. Usually, 
  photon torpedoes can only fire at targets to the front of 
  your ship. (Battleships have some rear-firing photon 
  torpedoes; bases have ones that are 360°.) 
   
  Arming Photon Torpedoes: Arming photon torpe-
  does requires two turns. This means that a photon 
  torpedo tube may only fire every other turn. Double the 
  amount of energy may be spent each turn to increase 
  the damage of the photon torpedo; this is called over-
  loading. An overloaded photon torpedo cannot be fired 
  at long range. Once an overloaded photon torpedo is 
  armed, it cannot be converted to a normal photon 
  torpedo. 
   
   
   
  Heavy Weapons Table 
  TL 
  Weapon 
  Damage 
  sAcc 
  cDam P 
  cDam C 
  cDam  S 
  cDam L 
  cDam X 
  Rcl 
  10 
  Disruptor-30 
  burn 
  -6 
  40+2d 
  35+2d 
  30+2d 
  20+2d 
  10+1d 
  1 
  10 
  Phaser-2 
  burn 
  0 
  5d×2 
  (5d-3)×2 
  (4d-3)×2 
  4d-3 
  1d-2 
  1 
  10 
  Phaser-3 
  burn 
  0 
  3d×2 
  3d 
  (2d-3)×2 
  2d-3 
  0 
  1 
  10 
  Photon 
  exp 
  -8 
  80 
  80 
  80 
  80 
  80 
  1 
  12 
  Disruptor-30 
  (overloaded) 
  burn 
  -6 
  80+4d 
  70+4d 
  60+4d 
  0 
  0 
  1 
  12 
  Phaser-1 
  burn 
  0 
  6d×3 
  6d×2 
  (6d-3)×2 
  6d-3 
  3d-2 
  1 
  12 
  Photon 
  (overloaded) 
  exp 
  -8 
  160 
  160 
  160 
  0 
  0 
  1 
  12 
  Photon 
  (proximity) 
  exp 
  -2 
  0 
  0 
  0 
  40 
  40 
  1 
   
   
  sAcc: The weapon’s Space Accuracy. (To find normal Acc, subtract 18.) 
   
  cDam: Century Damage. See Scaling Damage. Damage is shown for each range. (P is point-blank, C is close, S 
  is short, L is long, X is extreme). 
   
  All malfunctions are considered “Critical Failure.” 
   
  On the above chart (and others), “(2d-3)×2” means to roll two six-sided dice, subtract 3 from the total, and multiply 
  that total by two. 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Space Combat 
  Page 329 
   
  Holding a Photon Torpedo: After a photon torpedo 
  is completely armed, it must be fired that turn or the 
  power is lost, unless additional power is used to hold 
  the photon torpedo in the launcher. Overloaded photon 
  torpedoes may be held for a higher power cost. 
  If using the optional Energy Allocation (p. 332) below, 
  it would cost a ship one point of power per photon tor-
  pedo to arm them (on each of two turns) and one point 
  per photon torpedo to hold the loaded photons for the 
  third and any subsequent turns. It would cost a second 
  point of power per photon torpedo to overload them 
  only for one turn and it would cost two points to hold 
  the overloaded photons (which includes the one point 
  for holding standard torpedoes). 
   
  Proximity Option: Photons may be fired with a 
  proximity option. Rather than detonating when they hit 
  a target, their proximity system detonates the warhead 
  when it is close to a target. This allows them a greater 
  chance to hit long-range targets, but sacrifices dam-
  age potential. The blast radius is too small to damage 
  more than one target. The sAcc and cDam are listed 
  under “Photon (proximity)” in the Heavy Weapons Ta-
  ble (p. 328). 
   
  Disruptor Bolts 
   
  Disruptors are the most common starship weapon 
  after phasers. They are used by Klingons, Kzintis, Ly-
  rans, WYNs, LDR, and Tholians. These are dis-
  charges of raw energy (“bolts”) which have reduced 
  effects at longer ranges. For purpose of GURPS they 
  could be considered beam weapons. Disruptors can 
  fire every turn and take a point of power each to arm. 
   
  A disruptor can be overloaded, increasing the 
  cDAM of the weapon, but this option prevents it from 
  being used at long range.  
   
  Disruptor bolts are unable to fire upon incoming 
  missile attacks. Disruptors can only fire at targets to 
  the front of your ship (e.g., if you are advantaged). 
  (There are exceptions such as battleships and bases.) 
   
  Missile Launch 
   
   
  Unless otherwise stated in the rules, a vessel may 
  launch one missile (drone or plasma torpedo) per 
  launcher on its turn subject to ammunition and arming 
  limitations. (See individual descriptions for details.) 
  The number of drones in a rack varies with type (Type-
  A has four, Type-B has six) while plasma torpedo 
  tubes must be armed with power one shot at a 
  time. Drone racks must be taken out of service to 
  be reloaded; they can load a volume of 0.5 spaces 
  of drones each turn the rack is out of service. 
   
  The type of missile and its target must be specified 
  at launch (“We are firing six type-I drones at the 
  Klingon D6 battlecruiser”), but must be of a type 
  loaded on the drone rack being used. 
   
  Missiles launched this turn will not impact their 
  targets until the missile attack phase of the firing ship’s 
  next turn. This gives the target (and perhaps other 
  vessels in the formation) time to shoot at them. 
   
  Note: Some people think missiles fired at point-
  blank range impact before they can be fired at. This is 
  not the case in the Star Fleet Universe, where plas-
  mas or drones may always be fired at regardless of 
  the range of launch. This is necessary due to the ar-
  rangement and power of these types of weapons.  
   
  Missile Attack 
   
  This is handled as per Ballistic Attacks in GURPS 
  Spaceships (4e). The Star Fleet Universe includes 
  two primary 
  seeking 
  weapons: 
  drones 
  (which 
  are, truly, missiles in the sense most people think 
  of missiles, but here just a subtype of GURPS “Mis-
  siles”) 
  and 
  plasma 
  torpedoes 
  (which 
  are 
  more dangerous but have a shorter range and take 
  power to load). Skill values for SFU weapons are on 
  the respective drone or plasma tables. 
   
  Seeking weapons in the SFU can stay active for 
  several turns; each has an endurance (End), listed on 
  the tables for plasma torpedoes and drones. If a 
  seeking weapon fails its roll, it may try again on sub-
  sequent turns, until its endurance runs out, with a +2 
  modifier for each subsequent turn of flight. In the case 
  of critical misses, SFU weapons do not lock-on to a 
  different target by accident. A critical miss disables the 
  weapon or causes it to self-destruct harmlessly, even if 
  it has not completely run its full endurance. 
   
  Drones (Missiles) 
   
  In the Star Fleet Universe, missiles are called 
  “drones” since they were originally used as target 
  practice drones. These were later adapted to deliver 
  nuclear warheads and became the missiles more fa-
  miliar to GURPS players. The table on p. 334 shows 
  several types of drones used in the Star Fleet Uni-
  verse. Drones are used by the Kzintis and Klingons 
  and (to a lesser extent) by the Federation. Drones can 
  be targeted on targets in any direction from your ship. 
  Each drone rack can launch one drone each turn un-
  less otherwise stated in the rules. 
   
   
   
  Type-III Drones 
   
   
  Type-IV Drones
  
  Page 330  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Space Combat 
  Drone Rack Ammunition 
  Drone 
  Vol 
  Mass 
  Cost 
  Speed 
  SM 
  Skill 
  cHP 
  End 
  cDam 
  Type-I 
  0.25 
  0.2 
  0.03 
  1 
  0 
  16 
  40 
  3 
  2d×10 
  Type-II 
  0.25 
  0.25 
  0.045 2 
  0 
  18 
  40 
  2 
  2d×10 
  Type-III 
  0.25 
  0.3 
  0.085 2 
  0 
  18 
  40 
  25 
  2d×10 
  Type-IV 
  0.5 
  0.4 
  0.06 
  1 
  2 
  16 
  60 
  3 
  4d×10 
  Type-V 
  0.5 
  0.4 
  0.075 2 
  2 
  18 
  60 
  2 
  4d×10 
  Type-VI 
  0.125 
  0.1 
  0.015 2 
  -2 
  18 
  30 
  1 
  (1d+2)×10 
   
   
   
  Vol: Volume (in spaces). 
   
   
   
  Mass: Mass of ammunition in tons. 
   
   
   
  Cost: Cost of ammunition in Millions of dollars. 
   
   
   
  Speed: Warp speed, used to compare against target. 
   
   
   
  SM: Size modifier. 
   
   
   
  Skill: A number indicating the accuracy of the targeting system of the missile (drone or plasma). 
   
   
   
  cHP: The hit points of the missile (drone). 
   
   
   
  End: The amount of turns the missile is able to continue to hit its target until the fuel is exhausted. 
   
   
   
  cDAM: The amount of damage caused by the missile. 
   
  Plasma Torpedoes 
   
  These are used by the Romulans, Inter-Stellar 
  Concordium, and Gorns (and some Orion Pirate ships) 
  as primary weapons. These are balls of plasma with a 
  target-seeking 
  ability. 
  Different types 
  of 
  plasma 
  torpedoes require different amounts of power, but all of 
  them take three turns to arm. Plasma torpedoes can 
  only be launched at targets to the front of your ship 
  (e.g., when you are advantaged) unless the ship data 
  provides otherwise. 
   
  Firing at Plasma Torpedoes: Because a plasma 
  torpedo is considered a missile weapon, it may be 
  fired upon before it actually hits its target. Only phas-
  ers can damage plasma torpedoes. For every two 
  points of cDAM done to the plasma torpedo, 1 point of 
  cDAM is subtracted from the warhead strength of the 
  weapon. The plasma can only be completely de-
  stroyed if double the warhead strength is scored. 
   
  Pseudo Plasmas Torpedoes: Due to the slow fir-
  ing rate 
  of 
  plasma 
  torpedoes, 
  the 
  pseudo-
  plasma torpedo was developed by the Romulans to 
  improve the flexibility of the weapon. (Other plasma-
  using 
  empires 
  then 
  copied 
  or 
  developed 
  the technology). 
   
  The device simulates a plasma torpedo, making it 
  more difficult to time attacks on a plasma-armed ship 
  and drawing enemy fire. The pseudo plasma torpedo 
  is a “fake” torpedo that takes no energy to arm and 
  acts exactly like the real thing until it hits its target … at 
  which time it inflicts no damage and the deception 
  is exposed. A pseudo plasma torpedo may be fired 
  from any type of plasma launcher, but loading a new 
  pseudo plasma torpedo and making the necessary 
  adjustments to simulate a true warhead takes well 
  over an hour. This means only one pseudo plasma 
  torpedo may be launched from each launcher per 
  combat situation. (The ship’s crew will reload the 
  pseudo plasma tube between battles unless the GM 
  decides that there was not time or there was some 
  reason it was not done.) Pseudo plasma torpedoes will 
  appear to be reduced by phaser fire as if they were 
  real torpedoes. 
   
  Anti-Drones 
   
  Some ships are equipped with anti-drones. These 
  are short-range defensive weapons. Each anti-drone 
  defense (ADD) system holds six anti-drones. The gun-
  ner rolls against his skill. The impact of an anti-
  drone will destroy any drone or cripple any fighter 
  or shuttle; they cannot damage ships. An ADD 
  rack holds six anti-drones and could fire every sin-
  gle one of them during the Beam and Gun Fire phase 
  of a given turn. 
   
   
  Gorn Battlecruiser
   
  Plasma Torpedo Table 
  Type 
  Speed 
  Skill 
  SM 
  End 
  cDam P 
  cDam C 
  cDam S 
  cDam L 
  cDam X 
  Plasma-R 
  3.5 
  24 
  6 
  1 
  500 
  500 
  500 
  6d×10 
  2d×10 
  Plasma-S 
  3.5 
  24 
  6 
  1 
  300 
  300 
  300 
  5d×10 
  1d×10 
  Plasma-G 
  3.5 
  24 
  6 
  1 
  200 
  200 
  200 
  4d×10 
  0 
  Plasma-F 
  3.5 
  24 
  6 
  1 
  200 
  175 
  150 
  3d×10 
  0 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Space Combat 
  Page 331 
  Other Systems 
   
  Tractor beams: These use the rules from GURPS 
  Spaceships 4e (p. 66). In the Star Fleet Universe, 
  there are numerous types of tractors, representing 
  upgrades over time. For standard “General War Era” 
  tractors, the maximum range is 30,000kms. Power is 
  proportional to range, and one point of power (see the 
  optional rule Energy Allocation, p. 332) provides 
  tractors able to reach 10,000kms. It would take a 
  second point to reach 20,000kms and a third to reach 
  30,000kms. Use the Electronics Operation/TL (Tractor 
  Beams) skill for these. Note that in the SFU, tractor 
  beams cannot cause damage. 
   
  Transporters: These are covered in Chapter 7 
  and in GURPS Spaceships 4e (p. 18, called teleport 
  projectors). In the Star Fleet Universe, transporters 
  have a range of 50,000km (30,000 miles, more or less) 
  in the General War Era and other ranges earlier 
  and later. To operate them, use Electronics Opera-
  tion/TL (Transporter) skill. Modifiers are -1 per 10,000 
  miles. There is a bonus of +10 if whatever is being 
  transported starts on one transporter and ends on an-
  other one. Transporters cannot work through shields. 
  At TL 11+, transporters cannot (Due to structural integ-
  rity fields) remove things from another starship unless 
  your own personnel are on that starship and handling 
  these items. (Otherwise, you would simply transport 
  the entire crew of a Klingon battleship onto an asteroid 
  and steal their ship.)  
   
  Cloaking Device: Most Romulan ships (and some 
  Orion ships) are equipped with this device, which 
  makes detection of the ship very difficult (but not im-
  possible, since the effect of its magnetic field on light 
  from distant stars can be measured). This invisibility 
  comes at a price; the ship cannot fire weapons, or 
  launch seeking weapons (missiles: drones, plasma 
  torpedoes, suicide shuttles) or use active fire con-
  trol while 
  cloaked. 
  (They 
  can 
  raise 
  shields.) 
  Even worse, if the ship is accurately spotted, it could 
  be badly damaged by enemy weapons while trying to 
  uncloak. The cloaking device may be activated at the 
  end of the Missile Attack stage of the turn. The cloak-
  ing ship is considered “fading out” from this point on 
  until the end of its turn, at which time it is completely 
  cloaked. The cloaking device may be deactivated at 
  the end of the Other Actions stage of the turn. The 
  “fade in” period lasts through the enemy’s turn. At the 
  end of the enemy’s turn, he has completed the “fade 
  in” and is uncloaked, lifting any firing restrictions. While 
  the 
  device 
  is 
  active, 
  the cloaked 
  ship 
  sub-
  tracts -3x(TL-4) from rolls to detect the ship with an 
  active sensor scan, thus preventing any enemy vessel 
  from “locking on” and firing weapons at it. During the 
  fade period, use a minus TL-4 to hit penalty. You must 
  have Electronics Operation/TL (Electronic Warfare) to 
  operate a cloaking device. 
   
  Probe Launchers: Probes are small unmanned 
  warp vehicles generally used for collecting information 
  remotely. To operate them, you must have Gunner/TL 
  (Cannon). Each probe launcher on a ship can launch 
  one probe every two turns, and will have room to store 
  five probes. Probes will move to a point that is close 
  range to the target or object of interest and report the 
  data that the ship would obtain if the ship moved that 
  close. 
   
  In combat, desperate captains have also utilized 
  probes as a weapon of last resort. To use a probe as a 
  weapon, the ship must use one unit of power (see En-
  ergy Allocation, p. 332) and must be at short range 
  to the target. It also cannot be disadvantaged to its 
  target. Probes are fired during the Beam and Gun Fire 
  phase of the turn. The low accuracy, limited range, 
  and high power requirement should be enough to keep 
  players from wanting to use this weapon. It is generally 
  only employed where a ship has lost all other weap-
  ons, is crippled, or vastly outmatched. GM¹s should 
  feel free to limit the use of this weapon accordingly. 
  sAcc: -10, cDam: 2dx10. 
   
  Damage Control: A specialized workshop/engi-
  neering facility designed for maintaining the integrity of 
  ship functions during combat, most importantly the 
  vessel’s deflector shields. One space of damage 
  control will regenerate one cDR of the ship’s shields 
  at the end of each turn if powered. Electronics 
  Repair/TL (Force Shields) is required to repair shields. 
   
  Other Weapons 
   
  The Star Fleet Universe includes numerous other 
  weapons, including expanding sphere generators 
  (ESGs), hellbores, fusion beams, plasmatic pulsar de-
  vices, web casters, web fists, shield crackers, web 
  breakers, warp-augmented railguns, maulers, parti-
  cle cannons, 
  tractor-repulsor 
  beams, 
  displace-
  ment devices, and many more. These will be ex-
  plained in future books. 
   
   
   
   
  DAMAGE 
   
   
  Weapons damage is scored as in Spaceships 4e 
  except as noted below. Subtract the target’s combined 
  armor and shield cDR. If damage penetrates armor 
  and shields, the excess hits are taken as damage. Ap-
  ply damage against the target’s hit points (normally the 
  hull’s 
  hit points 
  unless 
  external 
  systems 
  were 
  targeted). 
  
  Page 332  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Space Combat 
  Shields 
   
  Shields work differently in the Star Fleet Universe 
  than force screens in GURPS Spaceships 4e. If 
  shields of a ship are hit, subtract the cDAM from the 
  total cDR; the result is the new cDR of the shields. 
  Damage control may attempt to restore them up to 
  optimum level at the end of the turn. For example, a 
  Federation Heavy Cruiser with shield strength of 450 
  cDR, is hit on the second round of combat with 200 
  cDAM. First we note that the shields held, protecting 
  the Federation ship from any internal damage, but 
  its shield strength is now down to 250 cDR, and 
  will remain that way until damage control repairs 
  40 cDR at the end of this turn (this costs one point of 
  power). This means that the Federation ship will enter 
  the next turn with shield strength of 290 cDR. 
   
  Collision and Ramming Damage 
   
  Ramming at warp or impulse speed is impossible 
  in the Star Fleet Universe. If a ship collides with its 
  target accidentally (due to a critical failure during a 
  docking attempt or Attack Run), it inflicts cDAM equal 
  to 1d×5 times smaller ship’s cHP. If the collision is 
  due to a deliberate attempt to ram and the GM allows 
  this, consult the rules in Spaceships 4e. 
   
  Damage Effects 
      These can be resolved in the same way 
  as Spaceships 4e or you can use the table be-
  low. Roll 3d and the total will tell you what part of your 
  ship is damaged. 
      
  3 - Battery: 50% of ship’s original energy banks or 
  batteries are destroyed. 
  4 - Bridge: One command station (bridge, flag bridge, 
  emergency bridge, auxiliary control) has been 
  knocked out. The ship is crippled if all command 
  stations are destroyed. 
  5 - Weapon: One heavy weapon (not a phaser) is 
  destroyed. 
  6 - Shuttle: A shuttle or auxiliary vehicle inside the ship 
  is destroyed. 
  7 - Power: Half of either the impulse engines or auxil-
  iary power reactors is destroyed. Output by those 
  engines is cut in half. A second hit to the engine 
  will destroy them completely. 
  8 - Warp: 25% of the warp drive is damaged. Cut warp 
  power output by 25%. Additional hits to warp en-
  gines will destroy another 25% of the original en-
  gines until completely destroyed. 
  9 - Phasers: 33% of phasers (randomly chosen) are 
  destroyed. 
  10-11 - Accessory: One accessory is destroyed and 
  10% of crew quarters are destroyed. Some acces-
  sories may include transporter rooms, tractor 
  beams, labs, medical bays, probe launchers, rec-
  reational facilities, brigs, security stations, com-
  puters, sensors and gravity generators. 
  12 - Phasers: 33% of phasers (randomly chosen) are 
  destroyed. 
  13 - Warp: 25% of the warp drive is damaged. Cut 
  warp power output by 25%. Additional hits to warp 
  engines will destroy another 25% of the original 
  engines until completely destroyed. 
  14 - Power: Half of either the impulse engines or aux-
  iliary power reactors is destroyed. Output by those 
  engines is cut in half. A second hit to the engine 
  will destroy them completely. 
  15 - Cargo: 25% of the cargo holds and their contents 
  are destroyed. 
  16 - Weapon: One heavy weapon (not a phaser) is 
  destroyed. 
  17 - Damage Control: 50% of damage control systems 
  are destroyed. 
  18 - Life Support: 20% of the original capacity of the 
  life support system is destroyed. When the entire 
  life support system is destroyed, the crew will per-
  ish in two rounds if they do not get into pressure 
  suits or some other environmentally controlled 
  area. If there are no items remaining for the die 
  roll result, then move to the next line closer to 
  the “10-11” row. Players might also want to re-
  view the “cascading” Advanced Damage System 
  in GURPS Vehicles (p. 182). 
   
  ENERGY ALLOCATION (OPTIONAL) 
   
   
  Although 
  spacecraft 
  produce 
  a 
  tremendous 
  amount of power with their warp engines, impulse en-
  gines, and reactors, they are unable to generate 
  enough power to simultaneously charge all phasers, 
  arm and overload all heavy weapons, power shields, 
  use tractor beams and transporters, maintain elec-
  tronic sensors, and maintain top tactical speed. To 
  simulate the decisions a captain must make about 
  powering his vessel, the Energy Allocation option can 
  be used. 
   
  While Star Fleet Battles includes a detailed en-
  ergy allocation system, we will use a simplified system 
  adapted from the prototype Star Fleet Squadrons 
  game as it is vastly simpler. Each ship is assumed to 
  have enough power to operate life support and fire 
  control every turn. Everything else (move, shoot), is 
  extra and costs power! A ship is assumed to have five 
  “units of power” which are not consumed by the above, 
  and which the owning player or team can spend be-
  low, at one point per item unless noted otherwise: 
   
   
  Powering all phasers. 
   
  Powering heavy weapons for one turn (see the list 
  below). 
   
  Overloading the heavy weapons (this is in addition 
  to powering the heavy weapons). 
   
  Powering shields. 
   
  Repairing shields. 
   
  Moving at an additional 25% of total Tactical Warp 
  (up to 100%). 
   
  Recharging all batteries. 
   
  Powering tractor beam. 
   
  Powering the ship’s ESGs. 
   
  Powering cloaking device (this takes two power 
  units). 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Space Combat 
  Page 333 
   
  Powering damage control, wild weasel, transport-
  ers, and other smaller systems (all of these can be 
  powered with this one unit.) 
   
  Powering web device (this takes two power units, 
  to create or strengthen web). 
   
  Arming a suicide shuttle (one unit of power on 
  each of two turns). 
   
   
  If all the batteries are undamaged and fully 
  charged, then for one turn, one additional power unit 
  can be used. Using the batteries in this manner de-
  pletes the level of charge. The additional power unit 
  cannot be used again until the batteries have been 
  returned to full charge. 
   
  As the ship takes damage, certain power systems 
  may be destroyed, limiting power available. If all the 
  impulse engines and APR engines/reactors are de-
  stroyed, subtract one from the total amount of alloca-
  tion units available. For every 25% of the warp drive 
  damaged, subtract one from the total allocation units 
  above. 
   
  Arming Cycles 
   
  One turn of arming: Phasers, disruptors. 
   
  Two turns of arming: Photon torpedoes. 
   
  Three turns of arming: Plasma torpedoes. 
   
   
  SPECIAL SHUTTLECRAFT MISSIONS 
   
   
  The ubiquitous shuttlecraft that most empires use 
  were originally designed simply to take personnel or 
  cargo to and from places the ship itself could not land. 
  Over time, other uses were found for them. All of these 
  special functions use an unmanned shuttle which can-
  not fire its phaser. 
   
  Wild Weasel 
   
  A shuttle can be used as a “wild weasel,” a decoy 
  used to distract enemy seeking weapons. This is an 
  extreme tactic as it destroys a valuable shuttle and 
  puts the ship at a maneuver disadvantage. Any availa-
  ble shuttle can be configured as a wild weasel during 
  the Other Actions phase and then launched as a wild 
  weasel in the Other Actions phase of a subsequent 
  turn. The ship must make a successful Piloting or 
  Tactics skill roll with the following modifiers: +2 if the 
  ship originally used the Drift maneuver this turn 
  and -2 if it originally used the Attack Run maneuver. It 
  the GM allows the Ram maneuver, then that is a -4. 
   
  The ship will be forced to use the Drift maneuver 
  as long as the wild weasel is functioning; any other 
  maneuver voids the wild weasel (losing its benefit). 
  Any position advantage is lost. Scanners must be 
  turned off, so any seeking weapons controlled by the 
  ship must be released to their own guidance 
  (only plasma torpedoes and type-III drones are self-
  guiding) or transferred to the control of another ship 
  or they will be removed from play. The ship cannot fire 
  any weapons while under the protection of a wild wea-
  sel; to do so voids the wild weasel immediately. 
   
  If the roll succeeds, the ship may stay under the 
  protection of the wild weasel for as many turns as the 
  roll was made by up to a maximum of five turns. If the 
  roll fails, the number it failed by is the number of 
  seeking weapon attacks which continue; once they are 
  resolved, all other seeking weapons are removed from 
  play and the effect lasts only that turn. In the event of 
  a critical failure, the weasel has no effect (but is still 
  lost, and the ship is still at drift with inactive scanners 
  for one turn). 
   
  For as long as the wild weasel remains active, 
  all missile (drone or plasma) attacks on the protected 
  ship will automatically fail and all beam attacks or 
  scans are at a -4 penalty. At the end of its active pe-
  riod, the shuttle used as a wild weasel is destroyed. 
   
  Suicide Shuttle 
   
  This is an admin shuttle loaded with an antimatter 
  warhead and launched as a missile. These are 
  launched as any other shuttle, during the Other Ac-
  tions phase. The target is designated at the time of 
  launch, and the suicide shuttle is thereafter treated as 
  a missile. All skill rolls are made using the Piloting 
  (Shuttlecraft) skill, but the shuttle can only use the 
  Closing maneuver. If you reach short range from the 
  target, the suicide shuttle does 3d×10 cDAM. 
   
  Scatter-Pack 
   
  This is an unmanned admin shuttle loaded with 
  1.5 spaces of drones. It is prepared during the Other 
  Actions phase of one turn and can be launched during 
  the Other Actions phase of any subsequent turn. Once 
  launched, it can launch its drones in the Missile 
  Launch phase of any subsequent turn. It cannot 
  be distinguished as a scatter pack until it launches its 
  drones (and will maneuver like a manned shuttle), but 
  could be attacked as a separate vessel. It must be set 
  in one of two modes (random or specific target) before 
  launch. In random mode, its drones will be distributed 
  one at a time to enemy targets with no target receiving 
  a second drone until all possible targets have received 
  the first one (and so on). In specific mode, all drones 
  will be targeted on an enemy vessel selected before 
  the time of launch. In either case, all drones are 
  launched at the same time and the shuttle then be-
  comes inert (makes no further maneuvers); it could 
  be picked up and reused. 
   
   
   
  From left to right, these shuttles are a ground assault 
  shuttle, space warning and control shuttle, scatter-
  pack, multi-role shuttle (drone-armed), multi-role 
  shuttle (plasma-armed), and wild weasel. 
  
  Page 334  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Space Combat 
   
   
   
  Federation Heavy Cruiser 
   
   
  SAMPLE STARSHIPS 
   
   
  The Star Fleet Universe includes thousands of 
  different starship types. These are a few of them. 
  Ships larger than skiffs include items (recreational fa-
  cilities, galleys, gardens, swimming pools, bowling 
  alleys) and other incidental features that are not listed. 
   
  Statistics Table 
   
  A spacecraft’s key performance statistics are sum-
  marized as detailed below: 
   
   
  dST/HP: The Strength/Hit Point statistic in decade 
  scale. 
   
  Hnd/SR: The spacecraft’s Handling and Stability 
  Rating. 
   
  HT: The spacecraft’s Health. 
   
  Tac Warp: The speed at which a ship of this type 
  can be in battle in the Star Fleet Universe. 
   
  Cruise Warp: The typical speed that starships of 
  that type travel in the Star Fleet Universe. 
   
  Max Warp: The fastest speed that a ship of that 
  type can muster to get out of Dodge in the Star Fleet 
  Universe. 
   
  Load: This is the maximum load in tons the space-
  craft carries, and is the sum of the rated capacities of 
  all payload systems (cargo holds, hangar bay, etc.). 
   
  SM: This is the spacecraft’s Size Modifier. 
   
  Occ: The occupancy rating gives the number of 
  people the spacecraft supports, derived from its cho-
  sen systems. Vessels with long- term accommodations 
  (e.g., cabins) just list the number of people they can 
  provide ongoing full life support for, followed by the 
  suffix “ASV.” 
   
  Hull dDR: The decade-scale Damage Resistance 
  of the hull. 
   
  Shield dDR: The decade-scale Damage Re-
  sistance of the shields. 
   
  Cost: The dollar cost of a new spacecraft in mil-
  lions ($M), billions ($B), or trillions ($T). Military ships 
  do not have a cost as they are never legally for sale – 
  pirates may try to sell them for what they think they 
  can get for them.  
   
   
  Ship Cards 
   
  Now that the ship cards for the ships here are in-
  cluded with GURPS Prime Directive, the long textual 
  descriptions of the ships have been abbreviated. After 
  all, it is easy to see how many warp or impulse en-
  gines the ship has. Batteries and reactors are on the 
  ship. The different types of bridges (main, emergency, 
  auxiliary, and flag) are clearly marked with locations. 
  The weapons are listed for convenience. “Accessories” 
  lists only things that are not visible on the card such as 
  quarters, medical facilities, entry modules, shuttle 
  data, and whether a turbolift system is included. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Klingon D7 
   
   
   
   
  Gorn Allosaurus Battlecruiser 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Space Combat 
  Page 335 
  Standard Large Freighter 
   
  This is the standard two-pod freighter used across the galaxy. There are dozens of functionally similar types using 
  whatever pods the local empire uses or the universal 40m×200m cargo pod. The freighter itself consist only of the 
  drive unit (engines and supporting structure), the command module (bridge, scanners, defensive phasers, and crew 
  quarters), and a turbolift tube installed along the top of the pods to connect the forward and aft components. While 
  the standard crew is 20, the ship can be handled by as few as four or five (assuming nothing breaks). 
   
  Weapons: 1 bank of 1×phaser-2 (360°), 1 bank of 1×phaser-3 (rear). 
   
  Accessories: Total life support with emergency supplies for 20 crew. 20 cabins, 3 luxury cabins. Turbolift system. 
  2 entry modules. Cargo 7,500,000 cubic feet (15,000 spaces). 1 large hanger bay with room for 1 shuttle (no shuttles 
  in storage). 
   
  Piloting/TL11 (Starship) 
  TL 
  Spacecraft 
  dST/HP 
  Hnd/SR 
  HT 
  Tac 
  Warp 
  Cruise 
  Warp 
  Max 
  Warp 
  Load 
  SM 
  Occ 
  Hull 
  dDR 
  Shield 
  dDR 
  Cost 
  11 
  Large 
  Freighter 
  17 
  -1/5 
  12 
  2.6 
  4.5 
  4.5 
  80,000 
  +12 
  20ASV 
  20 
  1,350 
  $61M 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
  Page 336  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Space Combat 
  Free Trader 
   
   
  Thousands of these ships are all over the Alpha Octant of the Milky Way Galaxy, used as cargo and passenger 
  ships, transports, prospectors, naval auxiliaries, troop transports, and many other missions. It can land on planets. 
  The ship needs a minimal crew of 5 to operate but the normal crew is 30, and there is space for 20 passengers. 
   
  Weapons: 1 bank of 2×phaser-3s (360°). In place of the phaser-2, some ships of this type mount a photon tor-
  pedo, disruptor, drone rack, or plasma-F torpedo in addition to the two phaser-3s. 
   
  Accessories: Total life support with emergency supplies for 30 crew. 6 large long-stay quarters; 4 luxury cabins. 
  1 full medical bay, 1 medical lab. 3 entry modules. No turbolift system. Cargo 1,800,000 cubic feet. 1 large hangar bay 
  with room for 1 shuttle, shuttle storage with workshops for 2 shuttles (1 shuttle in storage). See deck plans, p. 305-
  310. 
   
  Piloting/TL12 (Starship) 
  TL 
  Spacecraft 
  dST/HP 
  Hnd/SR 
  HT 
  Tac 
  Warp 
  Cruise 
  Warp 
  Max 
  Warp 
  Load 
  SM 
  Occ 
  Hull 
  dDR 
  Shield 
  dDR 
  Cost 
  12 
  Free Trader 
  22 
  0/5 
  12 
  2.92 
  5.5 
  9.25 
  75,000 
  +10 
  30ASV 
  50 
  1,800 
  $70M 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Space Combat 
  Page 337 
  Security Skiff (Striker) 
   
   
  Used for local patrols by planetary police, this ship is one of the smallest seen here. It can land on planets. The 
  crew is normally 30 but this includes Marines (or police) to board suspect freighters; the ship can be handled on most 
  patrols by as few as four people. 
   
  Weapons: 1 bank of 2×phaser-2s (360°), 1 type-A drone rack. In place of the drone rack, some ships of this type 
  mount a phaser-1 or plasma-D torpedo 
   
  Accessories: Total life support with emergency supplies for 30 crew. 6 large long-stay quarters, 4 luxury cabins. 1 
  automed bay. 2 entry modules. No turbolift system. Cargo 225,000 cubic feet. 
   
  Piloting/TL12 (Starship) 
  TL 
  Spacecraft 
  dST/HP 
  Hnd/SR 
  HT 
  Tac 
  Warp 
  Cruise 
  Warp 
  Max 
  Warp 
  Load 
  SM 
  Occ 
  Hull 
  dDR 
  Shield 
  dDR 
  Cost 
  12 
  Security Skiff 
  27 
  +1/5 
  12 
  2.92 
  5.5 
  9.25 
  30,000 
  +8 
  30ASV 
  50 
  1,200 
  $25M 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
  Page 338  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Space Combat 
  Federation Heavy Cruiser 
   
   
  The most famous starship in science fiction, this is the standard starship that patrolled the Federation’s borders 
  and interior regions. Equally capable of combat, exploration, and support, it was a workhorse. 
   
  Weapons: 4 banks of 2×phaser-1s, 2 banks of 1×phaser-3 (360°), 4 photon torpedo tubes. 
   
  Accessories: 200 large long-stay quarters, 30 long-stay quarters, 10 luxury cabins. 4 full medical bays, 2 medical 
  labs. 6 entry modules. 1 probe launcher. Turbolift system. Cargo 500,000 cubic feet. 1 large hangar bay with room for 
  4 shuttles, shuttle storage with workshops for 7 shuttles (3 shuttles in storage). 
   
  Piloting/TL12 (Starship) 
  TL 
  Spacecraft 
  dST/HP 
  Hnd/SR 
  HT 
  Tac 
  Warp 
  Cruise 
  Warp 
  Max 
  Warp 
  Load 
  SM 
  Occ 
  Hull 
  dDR 
  Shield 
  dDR 
  Cost 
  12 
  Federation 
  Heavy 
  Cruiser 
  147 
  -1/5 
  13 
  3.2 
  7 
  9.25 
  160,000 
  +12 
  450ASV 
  50 
  4,500 
  N/A 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Space Combat 
  Page 339 
  Klingon D7 Battlecruiser 
   
   
  This is the classic aggressor starship, built for battle with exploration and support a secondary consideration. Less 
  expensive than most other heavy cruisers, it lacks the full range of scientific capabilities and crew living conditions are 
  Spartan. The crew of 450 includes a company of 75 Marines. The number of Marines, combined with the number of 
  transporters, makes this ship efficient at hit-and-run raids and boarding actions. 
   
  Weapons: 4 disruptor bolts, 2 type-A drone racks, 1 bank of 3×phaser-1s, 2 banks of 2×phaser-2s (rear), 2 banks 
  of 1×phaser-2. Due to the unique weapons arrangement, all phasers on this ship can fire to the rear if they need to. 
   
  Accessories: 86 large bunkrooms, 20 luxury cabins. 4 full medical bays, 2 medical labs. 5 entry modules. 1 probe 
  launcher. Turbolift system. Cargo 500,000 cubic feet. 1 large hangar bay with room for 2 shuttles, shuttle storage with 
  workshops for 4 shuttles (2 shuttles in storage). 
   
  Piloting/TL12 (Starship) 
  TL 
  Spacecraft 
  dST/HP 
  Hnd/SR 
  HT 
  Tac 
  Warp 
  Cruise 
  Warp 
  Max 
  Warp 
  Load 
  SM 
  Occ 
  Hull 
  dDR 
  Shield 
  dDR 
  Cost 
  12 
  Klingon D7 
  Battlecruiser 
  138 
  +1/5 
  13 
  3.2 
  7 
  9.25 
  110,000 
  +12 
  450ASV 
  50 
  4,500 
  N/A 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
  Page 340  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Space Combat 
  Romulan War Eagle 
   
   
  An ancient design refitted for warp, this ship would be irrelevant except for the massive type-R plasma torpedo. 
  These ships are critically undersized and, despite the improvement to the War Eagle class, are not capable of stand-
  ing up in combat to another cruiser. Usually, one good blast from any heavy cruiser is enough to cripple a War Eagle. 
  These ships were kept in service because of the incredible power of the type-R plasma torpedo. Their saving grace is 
  the cloaking device, which allows the ship to move to close range, fire, and then evade reprisal. The War Eagle can 
  land on planets. This Romulan ship has the normal damage resistance from its hull and additional DR for extra armor. 
   
  Weapons: 2 banks of 2×phaser-1s, 2 banks of 1×phaser-3 (rear), 1 type-R plasma torpedo launcher. 
   
  Accessories: 50 long-stay quarters, 10 luxury cabins. 2 full medical bays, 1 medical lab. 3 entry modules. 1 probe 
  launcher. Turbolift  system. Cargo 50,000 cubic feet. 1 large hangar bay with room for 2 shuttles, shuttle storage with 
  workshops for 3 shuttles (1 shuttle in storage). 
   
  Piloting/TL12 (Starship) 
  TL 
  Spacecraft 
  dST/HP 
  Hnd/SR 
  HT 
  Tac 
  Warp 
  Cruise 
  Warp 
  Max 
  Warp 
  Load 
  SM 
  Occ 
  Hull 
  dDR 
  Shield 
  dDR 
  Cost 
  12 
  Romulan 
  War Eagle 
  103 
  -1/5 
  13 
  2.76 
  7 
  9.25 
  120,000 
  +11 
  450ASV 
  20+ 
  750 
  3,750 
  N/A 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Space Combat 
  Page 341 
  Kzinti Command Cruiser 
   
   
  A workmanlike cruiser, it is highly regarded. The command cruiser was an extremely powerful ship and was vital 
  to the salvation of the Hegemony during the early wars with the Klingons and Lyrans as it could engage the best en-
  emy cruisers on equal terms. The command cruisers were often used as flagships in preference to the early dread-
  nought. The point defense phasers (on the wing tips and either side of the tail) are designed to defend the ship 
  against missiles, but the Kzintis are the premier missile-using empire (i.e., the ship is designed more for civil wars 
  than for national defense). 
   
  Weapons: 4 disruptor bolts, 2 type-A drone racks, 2 type-B drone racks, 1 bank of 2×phaser-1s (360°), 2 banks 
  of 1×phaser-1, 2 banks of 2×phaser-3s, 2 banks of 2×phaser-3s (rear). 
   
  Accessories: 200 large long-stay quarters, 40 long-stay quarters. 4 full medical bays, 2 medical labs. 6 entry mod-
  ules. 1 probe launcher. Turbolift system. Cargo 500,000 cubic feet. 1 large hangar bay with room for 2 shuttles, shut-
  tle storage with workshops for 4 shuttles (2 shuttles in storage). 
   
  Piloting/TL12 (Starship) 
  TL 
  Spacecraft 
  dST/HP 
  Hnd/SR 
  HT 
  Tac 
  Warp 
  Cruise 
  Warp 
  Max 
  Warp 
  Load 
  SM 
  Occ 
  Hull 
  dDR 
  Shield 
  dDR 
  Cost 
  12 
  Kzinti 
  Command 
  Cruiser 
  152 
  0/5 
  13 
  3.2 
  7 
  9.25 
  180,000 
  +12 
  440ASV 
  50 
  4,500 
  N/A 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
  Page 342  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Space Combat 
  Gorn Allosaurus Battlecruiser 
   
   
  Solid as a brick and just about as maneuverable, the Gorn ships are feared for their heavy weapons load. The 
  Allosaurus battlecruiser lacked concentrated firepower, making the ship awkward to use in battle although its powerful 
  phaser suite partially made up for this problem. The standard tactic for these ships was to cycle the torpedoes to be 
  ready at different times. The ship would make a pass toward one side of the enemy, firing the torpedo on that side, 
  then turn away and circle to pass the enemy on the other side, firing the second torpedo. 
   
  Weapons: 2 plasma-S torpedo launchers, 2 plasma-F torpedo launchers, 2 banks of 2×phaser-1s, 2 banks 
  of 1×phaser-1, 2 banks of 1×phaser-1 (rear). 
   
  Accessories: 200 large long-stay quarters, 40 long-stay quarters. 4 full medical bays, 2 medical labs. 4 entry mod-
  ules. 1 probe launcher. Turbolift system. Cargo 500,000 cubic feet. 2 large hangar bays, each with room for 3 shut-
  tles, shuttle storage with workshops for 9 shuttles (3 shuttles in storage). 
   
  Piloting/TL12 (Starship) 
  TL 
  Spacecraft 
  dST/HP 
  Hnd/SR 
  HT 
  Tac 
  Warp 
  Cruise 
  Warp 
  Max 
  Warp 
  Load 
  SM 
  Occ 
  Hull 
  dDR 
  Shield 
  dDR 
  Cost 
  12 
  Gorn 
  Allosaurus 
  Battlecruiser 
  160 
  -1/5 
  13 
  3.2 
  7 
  9.25 
  165,000 
  +12 
  480ASV 
  50 
  4,500 
  N/A 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Space Combat 
  Page 343 
  Tholian Patrol Corvette 
   
   
  The Tholian Patrol Corvette was (or is?) the Tholians’ most numerous ship, being the size of a small frigate. 
  When the Tholians first arrived, it was one of the most powerful ships in the galaxy, but Tholian technology did not 
  advance while the native empires of this galaxy raced to catch up. The problem was that the Tholians who got here 
  were not a major part of the empire, just an isolated industrial world with only a small shipyard able to produce small 
  ships primarily for the local police forces. They could build endless PCs, but nothing bigger until (decades later) their 
  engineers figured out how to combine PC hulls into larger ships. The Patrol Corvette was small, but it was deadly in 
  packs. While the crew needed was only 120, it had life support and supplies for 125. It can land on planets. 
   
  Weapons: 1 bank of 4×phaser-1s, 2 banks of 1×phaser-3. 
   
  Accessories: 24 large bunkrooms, 10 cabins. 1 full medical bays, no medical lab. 2 entry modules. 1 probe 
  launcher. Turbolift system. Cargo 50,000 cubic feet. 1 large hangar bay with room for 1 shuttle (1 shuttle in storage). 
   
  Piloting/TL12 (Starship) 
  TL 
  Spacecraft 
  dST/HP 
  Hnd/SR 
  HT 
  Tac 
  Warp 
  Cruise 
  Warp 
  Max 
  Warp 
  Load 
  SM 
  Occ 
  Hull 
  dDR 
  Shield 
  dDR 
  Cost 
  12 
  Tholian 
  Patrol 
  Corvette 
  59 
  +3/5 
  13 
  3.2 
  7 
  9.25 
  68,000 
  +11 
  125ASV 
  50 
  2,700 
  N/A 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
  Page 344  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Space Combat 
  Orion Pirate Light Cruiser 
   
   
  The Raider-class light cruiser (sometimes called the “Raider Cruiser”) was the backbone of the Orion Pirate 
  forces during the period before the General War. It is the classic pirate ship: big enough to tackle an escorted convoy 
  while small enough to build in quantity. It is equivalent to the light cruiser of most fleets in firepower although (like all 
  Orion ships) it quickly becomes combat ineffective when damaged. It is an excellent ship for its purpose: attacking 
  cargo ships. Orion ships are designed to avoid detection, being basically flat with angled hull plates to scatter any 
  scanner beam that touches them. Internal volume is half as much as a regular warship of the same class, but this 
  comes at the cost of miniaturized systems, high maintenance costs, and a distinct lack of crew comfort. While most 
  pirates prefer to prey on unprotected ships, this vessel can defeat or disable most pre-war escorts and police ships. 
  These ships became increasingly ineffective during the General War when freighters tended to move in convoys. 
  There are three optional weapons mounts, one in the nose and one in each wing. The wing mounts cannot hold 
  heavy weapons. Heavy weapons are usually ones “acquired” in the area in which the Orion ship operated. This ship 
  can land on planets. 
   
  Weapons: 2 banks of 2×phaser-1s, 2 banks of 1×phaser-3 (rear). Optional heavy weapon mount (forward), two 
  optional weapon mounts (wings). 
   
  Accessories: 30 large bunkrooms; 20 long-stay cabins. 2 full medical bays, 1 medical lab. 3 entry modules. No 
  probe launcher. Turbolift system. Cargo 750,000 cubic feet. 1 large hangar bay with room for 2 shuttles (1 shuttle 
  in storage). 
   
  Piloting/TL12 (Starship) 
  TL 
  Spacecraft 
  dST/HP 
  Hnd/SR 
  HT 
  Tac 
  Warp 
  Cruise 
  Warp 
  Max 
  Warp 
  Load 
  SM 
  Occ 
  Hull 
  dDR 
  Shield 
  dDR 
  Cost 
  12 
  Orion Pirate 
  Light Cruiser 
  92 
  +3/5 
  13 
  3.2 
  7 
  9.25 
  60,000 
  +11 
  200ASV 
  50 
  2,700 
  N/A 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Space Combat 
  Page 345 
  Standard Administrative Shuttlecraft 
   
   
  The basic people and small items mover of the Star Fleet Universe, shuttles are designed to carry two crew and 
  six passengers comfortably. They can carry up to 10 people in relatively crowded comfort, and two or three times as 
  many for very short flights such as an emergency evacuation. Almost all starships carried these shuttlecraft, which 
  could be used as wild weasel distraction vehicles, suicide shuttle bomb delivery vehicles, or as scatter-pack weap-
  ons-release vehicles. The shuttle is armed with a single self-defense phaser-3 in a 360-degree mount, making it the 
  lowest form of fighter craft. For pricing, see Civilian Shuttlecraft, p. 346. The shuttle only has six boxes on its SSD. 
   
  Weapons: 1 bank of 1×phaser-3 (360°). 
   
  Accessories: Total life support for 8 crew.  
   
  Piloting/TL11 (Shuttlecraft) 
  TL 
  Spacecraft 
  dST/HP 
  Hnd/SR 
  HT 
  Tac 
  Warp 
  Cruise 
  Warp 
  Max 
  Warp 
  Load 
  SM 
  Occ 
  Hull 
  dDR 
  Shield 
  dDR 
  Cost 
  11 
  Administrative 
  Shuttlecraft 
  2 
  0/4 
  12 
  2.5 
  2.5 
  2.5 
  30 
  +5 
  8ASV 
  1 
  150 
  * 
   
   
   
  Terms found on Ship Cards and in Descriptions 
   
   
   
  Reactors (Reac): Additional power. 
   
  Battery (Btty): Capable of storing power from the engines for use later. 
   
  Bridge: The command compartment, airlock, consoles, etc. 
   
  Brig: Room for 1-4 prisoners with alarm and guards. 
   
  Damage Control: A specialized facility to maintain the ship’s functions (and shields!) during combat. 
   
  Impulse Engines: Nuclear, reactionless engines 
   
  Labs: An equipment-filled laboratory designed for specific scientific research in several of many fields. 
   
  Long-Stay Quarters: 14×18 feet, bedroom, sitting room, and sanitary facilities for 1-2 crew members. Large ver-
  sion (15×30 feet) can hold 4-8 people. 
   
  Medical Bay (full): Intensive care unit with five diagnostic beds, one surgery room, and doctor’s office. 
   
  Security Stations: Used to prevent mutiny. 
   
  Tractors (Trac): Tractor beams. 
   
  Transporter Room (Trans): A six-person transporter pad and controls, plus enough space to organize troops or 
  cargo. 
   
  Warp Engines: Primary power source and propulsion. 
  
  Page 346  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Space Combat 
  CIVILIAN SHUTTLECRAFT 
   
   
  While ships like freighters and Free Traders form 
  the backbone of interstellar commerce, tens of thou-
  sands of civilian shuttlecraft are used for short-range 
  commerce and travel. While shuttlecraft are relatively 
  slow (at warp-2.5 it would take a week to travel from 
  Earth to Vulcan), short-ranged (they have to refuel 
  every 500 parsecs), and uncomfortable (less room 
  than a Winnebago, albeit more than a minivan), they 
  have the advantage of being cheaper than starships 
  and able to go wherever and whenever the pilot wants 
  to fly them. Most maintenance is within the abilities of 
  a qualified pilot and every civilized planet will have 
  service and fuel facilities. 
   
  Shuttlecraft come in a variety of sizes. The small-
  est ones (as seen on the original TV series) are “sin-
  gle-sized;” there are also double, triple, and quad-
  sized shuttlecraft. Larger shuttlecraft than quads are 
  simply unfeasible. While the different sizes are similar 
  in many respects, there is one important division: sin-
  gle-sized and double-sized shuttlecraft can dock inside 
  a starship’s shuttlebay, while triple-sized and quad-
  sized shuttlecraft cannot – they are just too large. Tri-
  ples and quads can only dock to a stationary ship or 
  station externally (and would be catastrophically un-
  docked if the ship went to high warp), and can only 
  dock internally at bases which can also dock starships 
  internally. As a result, triples and quads operate from 
  ground bases almost all of the time. 
   
  Types of Shuttlecraft 
   
  There is no such thing as a “standard” civilian 
  shuttle. While they emerge from the factory in one of a 
  few “stock” designs, all are individually customized by 
  their owners, often over a decade or two of service. All 
  shuttlecraft have the following in common: 
   
   
  They have a “flight deck” in the bow with two 
  seats for pilots. These seats can also operate 
  the navigation, weapons, and other systems. 
  While the base price of all shuttles includes 
  two seats, some (particularly “used”) shuttles 
  have only one (deduct $5,000) and a few have 
  a third pilot seat installed (add $5,000). 
   
  They have an “engine” compartment at the 
  very rear with access to the engine controls, 
  phaser (if any), toolboxes, and other systems. 
  This small compartment is usually locked. 
   
  They have a “main compartment” which is for 
  the payload (cargo, passengers, other sys-
  tems). The “base price” of the shuttle includes 
  only a “bare deck” (suitable for stacking cargo) 
  but most leave the factory with built-in seats, 
  cargo storage bins, or other fixtures. This al-
  ways includes a fold-down lavatory. 
   
  They have an equipment bay which is “be-
  neath the floorboards” and in the two cylindri-
  cal pods on either side of the bottom. This 
  contains the sensors, computer, avionics, 
  warp engines, batteries, fuel, life support, etc. 
  All shuttles have two low-power warp engines; 
  few have any other source of power other than 
  emergency power cells. 
   
  They may have external cargo pods (up to 
  four on single-sized and double-sided, six on 
  larger) each holding half a cubic yard of cargo. 
   
   
  Within these parameters, there are a small num-
  ber of standard “stock models:” 
   
   
  The standard “administrative” shuttle is de-
  signed for short duration flights, mostly carry-
  ing a few passengers and their personal gear 
  or luggage from a ship to a planet, or from 
  planet to planet inside a system. These will 
  never have bunks, food replicators, etc. 
   
  “Transport” shuttles are designed to carry 
  cargo. They may or may not have uncomfort-
  able fold-down “combat seats.” 
   
  “Business” shuttles (single/double-sized) and 
  “Yachts” (triple/quad-sized) are fitted for longer 
  flights with varying degrees of luxury. They 
  may or may not have cargo space beyond the 
  need for personal luggage. 
   
  “Commercial” shuttles are used by interplane-
  tary traders. These will be mostly cargo vol-
  ume, with space for a bunk and food supply, 
  and long-duration supplies for the one/two-
  man crew. 
   
  “Exploration” or “adventure” shuttles will have 
  space for cargo, equipment, bunks, long-term 
  supplies, food, etc. They may also have mini-
  mal laboratory facilities. Most of these are 
  used by independent operators (since corpo-
  rations only like to pay for things actually 
  found and don’t like to finance treasure hunts) 
  but in cases where a corporation is developing 
  a planet or system, some of these could be 
  used by teams of corporate employees. Most 
  of these are double or triple size, just to have 
  enough room to accommodate the required 
  systems. 
   
  Sticker Shock 
   
  The dimensions below are in meters (length-width-
  height). All have an internal height of two meters. The 
  overall internal dimensions include the flight deck 
  which is 1×2 meters with two pilot seats. The basic 
  price for a new shuttlecraft with two pilot seats, artifi-
  cial gravity, life support, auto-pilot, engines, a lavatory, 
  and an unfinished main compartment is: 
   
   
  Single-size, 2×3 meters, $100,000. 
   
  Double-size, 3×4 meters, $250,000. 
   
  Triple-size, 3×6 meters, $600,000. 
   
  Quad-size, 4×6 meters, $1,250,000. 
   
   
  Dimensions may vary by as much as 20% be-
  tween different manufacturers. Given a 20-year life, 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Space Combat 
  Page 347 
  used shuttles deduct 5% of the cost for each year of 
  “average” use (but are never cheaper than 20%). Re-
  furbishing (5% of the “original” cost) can reduce the 
  “age” by one year (up to half of the actual years of 
  service). 
   
  Dealer Options 
   
  The available space within the main compartment 
  of a shuttlecraft can be used for other things: 
   
   
  folding “combat” seats, 1 cubic meter, 0.5 
  square meters of deck space, $500. 
   
  economy airline seat, 1 cubic meter, 0.5 
  square meters of deck space, $750. 
   
  first-class airline seat, 1.5 cubic meters, 0.75 
  square meters of deck space, $1,500. (Note 
  that personnel in unsecured seats, say house-
  hold dinner chairs, would be seriously injured 
  by even moderate maneuvers.) 
   
  pilot/control seat with consoles, 2 cubic me-
  ters, 1 square meter of deck space, $5,000. 
   
  standard bunk, 2 cubic meters, 2 square me-
  ters of deck space (stackable, so two fit in the 
  same deck space), $1,000. For Luxury status, 
  add another $2,000. If you only want one 
  bunk, the space under it can be used only for 
  storage or equipment, not for seating. A dou-
  ble bed (for couples) is twice as big/expensive. 
   
  economy bunk, 1.33 cubic meters, 2 square 
  meters of deck space (stackable, so three fit in 
  the same deck space, $1,000 (just not as 
  comfortable). 
   
  standard lavatory without shower, 2 cubic me-
  ters, 1 square meter of deck space, $1,000. 
   
  standard lavatory with compact shower, 2 cu-
  bic meters, 1 square meter of deck space, 
  $2,000. 
   
  first-class lavatory with shower, 4 cubic me-
  ters, 2 square meters of deck space, $5,000. 
  For luxury version, add another $5,000. 
   
  airlock, single person, 2 cubic meters, 1 
  square meter of deck space, $5,000. 
   
  airlock, two-person, 4 cubic meters, 2 square 
  meters of deck space, $6,000. 
   
  food replicator, 1 cubic meter, $5,000. 
   
  laboratory equipment, $5,000 per cubic meter. 
   
  office, entertainment, and similar amenities, 
  $200 per cubic meter (for luxury class, add 
  $300 per cubic meter). 
   
  short-range tractor beam (to tow something 
  that is within a few meters), 2 cubic meters, 
  $7,500. 
   
  cargo bins, lockers, etc. $100 per cubic meter. 
   
  refrigerated or other special storage, $500 per 
  cubic meter. 
   
  hidden cargo bins, $1,000 per cubic meter. 
   
  point-defense 
  phaser, 
  2 
  cubic 
  meters, 
  $50,000. This burns one hour of fuel for every 
  shot fired. 
   
  bulkhead to separate the flight deck from main 
  cabin, $1,000 on single/double-sized; standard 
  on triple/quad-sized. This takes up no space. 
   
  External storage pod, 0.5 cubic meter, $1000. 
  These cannot be accessed from inside the 
  shuttle but only when it is landed. They are 
  insulated against cold and heat and air tight 
  (also water tight and gas tight). 
   
  life support for two people for one month; fuel 
  for one week of cruise speed: included as 
  standard. 
   
  each additional week of fuel, 0.5 cubic meter 
  (can be in external pods), $2,000. 
   
  each additional week of food and life support, 
  per person, 0.2 cubic meter, $500. This can be 
  in external pods and piped into the shuttle’s on 
  board systems. 
   
   
  All of the above items include necessary ancillary 
  equipment such as additional life support, water tank-
  age, recycling, power conduits and control interfaces, 
  etc. Hidden and special cargo areas hold one-half of 
  the capacity they use. Operating expenses are typi-
  cally 1-2% of total (new) cost per month, not counting 
  battle damage and other “unscheduled repairs.” All 
  prices are given for TL10. 
   
  Weaponry 
   
  Phasers: all shuttlecraft may carry a single ship-
  board phaser-3 (point defense) cannon which can fire 
  in any direction. Not every shuttlecraft carries one, 
  however. Phaser-3 cannons are Legal Class 3. 
   
  While some empires (and pirates) arm their mili-
  tary shuttlecraft with missiles, they are too expensive 
  for civilian use and are Legal Class 1 anyway. Heavy 
  weapons like disruptors and larger phaser cannons 
  are simply too big to mount on a shuttlecraft, or have 
  excessive power requirements, and are Legal Class 0 
  in all cultures – no exceptions! 
   
  Prospecting Shuttlecraft 
   
  While these use the same engine and some com-
  mon chassis elements, these are highly specialized 
  shuttlecraft designed for asteroid mining and pro-
  specting. Most are single-sized; a few are double-
  sized. Larger shuttles could be custom converted but 
  are very rare. Prospecting shuttlecraft differ from 
  standard shuttlecraft in many ways. 
   
   
  The single-sized prospector has one seat 
  (one-man crew), a prospecting cannon, a one-
  cubic meter geology lab, a one-cubic-meter 
  airlock (for bringing rocks on board), a tractor-
  grappler, and 4 cubic meters of storage (con-
  sumables, mined materials). Cost is $250,000. 
   
  The double-sized prospector has two seats 
  (two-man crew), a prospecting cannon, a one-
  cubic meter geology lab, a one-cubic meter 
  materials processor (to remove waste rock 
  from valuable metals or minerals), a two-
  
  Page 348  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Space Combat 
  cubic-meter airlock, and 11 cubic meters 
  available for storage. Cost is $400,000. 
   
   
  A prospecting charge launcher is basically a “mor-
  tar” used to propel a mining charge to an asteroid, 
  breaking it up so the valuable bits can be brought 
  aboard. The unguided projectile can hit a stationary 
  target within 100 meters; forget trying to hit a moving 
  target. Prospecting/TL skill is used to aim and fire the 
  cannon. On a critical miss, the weapon jams and must 
  be repaired. Charges for a prospecting cannon cost 
  $100 at TL10 and take up 0.2 cubic meter. They can 
  be reloaded from inside the shuttle. 
   
  The tractor-grappler is short-ranged (10 meters) 
  and is used to bring aboard rocks (or chunks of a 
  wrecked space ship) for investigation or recovery. For 
  an extra $50,000, the boom arm of this system can be 
  fitted with a laser-cutter able to dismantle space 
  wreckage for salvage. Prospecting shuttles can buy 
  any of the listed upgrades (including the phaser-3) 
  they have room for. For that matter, standard shuttles 
  could buy the geology lab and materials processor 
  ($5,000 each) for surface exploration. 
   
  CUSTOMIZED CIVILIAN SHIPS 
   
  While military ships have a high number of vari-
  ants, civilian ships have an even wider array of cus-
  tomized special-purpose designs. While any civilian 
  ship can be modified to suit any purpose (to one de-
  gree of success or another), none received more spe-
  cial-purpose conversions than the Free Trader. 
   
  This was because the Free Trader was faster than 
  a freighter, could land on planets, was a true starship 
  hull rather than a cargo pod to which drive and com-
  mand modules were attached, and it was ubiquitous. 
  At least 20,000 Free Traders of all variants were oper-
  ational during the period from Y120 to Y200, and they 
  were converted (some of them many times) to an 
  endless array of special purposes and missions. At 
  one point, the flagship of the Romulan fleet (which at 
  the time consisted entirely of sublight Eagle-series 
  ships) was a warp-powered Free Trader bought from a 
  Federation broker under false paperwork. It allowed 
  the Admiral Commanding to quickly visit his various 
  fleet headquarters starbases and personally super-
  vise the activities of the fleet. 
   
  Several versions of the Free Trader exist, includ-
  ing the Free Trooper (which could carry large numbers 
  of military troops or civilian colonists), Free Tanker 
  (which could carry dozens of ground vehicles of mili-
  tary or civilian types), Free Prospector (used to explore 
  new worlds), and Free Salvor (used to gather salvage 
  from wrecked starships). Medical versions existed 
  for government use in natural disasters. 
   
  Examples abound but we can only scratch the 
  surface. 
   
  Some Free Traders were modified for the tourist 
  trade. The Starlight Princess (owned by Royal Cruise 
  Lines) was built to carry 100 passengers in airline-style 
  seats on a trip to Mars that took only a few hours. Her 
  sister Venera Prince carried 100 tourists on day trips 
  to Venus including an exciting dive into the atmos-
  phere. (She had special shielding and large windows. 
  The Jovian Queen carried 40 passengers in cabins on 
  week-long trips to Jupiter and rarely to the outer 
  planets. 
   
  Some universities owned Free Traders and would 
  carry graduate students on a semester abroad to study 
  whatever their fields of study needed to see. The Har-
  vard Outreach was configured as a flying classroom, 
  travelling from planet to planet to conduct special 
  seminars or research projects. The Chapel Hill Library 
  was both a ship and a traveling research library which 
  would visit colony planets a month at a time so that 
  local students could conduct special research projects 
  and improve their education. The Mars Institute of 
  Technology operated several modified Free Traders 
  (including Mitty Mouse and Mittle Earth among others) 
  as flying classrooms and research labs. These ships 
  traveled from planet to planet to help train local tech-
  nologists and conduct unique research opportunities. 
  The experts on board (along with their databases, ma-
  chines, and instruments) could produce unique tech-
  nological solutions to local problems. 
   
  In one case, the agricultural colony on Roanoke 
  (due to their unique combination of soil types and a 
  long growing season) needed larger-than-standard 
  combines (harvesting machines) to harvest their crops 
  of quatro-triticale grain. The most cost-effective design 
  was too large to fit through the doors of the standard 
  Free Tanker. The manufacturer of the combines (on 
  Rigel V) bought a Free Tanker and paid to have the 
  doors enlarged. The Roanoke Argosy made over a 
  hundred trips to Roanoke carrying these machines 
  along with additional colonists and other designs. 
  Once a final assembly facility on Roanoke could 
  put together disassembled sections of these uber-
  combines on site, the Roanoke Argosy (worn out by 
  constant service) was landed on Roanoke to become 
  a museum of the colony’s history. 
   
  No matter what civilian job you could imagine, 
  someone, in some empire, modified a Free Trader to 
  do that job. The possibilities are limited only by the 
  imagination of the players and budget of the 
  characters. 
   
   
   
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Rescue on Roon 
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  INTRODUCTION TO ROON 
   
  A Federation delegation is on the neutral planet of 
  Roon to conduct trade negotiations. The planet is in-
  side Federation territory and had just been contacted, 
  but it is not (yet) a member. Christopher Plemmons, 
  the son of the senior member of the delegation – a 
  Federation Trade Commissioner – has been kid-
  napped. The ransom demand stated that he will be 
  released only after the trade negotiations fail, so the 
  Commissioner had better make sure they do, or else. 
  The commissioner, knowing that his son will probably 
  be killed in any event, has asked for help . . . and that 
  is where the player characters enter the picture. 
   
  The adventure takes place on a world called 
  Roon; it is an independent world, primarily an agricul-
  tural exporter. It is only TL8, which will give the PCs a 
  major advantage! The trade negotiation in progress is 
  to negotiate a new trade treaty; both sides want this 
  treaty, and the details being argued over revolve 
  around both sides wanting to make a bigger profit, 
  thus making it difficult to arrive at an arrangement that 
  both sides can agree to. 
   
  GMs: MAKE IT DIFFICULT ENOUGH! 
   
  An adventure should never be easy; the players 
  will have more fun completing a difficult mission. The 
  GM should make it as hard as possible, but should be 
  careful not to make it too hard – after all, this is sup-
  posed to be fun for everyone, right? 
   
  As written, the easiest possibilities are given; in 
  many cases there are notes on how to make it more 
  difficult for the PCs, and the GM should consider using 
  them. It’s also a good idea for the GM to pay attention 
  to what his players are talking about during the game. 
  Sometimes, their paranoid expectations about what is 
  going to happen next may provide ideas on how to 
  improve the game, not to mention new ideas that 
  weren’t thought of. 
   
  GMs should look for opportunities to liven up, 
  change, personalize, or otherwise change the adven-
  ture. Most of the players have read the story, so they 
  think they know what to expect. All manner of things 
  can be done to throw the players a curve; here are just 
  a few suggestions: 
   
  • One of the enemy gang is a spy for . . . some-
  one. Who? The Orions? The Klingons? The Federa-
  tion GIA? Another faction of the Roon government? 
   
  • Just when the characters thought they were 
  trapped, they find a box of something useful which the 
  Orions left hidden in the room. 
   
  • One member of the enemy gang is something of 
  a hothead and likely to do something spectacularly 
  stupid. 
   
  • The hostage has succumbed to the Stockholm 
  Syndrome and has joined his captors! 
   
  • The hostage is female, or a brother and sister, or 
  twins, or the trade rep’s mistress who must be rescued 
  unofficially by an off-the-books operation. 
   
  SETTING UP THE ADVENTURE 
   
  The GM does not have to use this adventure ver-
  batim; any number of things may be changed to suit 
  the GM and the campaign setting. For example, if the 
  PCs are all Lyrans, then the GM should adjust the ad-
  venture so that the trade delegation is from the Lyran 
  Empire, not the Federation. Or the GM could decide 
  that the trade delegation is from the Federation, but 
  the signing of the trade agreement would serve the 
  interests of the Empire in some fashion, so the PCs 
  must make sure the treaty is signed. 
   
  In the same fashion, the identity of the bad guys 
  might also be adjusted. While it is easy for the Orion 
  Pirates to fill that role, the GM may choose to use an 
  enemy of the PCs that is unique to his campaign. 
   
  WHAT’S MY MOTIVATION? 
   
  One question the GM will have to answer is: why 
  are the PCs doing this? If they are Star Fleet, Marine, 
  or other Federation officers, then it becomes easy: the 
  PCs are doing this mission because they have been 
  ordered to do so – as in the story. If the PCs are ex-
  military, then Commissioner Plemmons could be 
  someone they met while they were still “in the service,” 
  and the PCs feel indebted to him for some reason. If 
  the PCs are mercenaries-for-hire, then they were hired 
  by someone who would stand to lose money if the 
  trade agreement did not get signed, etc. 
   
  Whatever the GM chooses, one other factor is go-
  ing to revolve around the reaction of the local police 
  force to the PC’s raid: are the PCs acting in some offi-
  cial capacity, or not? If they are cooperating with the 
  police, then the GM should make the police “obstruc-
  tionist” in some way. For example, the police are will-
  ing to let the PCs do the dirty work, but will take cus-
  tody of the kidnap victim from the PCs if they get a 
  chance. Or a senior police official could be in the pay 
  of the Orions, and wants to stop the PCs from rescuing 
  the kidnap victim in order to keep his paycheck from 
  going up in smoke. The GM is highly encouraged to 
  come up with something that the players are simply 
  not expecting! 
  
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Rescue on Roon 
   
  On the other hand, if the PCs are not in an official 
  capacity, then the police are going to want to arrest 
  them and “ask them a few questions” (a thought which 
  should motivate the PCs into avoiding any official en-
  tanglements); a really nasty GM could have the police 
  mistake the PCs for the real criminals and arrest them 
  for the kidnapping! At the least, no police force wants a 
  bunch of cowboys running around their turf with weap-
  ons; innocent people could get hurt. 
   
  In the event that the PCs are a GIA team or other 
  undercover group who are acting in an official capacity 
  but do not want their activities made public, then a 
  truly sadistic GM might consider combining the worst 
  features of all of the above! 
   
  BRIEFING THE TEAM 
   
   
  The briefing will have to be tied to the PCs’ com-
  position, and the GM will have to adjust it as neces-
  sary. In any event, the following should be made clear 
  to the PCs: 
   
  Their primary goal is to rescue the kidnap victim, 
  alive and unharmed, and return him to safety. That 
  means either working their way out of the warehouse 
  compound or getting to a point where they can be 
  pulled out by transporter. Because of the trithallium 
  ore, this means either reaching the top of the elevator 
  shaft or reaching the bottom of it and using a trans-
  porter beacon to enhance the signal. 
   
  Their secondary goals include: the elimination of 
  the bad guys, either killing them or capturing them as 
  appropriate; shutting down their operation; taking pos-
  session of as much contraband, intelligence material, 
  and so forth as possible (and making sure they get 
  credit for it!); and generally avoiding any complications 
  once their other goals have been met, i.e., getting off-
  world without being arrested by the police, etc. 
   
  WHAT THE CHARACTERS KNOW 
   
  The kidnappers were not terribly bright, so it was 
  relatively easy for the PCs to learn where the kidnap 
  victim was taken, i.e., to a warehouse complex owned 
  by the kidnappers. With their advanced technology, 
  the PCs quickly learn that the victim is not being held 
  anywhere they can scan, but the warehouse complex 
  is located on top of an outcropping of trithallium ore, 
  and there is an elevator shaft going deep underground 
  from one of the buildings. The victim must have been 
  taken down there! 
   
  One of the properties of trithallium ore is that it will 
  block sensor scans, including those from a tricorder or 
  from shipboard sensors. This is very significant, as a 
  TL8 civilization should not be aware of this feature! 
  This tells the PCs that the warehouse complex be-
  longs to someone with access to TL9+ technology, 
  which strongly implies an off-world connection of some 
  kind. And the Federation does not want planets inside 
  its space having connections to foreign governments 
  or criminal organizations. 
   
  One of the other properties of the trithallium ore 
  layer is that transporters cannot penetrate it easily; 
  require an Electronics Operation (Transporter) skill roll 
  with a -16 penalty. If that does not dissuade them, well 
  . . . they’ve got to learn sometime! 
   
  Note: it should not be difficult for the players/PCs 
  to figure out where to start looking. An obvious starting 
  point for the game can save hours of the players 
  mucking around, and as they are going to arrive at the 
  same place eventually, why not cut to the chase? 
   
   
   
  STARTING POINT FOR THE ADVENTURE 
   
  If they have access to a transporter, the PCs have 
  already gotten past the rent-a-cops and other security 
  measures above ground (which may include the local 
  police) without incident; if not, the GM may require the 
  PCs to play this activity out. As an accident might re-
  veal TL9+ technology, the warehouse complex is only 
  protected by TL8 security measures. 
   
  See the floor plan (p. 351). The PCs have arrived 
  in a 70 x 150 yard warehouse, the one with the eleva-
  tor going deep underground. There is one guard, a 
  hulking Roonian youth named Chucst (see the NPC 
  data below). He is in the lobby area just in front of the 
  elevator, which is empty except for Chucst, his equip-
  ment and weapons, the security camera, and the ele-
  vator door. The PCs are in Storage Bay #4. (Note to 
  GM: Feel free to replace Chucst with an alien merce-
  nary, such as a Lyran, just to liven things up and to 
  warn the players that you have changed the adventure 
  from what they read in the story.) 
   
  As the only way underground is through the eleva-
  tor or the ventilator shaft, the PCs are going to have to 
  get past Chucst somehow. If the PCs have not de-
  feated the security camera, roll 3d. On a 12 or less, 
  the person monitoring the cameras sees what the PCs 
  do to Chucst, and immediately sets off the alarms; on 
  a 13+ the person isn’t alert, and doesn’t notice Chucst 
  is down for 1d minutes. 
   
  If the GM wants to make it more difficult for the 
  PCs, move Chucst farther away from them, or make 
  him more alert. Or have his teenage cousin, Granst, 
  help him guard the elevators. Granst isn’t going to be 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Rescue on Roon 
  Page 351 
  much good in a fight but he is an extra pair of eyes, 
  ears, and hands. 
   
  SECURITY CAMERAS 
   
  These are marked on the map with a black disk; 
  they sweep the entire field of view. In the story, the 
  ship used its communications and computer abilities to 
  tap into the system and feed a recorded loop into the 
  monitors. That will work for the upper cameras. For the 
  lower cameras (and for the upper ones if you don’t 
  have a handy starship) you can deal with them in sev-
  eral ways, each with its own requirements and prob-
  lems. The team could use a tricorder to jam the signal, 
  or a weapon to destroy a camera, but when the moni-
  tor screens go blank, the bad guys are going to know 
  something is up. They won’t know what, but they will 
  be on alert. On a lucky roll they may just assume an 
  equipment malfunction and send somebody to check. 
   
  THE ELEVATOR 
   
  This is marked “E.” It is a metal box (10’ x 10’ 
  wide, with an 8’ ceiling) made from thin steel; each 
  wall, the ceiling and floor of the elevator, and the door 
  are DR6; each has 20 hit points. It is mechanically op-
  erated, hanging on the end of a 1” steel cable (DR6, 
  30HP). The walls of the elevator shaft itself are 6” con-
  crete (DR4, 60HP). There is a security camera inside 
  the elevator with a wide-angle lens, and another at the 
  top of the shaft looking straight down. While it is easy 
  to get into the elevator itself, there is a numeric keypad 
  instead of the expected buttons for each floor. The 
  PCs have the following choices: 
   
   
  • Get the PIN number from Chucst (good luck!). 
  Perhaps a mind-meld might work. 
   
  • Use a tricorder to try and crack the code using 
  Electronics Operation (Security Systems); don’t forget 
  the penalties for TL differences; this system is TL8 like 
  everything else! 
   
  • Forget about the elevator and use the ventilation 
  shaft.  
   
   
  To make it more difficult for the PCs, make the 
  keypad a thumbprint or voiceprint lock, which will add 
  a -2 or -5 penalty to the skill roll, respectively. 
   
  THE VENTILATION SHAFT 
   
  The vent shaft, marked V, goes from deep under-
  ground to the roof of the building; it is 3 feet square 
  and is empty except for slime and dust on the walls, 
  and various security sensors including a TV camera. 
   
  There is an air-conditioning unit (weighing 4,000 
  lbs.) sitting on the top of the shaft; the PCs must re-
  move it if they want to enter the shaft that way. There 
  is also an inspection hatch facing the lobby, which can 
  be removed easily, but the question is what kind of 
  security sensors are in the vent shaft itself. These are 
  up to the GM; motion or heat detectors, trip-wires or 
  laser beams, or just heavy iron bars are all possibili-
  ties, depending on how difficult the GM wants things. 
   
  The inside shaft walls are bare metal, with no 
  handholds or ladder rungs. While going down the shaft 
  is easy for someone with minimal climbing equipment, 
  climbing up the shaft without a rope is difficult and re-
  quires a Climbing skill roll for every three feet; as the 
  shaft is 25 yards high, the PCs will have to make 25 
  skill rolls and will take quite some time to accomplish. 
  Equipment such as suction cups will give bonuses to 
  the Climbing rolls, but not eliminate them entirely. 
   
  If a Climbing skill roll is failed, the PCs will slide 
  back down the shaft 1d feet before stopping them-
  selves; on a critical failure, they fall all the way back 
  down the shaft to the bottom, taking damage per the 
  Falling rules . . . and the “thump” might be audible if 
  the guards are still active! 
   
  The ventilation and elevator shafts have security 
  systems installed. There is a transporter-jammer sys-
  tem that will prevent transporters from working down 
  the shaft unless it is disabled [roll vs. Electronics
   
   
   
   
  
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Rescue on Roon 
  Operation (Transporters) or Engineer (Electronics) 
  skill] or destroyed by an explosion or weapon. If an 
  alarm is tripped, a metal plate will slam shut closing off 
  the ventilation shaft. This plate is steel, DR3, 30HP. 
   
  THE UNDERLEVEL 
   
  See below; all ceilings are 10 feet high (unless 
  otherwise noted). The corridors are 10 feet wide. 
   
  There is a guard in area “G.” Note that there are 
  no doors between area “G” and the corridor, so if the 
  PCs make a lot of noise when they take out the guard, 
  everyone underground will hear them and will be 
  alerted! 
   
  All interior doors (including the elevator doors) are 
  steel, DR2, 20HP. The floor, ceiling and all interior 
  walls underground are made from 6” steel-reinforced 
  concrete (DR4, 60HP). The walls help support the 
  roof, so if anyone gets trigger-happy the ceiling may 
  cave in at that point! 
   
  All doors have mechanical locks which require a 
  Lockpicking/TL8 skill roll to bypass; to make it more 
  difficult for the PCs, improve the quality of the locks. 
   
  The rest of this level is described below. There are 
  several of each kind of room, allowing the GM to “mix 
  up” the map and confuse the players (who have al-
  most certainly read this chapter and memorized the 
  floor layout . . . sorry, guys!) 
   
  Area G: As stated, area “G” is more a widening of 
  the corridor than anything else. It contains a desk and 
  a chair. On the desk are a number of video monitors, 
  which are tied to the various security cameras. These 
  allow the guard on duty to keep an eye on things. Also 
  in this area is a TL8 electrically powered forklift; there 
  is a heavy electrical cable leading from it to a box on 
  the wall (its battery charger). To make things more 
  difficult, move the guard from area “G” to a more re-
  mote room, make the guard more alert, or have two 
  guards on duty, or have backup sensors that the PCs 
  didn’t detect. 
   
  Room H: Both are 50 x 10 feet. These are a com-
  bination lunchroom and lounge area. The one near the 
  elevator is for the guards while the one at the top end 
  is for the family. In the story, most of them are there. 
   
  Room J: This is a storage area for cleaning sup-
  plies and other items, spare parts, etc. 
   
  Room K: This is a barracks for the guards. It has 
  eight double bunks in it. To confuse the hostage res-
  cue team, feel free to move this to some other 
  compartment. 
   
  Rooms L: These are individual rooms for the sen-
  ior personnel. One is assigned to each major PC listed 
  at the end of this adventure including Chucst and Ted 
  N’Korl, but not Dahlen (as he is a visitor). Each room 
  has what you’d expect to find in a bedroom/living 
  quarters, except for toilet facilities. 
   
   
   
  Room M is the men’s 
  room, complete with showers. 
   
  Rooms N: These are just 
  storerooms. The lights don’t 
  work very well in either, as 
  boxes and crates have been 
  stacked all over, and some 
  block the light fixtures. Lots of 
  dark shadows for things to lurk 
  in – did we mention the 
  Roonian three-legged rats? 
   
  Room O: This is the office 
  where the accountants who 
  work on the illegal deals, 
  schemes, and imports work. 
   
  Room P: This is the pri-
  vate office for Ted N’Korl, the 
  head accountant. 
   
  Room R: This is a unisex 
  bathroom for the accountants 
  and office workers. 
   
  Room W is the women’s 
  room, also with showers. 
   
  Room X: There is only one 
  of these. It contains the eleva-
  tor machinery, electrical boxes 
  for the level, pumps and tanks, 
  and other equipment to make 
  this level habitable. 
   
   
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Rescue on Roon 
  Page 353 
  INFORMATION FOR THE GM 
   
  WHERE IS EVERYBODY? 
   
  There are six members of the smuggler gang. De-
  pending on the setup (and the difficulty level the GM 
  has chosen) they may all be related to the owner of 
  the warehouse complex, members of a professional 
  criminal organization, enemy military personnel, or 
  anything else the GM may select. In the story, these 
  are of course the adult children of the owner of the 
  warehouse complex, and partners in his criminal con-
  spiracy to profit from illegal off-world imports. 
   
  One of the gang members has brought a visitor, 
  named Dahlen. He looks somewhat like the kidnap 
  victim, and the PCs may mistake Dahlen for the real 
  victim. Dahlen and one of the gang members are in 
  one of the “L” rooms. They are enjoying each other’s 
  company, and will be taken by surprise by the PCs 
  unless the alarm has sounded. 
   
  The story in this book covers a fairly easy mission, 
  in which an ad hoc team of Star Fleet personnel, with 
  only a few hours for planning, rescues the hostage 
  from a few civilian criminals who are not trained for 
  combat. For purposes of this adventure, however, we 
  can make things much harder. There are 2d+4 (6-16) 
  guards in the bunk room, all armed with TL8 weapons, 
  mainly sub-machine guns. They have DR2 body ar-
  mor, but half of them won’t be wearing it and will have 
  to take time to put it on or do without it. The caliber of 
  the weapons is chosen by the GM based on the diffi-
  culty of the adventure, but should be in the 2d to 5d 
  range. To make it really difficult, the GM may give 
  some or all of the guards TL9+ weapons such as dis-
  ruptor pistols, better armor, etc. As they are in an un-
  derground area, none of the guards will have any 
  heavy weapons; maybe a hand grenade or two, but 
  nothing heavier. 
   
  Ted N’Korl is an accountant who is working for the 
  bad guys. On an easy mission he is being forced to 
  work for the bad guys and is willing to give the PCs 
  information. On a hard mission, all he will say is “I 
  want to speak to my lawyer.” The GM should feel free 
  to have his attitude change in reaction to things going 
  on around him. He will be in the “P” room (which is 
  kept spotlessly clean) and has a small laptop computer 
  which contains the bookkeeping records for the bad 
  guys. On an easy mission the important records will be 
  on the hard drive; on a hard mission those same rec-
  ords will be on removable media (for example, a CD-
  RW or data cartridge) and he might be unwilling to 
  cooperate with the PCs to the point that he will try to 
  destroy the CD-RW so that records implicating himself 
  are destroyed. 
   
  Christopher Plemmons is the kidnap victim. The 
  GM should decide which room he is being held in; the 
  only rooms he should not be held in are the two toilets 
  and the guard barracks. In the story, young Mister 
  Plemmons is in one of the “L” rooms which open off of 
  the family “H” lounge. 
   
   
   
  WHERE IS EVERYTHING? 
   
  There are any number of items in this secret facil-
  ity. Most are considered to be illegal under Roon law. 
  Other items cannot legally be imported to a neutral 
  planet like Roon under Federation law. The GM is en-
  couraged to add items to this adventure that are 
  unique to his campaign. 
   
  One storeroom contains (among other items) 50 
  pounds of Kirian Redbloom; this is a plant that can be 
  used as a mind-altering drug and is illegal to possess 
  on Roon and on most Federation planets. 
   
  Another storeroom contains a stockpile of over 
  500 pounds. of Estallian Fireweed. Estallian Fireweed 
  is a plant which, while native to Roon and quite legal to 
  possess (on Roon!), can be used as a drug on some 
  Federation planets, particularly Rigel. Discovery of this 
  stockpile and the fact that Roon is the source for it, 
  when communicated to the proper authorities, will earn 
  the PCs a reward or a medal, depending on their 
  background. 
   
  Yet another storeroom holds a stockpile of Kresian 
  Taliate. This is similar in both texture and appearance 
  to both plants listed above, but is merely a very ex-
  pensive spice that is entirely harmless and 100% legal. 
  In order to tell these three plants apart (and identify 
  their characteristics) a skill roll must be made against 
  Pharmacy or Biology. 
   
  NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS 
   
  All of these non-player characters assume that the 
  GM has chosen to run an easy mission for the players. 
  Increase the stats and skill levels, and/or the equip-
  ment, to make the mission more difficult. 
   
  Gang Members 
   
  There are six of them, all in their 20s. Each has a 
  special item; choose from a tricorder, a disruptor pistol, 
  three flash-bang hand grenades, or Dahlen. The gang 
  member who “has” Dahlen is the one that will be found 
  with him in one of the “L” rooms, as described above. 
   
  All have the same armor and weapons as the 
  guards but may not be wearing it when the PCs attack. 
  Skills include Guns/TL8 (Submachine Gun)-12. The 
  one with the disruptor pistol also has Beam 
  Weapon/TL10 (Pistol)-13. The original cast includes: 
   
   
  Melika: Female, oldest of the sisters, least tolerant 
  of immature behavior: ST 10; IQ 13; DX 13; HT 9. 
   
  Annitha: Female, the middle daughter, she does 
  what she is told by Melika or Michalik, without objec-
  tion: ST 10; IQ 11; DX 13; HT 8. 
   
  Besslith: Female: ST 11; IQ 12; DX 13; HT 10. 
  Has an ongoing romance with an Orion pirate officer 
  who has promised to take her away with him. The 
  most “military” of the females, she was assigned to 
  guard the lower elevator lobby. She has skill 13 with 
  her weapon. 
  
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Rescue on Roon 
   
  Michalik: Male, 28 years old, son and heir of the 
  owner of the illegal business: ST 12; IQ 12; DX 12; HT 
  10. He is the clear leader, although Melika might dis-
  pute that status – out of his hearing. 
   
  Kaelyn: Female, youngest of the sisters, unusually 
  attractive, she uses her sex appeal as a weapon: ST 
  9; IQ 12; DX 13; HT 8. She was the one who lured 
  Plemmons out of town so he could be kidnapped. 
   
  Chucst: The younger brother, he got more than his 
  share of brawn but is clearly not an intellectual: ST 12; 
  IQ 10; DX 10; HT 11. 
   
  Chucst might be assisted by his teenage cousin 
  Granst, who is always looking for “real, adult, jobs” to 
  do for the family: ST 8; IQ 11; DX 10; HT 9. Granst will 
  not be issued a weapon, but will pick one up if it’s lying 
  around loose. 
   
  For variety, however, Chucst could be replaced by 
  Chrowl, an ethnic Lyran mercenary, and not a particu-
  larly bright member of that species: ST 14; IQ 12; DX 
  15; HT 13. He wears DR2 armor and carries a TL10 
  disruptor rifle and an assortment of knives. His skill 
  level with all of his weapons is 16, and he also has 
  Brawling-16. Note that Lyrans possess Sharp Claws 
  and Sharp Teeth, and he has skill 16 with them. He 
  also has fur. See the Lyran template in Chapter 2. 
   
  Guards: Thugs on Call 
   
  ST 12; IQ 10; DX 12; HT 13. All have TL8 subma-
  chine guns and DR2 armor. All have the following 
  skills: Brawling 15, Guns/TL8 (Submachine Gun)-15. 
  You could make one of them a sergeant with an extra 
  point of IQ. The same stats can be used for the above-
  ground guards, or you could reduce those to the level 
  of rent-a-cops: ST 10; IQ 10; DX 10; HT 10. 
   
  Mr. Plemmons and Dahlen 
   
  Both are ST 11; IQ 10; DX 12; HT 12. These two 
  people possess no skills worth mentioning. Plemmons 
  is from Mars (although an Earth-descended human) 
  while Dahlen is from Roon (and an unrelated species 
  close enough to human to pass a visual inspection). 
  Plemmons is a little confused by the whole situation 
  (or perhaps drugged) while Dahlen is a “boy toy” not 
  noted for the quickness of his wits. Simply asking them 
  their name will produce a confused response. Dahlen 
  knows about Plemmons and is likely to claim to be 
  him, while Plemmons is confused by the kidnapping 
  and may deny his own identity if he doesn’t realize that 
  the team are here to rescue him. Either one could 
  match the rather awful “ID card photo” of Plemmons 
  that the team has; it would take a tricorder reading or a 
  mindmeld to discern the true identity. (This could also 
  be told with fingerprint analysis, something that might 
  take too long to be done during the mission.) 
   
  NOTES TO GMs 
   
  The Compound 
   
  In the event that your players need to fight (or 
  sneak) their way into the compound itself, the map 
  (next page) is provided. The compound (roughly a 
  thousand yards wide and 700 yards front to back) in-
  cludes 14 warehouses (feel free to pick any one of 
  them for the entrance to the basement or to include 
  basements under more than one of them), a large 
  multistory office building, four large security gates, and 
  eight guard towers. (One of the warehouses should be 
  designated as having generators for internal power. 
  You could even designate some of them for manufac-
  turing.) The fence is eight feet high, chain link with 
  barbed wire on the top. (GMs could electrify it for extra 
  thrills.) There could be two guards in each tower, four 
  in the office building, one on each gate, and four on 
  roving patrols around the inside (or outside) of the 
  compound and another four are bunked down as a 
  reserve. (Most of the guards live at home and drive to 
  the compound only when it is time for their shift.) Each 
  guard tower has remote security cameras controlled 
  from the security center. If the enemy has gotten 
  sloppy or is in a cost-cutting mode, a lot of the above-
  mentioned guards will not be present. 
   
  Rewards 
   
  GMs are warned not to pass out medals so easily 
  that they become meaningless, but look for opportuni-
  ties to encourage your players to come back and play 
  again. Remember not to reward people just for doing 
  their jobs, but for doing their jobs under considerable 
  stress and danger, or better than expected. Obviously, 
  anyone wounded could get a wound badge, and if you 
  rescue the hostage and get the computer records and 
  accountant back to the ship, a decoration is in order. A 
  Lifesaving Medal could be given if somebody pulls a 
  comrade out of the line of fire. A Command Accom-
  plishment Medal or a Bronze Star could be given to 
  the team leader (although a player would be warned 
  that the next one will be tougher to get). Combat Ac-
  tion Ribbons would, of course, go to everyone – with 
  the crossed swords of a direct assault. Commendation 
  awards with assorted scrolls could be given. 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Rescue on Roon 
  Page 355 
  Roon: Ideas for Game Masters 
   
  If your group prefers a slower, more investigative 
  and detailed style, they’re going to want to work things 
  out for themselves, not just get briefed on where the 
  bad guys are and how to get to them. Some groups 
  might even want to only do this, leaving the actual res-
  cue to the professionals (or to their other set of char-
  acters!). In addition, even for groups that like fighting, 
  they’re not always going to want to go in guns blazing 
  to free the hostage. Here are a few other approaches 
  your players might take to this situation and ideas 
  about how to handle them. Don’t be surprised if they 
  come up with something not on this list!  
   
  They could spend some time investigating before-
  hand – “Knowledge is power,” after all. Depending on 
  who they talk to and how they do it, the PCs could 
  obtain almost anything. Some groups of players will 
  like to do this kind of work themselves, some teams of 
  characters won’t be able to conduct that kind of 
  investigation. 
   
  Plans of the warehouse complex would be kept by 
  government archives and the company HQ, but might 
  be out of date and may omit some details. Of course, 
  the players might not want to wait weeks to get a re-
  sponse for their perfectly reasonable request for infor-
  mation. Diplomacy, fast talk, pulling rank, or a bribe 
  might get permission for them to do their own re-
  search; Computer Operation or Lockpicking could also 
  be used to gain access. Having obtained access to the 
  records, the information given to the players should 
  depend on their skills. A security expert might notice 
  the types of locks used and bring along the master 
  key, while a trader would notice what is stored in the 
  warehouse and arrange a ‘special delivery.’ If the 
  players are discreet about this approach, the bad guys 
  will be none the wiser, but ask the wrong question and 
  the kidnappers will hear about it. Depending on how 
  dangerous they think the players are, this could mean 
  that the kidnappers do anything from a being a little 
  more alert to booby-trapping the whole complex and 
  moving elsewhere. 
   
  Similarly, information about the kidnappers might 
  be available from police files, from the customers of 
  their warehouse, from an industry association, or from 
  anyone else they’ve dealt with. Less obvious places 
  can give hints, too, even really mundane sources. 
  (What does it mean if there are a dozen empty pizza 
  boxes in the trash?) 
   
  Tapping into the kidnapper’s communications and 
  listening in for a while might let the players fake in-
  structions from the Orion employers, instructing them 
  to hand over the hostage to the “Orions” (who your 
  team impersonate). “Michalik, the Feds have found 
  you and will be trying a rescue tonight. A shuttle will 
  pick you up at midnight while their ship is on the far 
  side of the planet. Be on it with the hostage.” Now the 
  PCs just need to beg, borrow, or steal a shuttle . . . 
  and hope they were believed. 
   
  Talking the kidnappers into releasing the hostage 
  isn’t impossible, although it’s likely to be difficult. 
  Knowing why they kidnapped the commissioner’s son 
  – for a cause, for money, to repay a favor, because
   
   
  
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  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Rescue on Roon 
  they were forced to – is important here, as are high 
  skills in Diplomacy, advantages such as Charisma or a 
  positive Reputation and of course roleplaying by the 
  players. 
   
  The players might want to just threaten the kidnap-
  pers pretending to be “another Orion cartel” or a group 
  that wants to make sure that it’s the Roon side of the 
  negotiations that causes them to fail. The players 
  might even be from another Orion cartel! The more 
  credible the threat, the more likely that this will work, 
  and the more likely that the players will attract un-
  wanted attention. 
   
  If wealthy themselves, or with wealthy contacts, it 
  might be possible to simply buy the kidnappers off. 
  Both sides will be watching for – and probably plan-
  ning – treachery when the hostage is exchanged for 
  the money. The bad guys know about transporters; 
  they won’t agree to making the swap anywhere a 
  transporter can get to. 
   
  If none of the above work, or if the players don’t 
  want to try them, they still might want to tilt the odds in 
  the attack as far in their favor as possible. Being 
  sneaky might not earn bonus points, but it sure can be 
  fun. 
   
  If the players can get the kidnappers to leave the 
  basement, the tactical advantage is reversed. It will be 
  the players who have the cover and no need to press 
  forwards. Of course, this means the bad guys will be 
  able to choose when to start the fight and will all be 
  ready when they do, so the players should keep a 
  careful watch. There are several methods the players 
  could use to make the enemy come to them: playing 
  around with the air conditioning, false messages, cut-
  ting communications links, stealing or destroying the 
  contents of the warehouses (if valuable), etc. 
   
  Talking their way in is a perennial favorite of play-
  ers, with one or more of them pretending to be there 
  for “scheduled maintenance” on the lift or air condi-
  tioning, a pizza delivery, a friend of their father, as a 
  representative from the Orion employers – anything 
  that would require access. Depending on how elabo-
  rate the disguise is, getting the information to pull 
  these off convincingly could itself be an adventure. 
  Having a person on the inside, or even a look around 
  the facility, could be a decisive edge once the assault 
  from outside is launched. 
   
  Inventive use of technology is possible too. The 
  players might want to avoid using both the elevator 
  and the airshaft, instead setting up a transporter re-
  peater at the top of the elevator shaft, so that transport 
  directly down the elevator shaft without passing 
  through any ore is possible. This would still be at a 
  penalty of -8, as the surrounding ore still would cause 
  interference. Successful rolls on Metallurgy, Physics, 
  and Engineering (Electronics) will each reduce this 
  penalty by 2. After a success on each, the player’s 
  new knowledge of the properties of trithallium and 
  transporter theory have allowed them to customize a 
  transporter to penetrate the ore. Alternatively, and with 
  the right equipment, the players might even be able to 
  dig themselves a new entrance. 
   
  The main thing is to expect your players to throw 
  you for a loop at least once in an adventure. That’s fair 
  enough, since they haven’t seen the script. Whatever 
  they come up with, you’ll need to think on your feet 
  and improvise. (When the PCs purchase the 100 tons 
  of licorice that are essential to their plan, do the evil-
  doers find out . . . and if so, what do they do about it?) 
  Don’t try to force the players into following your script; 
  it’s their game too. 
   
  Who, What, Where, When, and Why: 
  Notes for Game Masters of GPD 
   
  Most GMs have done their job for some time now 
  and have no trouble getting started. For those who 
  need a little help, here are some thoughts. 
   
  When: While it’s not the first thing on the “Five W” 
  list, this is the first thing to consider. The simplest de-
  cision is to ignore the SFU timeline with its fixed dates 
  for who was at war with whom and just run whatever 
  adventure you want. However, if you do want to fit 
  within the established game universe timeline (which 
  can add some richness to your game as your charac-
  ters look forward to the politically inevitable events of 
  next year and what opportunities they provide), it’s 
  best to pick a date first. The two most obvious choices 
  are during the General War and before it. Campaigns 
  set during the General War are like trying to run a 
  game during WWII – challenging if being part of “the 
  war” is not central to your characters. Perhaps you are 
  treasure hunters trying to stay out of the way of the 
  fighting? 
   
  Where: Given access to a spaceship or tickets on 
  a commercial starliner, you can pretty much go any-
  where. You don’t have to think in terms of one sector, 
  or one border, and your characters could easily find 
  themselves on opposite sides of the Federation from 
  one month to the next. While “where” isn’t particularly 
  critical, you will want to decide if your home base is a 
  Federation colony, a Klingon battle station, a clandes-
  tine Orion base, or somewhere else. 
   
  What: Are you military, ex-military, or civilian? Are 
  you journalists, archaeologists, treasure-hunters, or 
  pirates? Whatever you want to be, decide now and 
  you can build the campaign around the kind of char-
  acters who will play it. Flexibility is key. Even military 
  people will get a little time off for vacations or adven-
  tures, and even civilians might pick up a government 
  contract for a little dangerous work. Ex-military can be 
  a good choice as it has lots of skills, some leftover 
  gear, a few friends still in uniform, and the opportunity 
  to be called back to the colors if an adventure is better 
  suited to active duty personnel. 
   
  Who: Having established where, when, and what 
  your campaign is may eliminate some choices as to 
  “who” the characters invited to play it might be. If you 
  are Star Fleet Marines, then being a Klingon or Lyran 
  is probably not going to work in a historical setting, 
  although a “free” campaign without regard to the his-
  torical background might allow such species to be 
  used. Certain characteristics may not be appropriate to 
  certain characters due to their society, job, or back-
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Rescue on Roon 
  Page 357 
  ground. The GM makes the final determination of 
  course as to what can and cannot be allowed. 
   
  Why: Well, obviously the GM and his “customers” 
  are playing the game to enjoy it (and each other). You 
  should never forget this (although some do). Beyond 
  that, “why” is a good place to start each adventure. 
  You can draw these from your own imagination, from 
  episodes of television shows or movies or books (re-
  lated or not related to the background), from websites 
  that post or discuss ideas, from adventure seeds (and 
  even complete adventures) published in GPD and 
  other products. But never forget that the real reason to 
  play is to enjoy good company. 
   
  SAMPLE CHARACTERS 
   
  All characters are operating at TL12. All speak 
  Federation Standard as a native. 
   
  Lt. Commander Grissom 
  (159 points) 
   Age: 30; 6’1”, 175 lbs. Human male, graduated from 
  Star Fleet Academy.  
   
  Attributes: ST 11 [10]; DX 12 [40]; IQ 12 [40]; HT 10 
  [0]. 
   
  Damage: 1d-1/1d+1; BL 24 lbs.; HP 11 [0]; Will 12 
  [0]; Per 12 [0]; FP 10 [0]. 
   
  Basic Speed: 5.5 [0]; Basic Move 5 [0]; Dodge 8; 
  Parry 8 (Judo). 
   
  Advantages: Fit [5]; Military Rank 4 [20]; Resistance 
  (Disease) [3]; Social Regard (Respected) 3 [15]; 
  Status 1 [0, from Military Rank]. 
   
  Disadvantages: Code of Honor (Uphold the Prime Di-
  rective) [-10]; Duty (Star Fleet) (15 or less) [-15]; 
  Overconfidence (12) [-5]; Sense of Duty (Federa-
  tion) [-10].  
   
  Quirks: Always eats chocolate after dinner [-1]; Col-
  lects classical music files [-1]; Enjoys solving math 
  puzzles [-1]; Plays old brass trombone to relax 
  [-1]; Tends to use phrases repeatedly [-1]. 
   
  Skills: Administration-12 [2]; Armoury/TL (Heavy 
  Weapons)-12 [2]; Armoury/TL (Small Arms)-12 [2]; 
  Astronomy/TL-10 [1]; Beam Weapons/TL (Pistol)-
  13 [2]; Climbing-14 [8]; Computer Operation/TL-13 
  [2]; Computer Programming/TL-10 [1]; Diplomacy-
  10 [1]; Electronics Operation/TL (Sensors)-12 [2]; 
  Electronics Operation/TL (Transporter)-12 [2]; 
  Electronics Operation/TL (Tricorder)-12 [2]; Engi-
  neer/TL (Electrical)-10 [1]; Engineer/TL (Electron-
  ics)-10 [1]; Expert Skill (Xenology)-10 [1]; First 
  Aid/TL-12 
  [1]; 
  Free 
  Fall-11 
  [1]; 
  Gunner/TL 
  (Beams)-13 [2]; Gunner/TL (Cannon)-13 [2]; His-
  tory (Recent Federation)-10 [1]; Judo-11 [2]; Law 
  (Federation Military)-10 [1]; Leadership-12 [2]; 
  Mathematics/TL (Applied)-11 [2]; Mechanic/TL 
  (Shuttlecraft)-11 [1]; Musical Instrument (Trom-
  bone)-10 [1]; Navigation/TL (Space)-12 [2]; Oper-
  ations (Space)-11 [2]; Physics/TL-9 [1]; Piloting/TL 
  (Shuttlecraft)-12 [2]; Piloting/TL (Starship)-11 [1]; 
  Research/TL-11 [1]; Savoir-Faire (Military)-13 [2]; 
  Shiphandling/TL (Starship)-11 [2]; Spacer/TL-13 
  [2]; Strategy (Space)-12 [4]; Survival (Woodlands, 
  Class M)-11 [1]; Tactics-12 [4]; Vacc Suit/TL 11 
  [1]. 
   
   
   
  Grissom is familiar with Federation phasers 
  and Federation photon torpedoes for his Gunner 
  skills. His Beam Weapons skill familiarity is for the 
  phaser. 
   
  Petty Officer 2nd Class Daneric-Tren 
  (148 points) 
  Age: 30; 5’10”, 165 lbs. Cygnan male, graduated from 
  Star Fleet Basic Training. Speaks Cygnan as a 
  native.  
   
  Attributes: ST 12 [20]; DX 12 [40]; IQ 11 [20]; HT 11 
  [10]. 
   
  Damage: 1d-1/1d+2; BL 29 lbs.; HP 12 [0]; Will 11 
  [0]; Per 11 [0]; FP 11 [0]. 
   
  Basic Speed: 5.75 [0]; Basic Move 5 [0]; Dodge 8; 
  Parry 8 (Judo), 9 (Knife). 
   
  Advantages: Fit [5]; Military Rank 1 [5]; Resistance 
  (Disease) [3]; Talent 1 (Mathematical Ability) [10]; 
  Talent 4 (Physical Science) [20]; Social Regard 
  (Respected) 1 [5]; Versatile [5]. 
   
  Disadvantages: Code of Honor (Uphold the Prime Di-
  rective) [-10]; Duty (Star Fleet) (15 or less) [-15]; 
  Gregarious [-10]; Sense of Duty (Federation) [-10]; 
  Weakness 
  (Sunlight; 
  1d/30 
  minutes; 
  Mitiga-
  tor -60%) [-6]. 
   
  Quirks: Constantly smiling [-1]; Likes to work nights 
  [-1]. 
   
  Skills: Accounting-6 [0]; Astronomy-14 [1]; Beam 
  Weapons/TL (Pistol)-14 [4]; Chemistry-9 [0]; 
  Climbing-13 [4]; Computer Operation/TL-13 [4]; 
  Cryptography-6 [0]; Electronics Operation/TL (Se-
  curity Systems)-10 [1]; Electronics Operation/TL 
  (Sensors)-12 [4]; Electronics Operation/TL (Tri-
  corder)-12 [4]; Engineer/TL (Electronics)-11 [2]; 
  Engineer/TL (Starship)-10 [1]; Expert Skill (Xen-
  ology)-9 [1]; Explosives (Demolition)-10 [1]; First 
  Aid/TL-12 [2]; Free Fall-12 [2]; Geology (Class M)-
  9 [0]; History (Recent Federation)-9 [1]; Judo-11 
  [2]; Knife-13 [2]; Law (Federation Military)-10 [2]; 
  Mathematics/TL (Applied)-12 [4]; Mathematics/TL 
  (Cryptology)-10 [1]; Mechanic/TL (Antimatter Re-
  actor)-11 [2]; Mechanic/TL (Starship)-11 [2]; Mete-
  orology-10 [0]; Physics/TL-13 [1]; Running-10 [1]; 
  Savoir-Faire (Military)-11 [1]; Spacer/TL 11 [1]; 
  Stealth-11 [2]; Survival (Woodland, Class M)-12 
  [4]; Vacc Suit/TL-11 [1]. 
   
  
  Page 358  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Rescue on Roon 
   
  Daneric-Tren’s Beam Weapons skill familiarity is 
  for the phaser. 
   
  Marine Private Dellik 
  (101 points) 
  Age: 23; 5’8”, 110 lbs. Human female, graduated from 
  Marine Boot Camp.  
   
  Attributes: ST 10 [0]; DX 11 [20]; IQ 12 [40]; HT 12 
  [20]. 
   
  Damage: 1d-2/1d; BL 20 lbs.; HP 10 [0]; Will 12 
  [0]; Per 12 [0]; FP 12 [0]. 
   
  Basic Speed: 5.75 [0]; Basic Move 5 [0]; Dodge 8; 
  Parry 8 (Karate), 9 (Knife), 8 (Tonfa). 
   
  Advantages: Fearlessness 2 [4]; Military Rank 0 [0]; 
  Resistance (Disease) [3]; Social Regard (Re-
  spected) 3 [15]; Very Fit [15]. 
   
  Disadvantages: Code of Honor (Uphold the Prime Di-
  rective) [-10]; Duty (Star Fleet Marines) (15 or 
  less) -15]; Impulsiveness (12) [-10]; Kleptomania 
  (9) [-22]; Light Sleeper [-5]; Sense of Duty (Feder-
  ation) [-10]. 
   
  Quirks: Distrusts authority figures [-1]; Fidgets when 
  not doing something [-1]; Returns stolen items to 
  original owners [-1]; Secretive about past ac-
  quaintances [-1]; Uncomfortable around nonhu-
  mans [-1]. 
   
  Skills: Armoury/TL (Small Arms)-11 [1]; Beam Weap-
  ons/TL (Pistol)-13 [4]; Beam Weapons/TL (Rifle)-
  13 [4]; Camouflage-12 [1]; Climbing-12 [4]; Com-
  puter Operation/TL-12 [1]; Electronics Opera-
  tion/TL (Communications)-12 [2]; Fast-Talk-12 [2]; 
  First Aid/TL-12 [1]; Free Fall-12 [4]; Gunner/TL 
  (Beams)-12 [2]; History (Recent Federation)-10 
  [1]; Karate-10 [2]; Knife-12 [2]; Law (Federation 
  Military)-10 [1]; Leadership-11 [1]; Lockpicking/TL-
  11 [1]; Parachuting/TL-12 [2]; Pickpocket-11 [4]; 
  Running-11 [1]; Savoir-Faire (Military)-12 [1]; 
  Sleight of Hand-11 [4]; Spacer/TL-12 [1]; Stealth-
  12 [4]; Survival (Jungle, Class M)-11 [1]; Survival 
  (Woodlands, Class M)-11 [1]; Swimming-12 [1]; 
  Tactics-10 [1]; Throwing-11 [2]; Tonfa-11 [2]; Vacc 
  Suit/TL-11 [2]. 
   
   
  Dellik is familiar with Federation phasers for her 
  Gunner skills. Her Beam Weapons skills familiarity is 
  for the phaser in pistol and rifle. [Dellik is an example 
  of a character who should never have been admitted 
  to Star Fleet – her Kleptomania (GURPS Basic Set) 
  would disqualify her. In fact, she is in the brig when the 
  story starts.] 
   
  Marine 1st Lieutenant Yahnke 
  (128 points) 
  Age: 25; 6’2”, 180 lbs. Human male, graduated from 
  the Federation Marine Academy.  
   
  Attributes: ST 11 [10]; DX 10 [0]; IQ 12 [40]; HT 12 
  [20]. 
   
  Damage: 1d-1/1d+1; BL 24 lbs.; HP 11 [0]; Will 12 
  [0]; Per 12 [0]; FP 12 [0]. 
   
  Basic Speed: 5.5 [0]; Basic Move 5 [0]; Dodge 8; 
  Parry 7 (Karate), 8 (Knife), 8 (Tonfa). 
   
  Advantages: Fearlessness 3 [6]; Military Rank 3 [15]; 
  Resistance (Disease) [3]; Social Regard (Re-
  spected) 3 [15]; Status 1 [0, from Military Rank]; 
  Very Fit [15]. 
   
  Disadvantages: Code of Honor (Uphold the Prime Di-
  rective) [-10]; Duty (Star Fleet Marines) (15 or 
  less) [-15]; Insomniac [-10]; Sense of Duty (Feder-
  ation) [-10]. 
   
  Quirks: Doesn’t eat seafood [-1]; Inscribes personal 
  symbolism on weapons [-1]; Listens to Andorian 
  music before each mission [-1]; Uncomfortable 
  working with Star Fleet (Naval) personnel [-1]. 
   
  Skills: Administration-11 [1]; Armoury/TL (Small 
  Arms)-11 [1]; Beam Weapons/TL (Pistol)-12 [4]; 
  Beam Weapons/TL (Rifle)-12 [4]; Camouflage-12 
  [1]; Climbing-10 [2]; Computer Operation/TL-12 
  [1]; Electronics Operation/TL (Communications)-
  12 [2]; Electronics Operation/TL (Communica-
  tions)-12 [2]; First Aid/TL 13 [2]; Free Fall-9 [1]; 
  Gunner/TL (Beams)-11 [2]; History (Recent Fed-
  eration)-10 [1]; Karate-8 [1]; Knife-10 [1]; Law 
  (Federation Military)-10 [1]; Leadership-12 [2]; 
  Operations/TL (Land)-11 [2]; Parachuting/TL-10 
  [1]; Running-11 [1]; Savoir-Faire (Military)-12 [1]; 
  Spacer/TL-12 [1]; Stealth-9 [1]; Strategy (Land)-11 
  [2]; Survival (Mountains, Class M)-12 [4]; Survival 
  (Arctic, Class M)-12 [4]; Swimming-12 [1]; Tactics-
  11 [2]; Throwing-9 [1]; Tonfa-10 [2]; Vacc Suit/TL 
  11 [1]. 
   
   
  Yahnke is familiar with Federation phasers for his 
  Gunner skills. His Beam Weapons skills familiarity is 
  for the phaser in pistol and rifle. 
   
  Marine Corporal Kilrathie 
  (126 points) 
  Age: 24; 6’0”, 177 lbs. Human male, graduated from 
  Marine Boot Camp. 
   
  Attributes: ST 13 [30]; DX 10 [0]; IQ 12 [40]; HT 13 
  [30]. 
   
  Damage: 1d/2d-1; BL 34 lbs.; HP 13 [0]; Will 12 
  [0]; Per 12 [0]; FP 13 [0]. 
   
  Basic Speed: 5.75 [0]; Basic Move 5 [0]; Dodge 8; 
  Parry 8 (Boxing), 7 (Karate), 9 (Knife), 8 
  (Tonfa). 
   
  Advantages: Fearlessness 2 [4]; Military Rank 0 [0]; 
  Resistance (Disease) [3]; Social Regard (Re-
  spected) 3 [15]; Very Fit [15]. 
   
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Rescue on Roon 
  Page 359 
  Disadvantages: Code of Honor (Uphold the Prime 
  Directive) [-10]; Compulsive Exerciser (9) [-7]; 
  Duty (Star Fleet Marines) (15 or less) [-15]; Impul-
  siveness (12) [-10]; No Sense of Smell/Taste [-5]; 
  Sense of Duty (Federation) [-10]. 
   
  Quirks: Enjoys eating military combat rations [-1]; 
  Takes great pride in his physical condition [-1]; 
  Fanatical about weapon cleanliness and mainte-
  nance [-1]. 
   
  Skills: Armoury/TL (Small Arms)-11 [1]; Beam Weap-
  ons/TL (Pistol)-12 [4]; Beam Weapons/TL (Rifle)-
  12 [4]; Boxing-11 [4]; Camouflage-12 [1]; Climb-
  ing-11 [4]; Computer Operation/TL-12 [1]; Elec-
  tronics Operation/TL (Communications)-12 [2]; 
  First Aid/TL-12 [1]; Free Fall-9 [1]; Garrote-12 [4]; 
  Gunner/TL (Beams)-10 [1]; History (Recent Fed-
  eration)-10 [1]; Karate-8 [1]; Knife-12 [4]; Law 
  (Federation Military)-10 [1]; Leadership-11 [1]; 
  Parachuting/TL-10 [1]; Running-12 [1]; Savoir-
  Faire (Military)-12 [1]; Spacer/TL-12 [1]; Stealth-9 
  [1]; Survival (Arctic, Class M)-11 [1]; Survival (De-
  sert, Class M)-11 [1]; Swimming-13 [1]; Tactics-10 
  [1]; Throwing-9 [1]; Tonfa-10 [2]; Vacc Suit/TL-11 
  [1]. 
   
   
  Kilrathie is familiar with Federation phasers for his 
  Gunner skills. His Beam Weapons skills familiarity is 
  for the phaser in pistol and rifle. 
   
  Ensign Stulak 
  (123 points) 
  Age: 37; 6’3”, 220 lbs. Vulcan male, graduated from 
  Star Fleet Academy. Speaks Vulcan as a native. 
   
  Attributes: ST 10 [0]; DX 11 [20]; IQ 11 [20]; HT 9 
  [-10]. 
   
  Damage: 1d-2/1d; BL 20 lbs.; HP 10 [0]; Will 11 
  [0]; Per 11 [0]; FP 9 [0]. 
   
  Basic Speed: 5.5; Basic Move 5; Dodge 7; Parry 8 
  (Judo). 
   
  Advantages: Acute Hearing 1 [2]; Extended Lifespan 
  1 [2]; Fit [5]; Indomitable [15]; Lightning Calculator [2]; 
  Military Rank 3 [15]; Mind Probe (Touch-Based, -20%; 
  Telepathic, -10%) [14]; Nictitating Membrane 1 [1]; 
  Photographic Memory [10]; Less Sleep 2 [4]; Nerve 
  Pinch 1 [19]; Regeneration (Regular; only while in Au-
  totrance, -30%) [18]; Resistance (Disease) [3]; Social 
  Regard (Respected) 3 [15]; Unfazeable [15]; Vulcan 
  Psi Powers 1 [5]. 
   
  Perk: Autotrance [1]. 
   
  Disadvantages: Code of Honor (Logical behavior) 
  [-10]; Code of Honor (Uphold the Prime Directive) 
  [-10]; Duty (Star Fleet) (15 or less) [-15]; Honesty (12) 
  [-10]; Intolerance (Emotional or illogical behavior) [-5]; 
  No Sense of Humor [-10]; Pacifism (Self Defense 
  Only) [-15]; Sense of Duty (Federation) [-10]; Skinny 
  [-5]; Truthfulness (12) [-5]; Workaholic [-5]. 
   
  Quirks: Collects rocks from planets he visits [-1]; Cu-
  rious toward unknown plants [-1]; Tries to defer deci-
  sions to others [-1]; Plays a hard-carved flute every 
  morning [-1]; Wakes up early every day [-1]. 
   
  Skills: Administration-10 [1]; Astronomy/TL-9 [1]; 
  Beam Weapons/TL (Pistol)-11 [1]; Biology/TL (Botany, 
  Class M) [4]; Chemistry/TL-10 [2]; Computer Opera-
  tion/TL-11 [1]; Computer Programming/TL-9 [1]; Di-
  plomacy-9 [1]; Electronics Operation/TL (Sensors)-10 
  [1]; Electronics Operation/TL (Transporter)-11 [2]; 
  Electronics Operation/TL (Tricorder)-12 [2]; Engi-
  neer/TL (Electronics)-9 [1]; Engineer/TL (Robotics)-9 
  [1]; Expert Skill (Xenology)-9 [1]; First Aid/TL-11 [1]; 
  Free Fall-10 [1]; Geology/TL(Class M)-9 [1]; History 
  (Recent Federation)-9 [1]; Judo-10 [2]; Law (Federa-
  tion Military)-10 [2]; Leadership-10 [1]; Mathematics/TL 
  (Applied)-11 [4]; Mechanic/TL (Robotics)-10 [1]; Musi-
  cal Instrument (Flute)-10 [2]; Navigation/TL (Space)-11 
  [2]; Operations (Space)-10 [2]; Physics/TL (Geophys-
  ics, Class M)-8 [1]; Piloting/TL (Starship)-10 [1]; Re-
  search/TL-11 [2]; Savoir-Faire (Military)-11 [1]; Ship-
  handling/TL (Starship)-10 [2]; Spacer/TL-11 [1]; Strat-
  egy (Space)-9 [1]; Survival (Mountains, Class M)-10 
  [1]; Tactics-9 [1]; Vacc Suit-10 [1]. 
   
   
  Stulak’s Beam Weapons skill familiarity is for the 
  phaser. 
   
   
   
  
  Page 360  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Index 
   
  INDEX 
   
  Academy templates, 76 
  Acceleration tolerance, see 
  Resistant, 101 
  Acceleration weakness, 144 
  Acceleration, 235 
  Accents, 34 
  Acrobatic dodge, 212 
  Active defense, 211 
  Advantages, 80; Always on, 115; 
  Learnable, 249; Switchable, 110 
  Adventure party formats, 23 
  Adventure seeds, 311 
  Age, 31 
  Aging, 240 
  Aim maneuver, 204 
  Albinism, see Weakness, 144 
  Alcohol, 234 
  Alcohol tolerance, 108 
  Allies, 82; Ally groups, 83 
  All-Out Attack maneuver, 204; After 
  being grappled, 208 
  All-Out Defense maneuver, 205 
  Ally groups, 83 
  Alpha-Centaurans, 45 
  Alternative attacks, 94 
  Always on advantages, 115 
  Ammunition, 282 
  Anaerobic, see Weakness, 144 
  Andorians, 48 
  Andromedan Invaders, 60; Available 
  technology, 256 
  Appearance, 31 
  Aquatic, see Dependency, 83 and 
  see No Legs, 133 
  Arcturians, 47 
  Area class, 153 
  Area-effect attacks, 221 
  Armor divisors, 109, 214 
  Armor, 266; Donning, 218; Flexible 
  armor and blunt trauma, 214; 
  Monocrys, 257; Star Fleet 
  uniform, 259; Vacc suit, 261 
  Astrofauna, 18 
  Astrogation, see Navigation (Space), 
  172 
  Atmospheres, 236; Vacuum, 240 
  Atmospheric pressure, 232 
  Attack (action), 205 
  Attack maneuver, 204 
  Attack roll, 206 
  Attacks, 205; Alternative, 94; After 
  being grappled, 207; Innate, 93; 
  Linked effects, 216 
  Attributes, see Basic Attributes 
  Automatic weapons, 220 
  Awards, 250 
   
  Basic attributes, 26; Improving, 247 
  Basic Lift, 27; Table, 29 
  Basic Move, 28 
  Basic Speed, 28 
  Beam/gun fire, see Attack 
  Bends, the, 238 
  BL, see Basic Lift 
  Blocking, 212 
  Blunt trauma, 214 
  Body armor, 266, 269 
  Bonus points, 247 
  Break Free, 208 
  Breathing, 88, 91, 113; Holding your 
  breath, 190 
  Brecons, 47 
  Bridge crew, 24 
  Build (body description), 29 
  Buying off disadvantages, 120, 248 
   
  Campaign, 3 
  Campaign ribbons, 251 
  Canteen, filtration, 267 
  Canteen, vapor, 272 
  Captain’s Log magazine, 287 
  Carnivons, 74 
  Catching things, 194 
  Century scale damage, 327 
  Change Posture maneuver, 203 
  Character, creation of, 23 
  Character, definition, 3 
  Character development, 247 
  Character, Non-Player, 3 
  Character points, 23, 247 
  Characteristics, Secondary, 26 
  Choke hold, 207; see also 
  Suffocation 
  Climbing, 189 
  Clothing, 241 
  Cold, 232 
  Collisions, 232 
  Coma, 232; see also 
  Unconsciousness 
  Combat, 202-223; Maneuvers, 202; 
  Space, 325; Table of combat 
  modifiers, 210; Turn sequence, 
  202  
  Combat (body) armor, 266 
  Commendations, 251 
  Communications, 298 
  Communicators, 266 
  Compass, inertial, 267 
  Comprehension rolls, 195 
  Concentrate maneuver, 205 
  Cone attacks, 221 
  Confederation of the Gorn, see Gorn 
  Contagion, 233; see also Disease 
  Contests, 188 
  Control Rating, 245; see also Legality 
  Class 
  Cost of living, 241 
  Courtesy Rank, 38 
  Cover, 213  
  Crawling, 203 
  Credits, 1, 364 
  Crippling injury, 224 
  Critical failure, 186 
  Critical Head Blow Table, 187 
  Critical Hit Table, 186 
  Critical Miss Table, 187; Unarmed 
  Critical Miss Table, 187 
  Critical success, 185 
  Cromargs, 51 
  Crouching, 203 
  Customizing civilian ships, 348 
  Customizing shuttles, 347 
  Cygnans, 44 
   
  Damage, 26, 214; Damage rolls, 214; 
  Damage Table, 26; Follow-up, 
  215; Linked effects, 216; 
  Scaling, 327; Space combat, 
  331; To objects, 216 
  Damage, follow-up, 116 
  Damage, linked effects, 116 
  Damage Resistance, 215; Of objects, 
  216 
  Damage Roll, 114 
  Dash speed (starship), 296 
  Death, 226; Dying actions, 226; 
  Instant death, 226 
  Decade scale damage, 327 
  Deck plans of Free Trader, 305 
  Default rolls, 184 
  Defaults, 150; Double, 150; Skills, 
  150 
  Defending, 211 
  Degree of success or failure, 185 
  Dehydration, 230 
  Deians, 46 
  Demolition, 22 
  Dexterity, 26 
  Digging, 189, 194 
  Disadvantages, 119; Buying off, 120, 
  248; Exotic, 119; Mental, 119; 
  Mundane, 119; Physical, 119; 
  Screening, 119; Self-imposed, 
  120; Social, 119; Supernatural, 
  119 
  Disease, 233 
  Disease-resistant, see Resistant, 101 
  Disruptors, personal, 281 
  Disruptors, ship, 259 
  Dive for cover, 213 
  Dmg, see Damage 
  Do Nothing maneuver, 203 
  Dodging, 212; And drop, 213 
  Double defaults, Not allowed for 
  skills, 150 
  DR, see Damage Resistance 
  Dragging things, 191 
  Dropping prone, 213 
  Drugs, 121, 125; Withdrawal, 121 
  Dunkars, 50 
  DX, see Dexterity 
  Dying actions, 226 
   
  Early Years Era, 19 
  Economics, 241 
  Effects of injury, 215 
  Elderly characters, 31; see also Age, 
  Aging 
  Electrical damage, 235 
  Electricity, 234 
  Encounter, 3 
  Encumbrance, 28 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Index 
  Page 361 
  Energy allocation in space combat, 
  332 
  Enhancements, 109 
  Equipment, personal, 265 
  Equipment, shipboard, 258 
  Equipment modifiers, 186 
  Evaluate maneuver, 204 
  Exotic advantages, 80 
  Exotic disadvantages, 119 
  Explosions, 22 
  Extra effort, 194 
   
  Falling, 230; Damage from falling 
  objects, 231 
  Fallout, 239; see also Radiation 
  Fatigue, 27, 230; Fatigue points, 27; 
  Recovering, 231 
  Federation & Empire game, 285 
  Federation Commander game, 285, 
  288; In combat, 299 
   
   
  Federation F-14 Fighter painted by 
  Kent Ing 
   
  Federation Marine Academy, 77 
  Federation Marine Boot Camp, 77 
  Federation Marshals Service 
  Academy, 78 
  Federation (United Federation of 
  Planets), 2, 42; Heavy cruiser, 
  338 
  Feint maneuver, 204 
  Fire, 93, 235; Damage, 215 
  Firearms, 280; Aim, 204; Automatic, 
  220; Bracing, 204; Malfunction, 
  219; Quality, 282; Rapid fire, 
  209; Shotguns, 220; 
  Suppression fire, 229 
  First Aid, 227 
  Flame, see Fire 
  Flying, 91, 192 
  Follow-up damage, 215 
  Food, 131, 241; Starvation, 230 
  FP, see Fatigue Points 
  Fragmentation damage, 222 
  Free actions, 203 
  Free Trader, 305, 336 
  Freelancers, 25 
  Fright Checks, 200; Fright Check 
  Table, 201-202 
   
  G-increment, 196 
  Galactic Intelligence Agency 
  Academy, 78 
  Game Master, 3, Notes for, 356 
  Game time, 240 
  Game world, 3 
  Garrotes, 208 
  Geographical scope, 153 
  Glossary, 3 
  Godlike species, 18 
  Gorns, 55; Battlecruiser, 342 
  GPD, see GURPS Prime Directive 
  Grabbing and grappling, 206 
  Gravity, 196; And acceleration, 235; 
  Home gravity, 28 
  Guided weapons, 284 
  GURPS Prime Directive, 15 
  GURPS, 2, 3, 15, 364 
   
  Half damage for ranged weapons, 
  209, 214 
  Hallucinating, 231 
  Hand weapons, see Melee weapons 
  Handedness, 27 
  Hazards, 231 
  Healing, see Recovery 
  Health, 26 
  Hearing, 197 
  Heart attack, 232 
  Heat, 236; see also Fire 
  Hiking, 190 
  Hilidarians, 51 
  Hit points, 27; Lost hit points, 223; 
  Objects, 216 
  Holding your breath, 190 
  Home gravity, 28 
  HP, see Hit points 
  HT, see Health 
  Humans, 43 
  Hybrids (mixed-species beings), 
  medical treatment, 228 
  Hydrans, 59 
   
  Illness, 233 
  Immunity, 234; see also Resistant 
  Importance in society, see Rank, 
  Status 
  Improving characters, 247 
  Initiative, space combat, 325 
  Infection, 236 
  Influence rolls, 197 
  Injuries, 223; Crippling, 224; Major 
  wounds, 215, 224; Mortal 
  wounds, 225; Shock, 215, 224; 
  To objects, 216; see also 
  Crippling injury, Recovery 
  Intelligence, 26 
  Interspecies medicine, 228 
  Interstellar Concordium, see ISC 
  Intoxication, see Alcohol 
  ISC (Inter-Stellar Concordium), 64 
  IQ (Intelligence), 26; And language, 
  34 
   
  Jindarians, 20, 71 
  Job Table, 244 
  Jobs, 242 
  Jumping, 191 
   
  Klingons, 2, 49; D7 battlecruiser, 339 
  Klingon subject races, 50-52, 302 
  Knockback, 215 
  Knockdown, 120 
  Korlivilar, 68 
  Kzintis, 54; Command cruiser, 341 
   
  Language, 33; see also the 
  description of each empire or 
  species 
  Laws and customs, 245 
  LC, see Legality Class 
  LDR (Lyran Democratic Republic), 62 
  Legality Class, 246, 275 
  Lifting, 26, 27, 191; Extra effort, 195 
  Limitations, 109, 115 
  Linked effects, 216 
  Long Actions, 217 
  Lyran Democratic Republic, see LDR 
  Lyrans, 61 
   
  Main Era, 20 
  Major wounds, 215, 224; Objects, 
  217 
  Malf, see Malfunction 
  Malfunctions, 219 
  Maneuvers, 202; Space combat, 326 
  Maps of Star Fleet Universe, 17, 
  291, 292, 294, 315, 319 
  Marine units, 303 
  Medals, 250 
  Medical care, 227; Surgery, 227 
  Medicine, interspecies, 228 
  Melee attack modifiers, 210 
  Melee weapons, 275 
  Merchant Marine Academy, 77 
  Merchant Marine Basic Training, 78 
  Military grade, 40 
  Military rank, 38, 39 
  Military seniority, 39, 253 
  Mind Meld, see Vulcan psi powers 
  Mind Shield, see Vulcan psi powers 
  Missile weapon attacks, 209 
  Missiles in space combat, 329 
  Modifiers for advantages and 
  disadvantages, 109 
  Money, see Wealth 
  Mortal conditions, 232 
  Move maneuver, 203 
  Move and Attack maneuver, 205 
  Moving things, 191 
  Mundane advantages, 80; 
  Disadvantages, 119 
  Mynieni, 46 
  Mysteries of the Star Fleet 
  Universe, 21 
   
  Natural recovery, 226 
  Nerve pinch, see Vulcan psi powers 
  Non-player character, 3 
  Non-starfaring species, 18 
  Non-Tactical Warp Era, 19 
  NPC Reactions Table, 198-200  
   
  Orion Pirate cartel map, 257, 324 
  Orion Pirates, 58; Light cruiser, 344 
  Orions, 58 
   
  PADD, 270 
  Paralysis, 231 
  Paravians, 73 
  Parry, 212; Unarmed, 212 
  Patrons, 98 
  PD1, First edition of PD, 15 
  Peladine Republic, 61 
  Penetrating damage, 214, 215 
  
  Page 362  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Index 
  Penetration modifiers, 214 
  Per, see Perception 
  Perception, 27 
  Perks, 108 
  Personal equipment, 265 
  Personal weapons, 273 
  Phaser autofire, 221 
  Phasers, personal, 280 
  Phasers, ship, 328 
  Phelan, 62 
  Physical appearance, 31 
  Physical feats, 189; Extra effort, 194 
  Picking things up, 217 
  Pinning (in combat), 207 
  Planet types, 155, 290 
  Planetary Classes, 290 
  Poison, 124, 236, 237 
  Precontact Era, 19 
  Precursors, 22 
  Prellarians, 45 
  Prerequisites, skills, 146 
  Pressure, Atmospheric, 232; The 
  bends, 238; Water, 237 
  Prime Directive, 302 
  Prime team, 24, 301 
  Privilege, 38 
  Professional Certifications, 79 
  Promotion, 39, 253 
  Pronhoulites, 66 
  Psionics, see Vulcan psi powers 
  Pulling things, 191 
   
  Q’Naabians, 16 
  Quick contests, 188 
  Quirks, 142 
   
  Race, see Species 
  Radiation, 238 
  Ranel, 61 
  Ranged attacks, 209; Half damage 
  range, 214; Modifiers Table, 
  210; Size and Speed/Range 
  Table, 211; Shooting blind, 210 
  Ranged weapons, 278; Half damage, 
  214; Firearms, 280; Hand 
  grenades, 279; Heavy weapons, 
  283; Muscle-powered, 278 
  Rank, 37; Military, 39; Promotion, 
  253 
  Rank insignia, 253 
  Rapid fire, 209 
  Rate of Fire, 209 
  Rcl, see Recoil 
  Reach and Size Modifier, 206 
  Reaction rolls, 198; NPC Reactions 
  Table, 198-200 
  Ready maneuver, 205 
  Ready weapons, 206; Readying, 217 
  Recoil, 274 
  Recovery, 226 
  Regular contest, 189 
  Reloading missile weapons, 209 
  Repeated attempts, 188 
  Reputation, 36 
  Reputation Points, 247 
  Resuscitation, 228 
  Retreat, 213 
  Rigellians, 44 
  Rolling dice, 183 
  Rolling to hit, 206 
  Romulan Code of Honor, 303 
  Romulans, 53; War Eagle, 340 
  Rovillians, 67 
  RoF, see Rate of Fire 
  Rule of 14, 201 
  Rule of 20, 186 
  Running, 192; Fatigue, 230 
   
  Sample starships, 334 
  Sapience, and GURPS, 34; and the 
  SFU; 303 
  Secondary characteristics, 26; 
  Improving, 247 
  Self-control, 119 
  Seltorians, 69 
  Seniority Points, 247 
  Sense rolls, 195 
  Sentience, and GURPS, 34; and the 
  SFU; 303 
  SFB, see Star Fleet Battles 
  Shake and Bake School, 79 
  Shipboard equipment, 258 
  Shock, Electrical, 234; From injury, 
  215, 224; Treating, 227 
  Shove, 209 
  Shuttlecraft, 263, 345; Civilian, 346; 
  Missions, 333 
  Sign language, 34 
  Size and Speed/Range Table, 211 
  Size Modifier, 30; And reach, 206 
  Skiff, 337 
  Skills, 151-182; Buying, 147; 
  Contests, 188; Defaults, 150; 
  Difficulty level, 145; Familiarity, 
  147; Geographical and temporal 
  scope,153; Improving, 148, 248; 
  Influence, 197; Learned through 
  training (templates), 76; Levels, 
  148; Needed for professional 
  certification, 79; Needed to 
  operate shipboard equipment, 
  258-265; Prerequisites, 146; 
  Scope, 153; Specialties, 146; 
  Species modifiers for medicine, 
  228; Studying, 249; Teachers, 
  249; Technological, 145 
  Skoleans, 56 
  Sleep, 230; Drowsy, 231 
  Slirdarians, 50 
  SM, see Size Modifier 
  Smell, 197 
  Social Background, 33 
  Sounds, see Hearing 
  Space combat, 325-348 
  Space sickness, 235 
  Spacecraft, see Starships  
  Species templates, 43-74; Height 
  and Weight Ranges Table, 75 
  Speed, Basic, 28 
  Speed/Range Table, 211 
  ST, see Strength 
  Star Fleet Academy, 76 
  Star Fleet Basic Training, 76 
  Star Fleet Battle Force card game, 
  275 
  Star Fleet Battles game, 285, 286; 
  In combat, 299 
  Star Fleet Marines, see Federation 
  Marine Academy, Federation 
  Marine Boot Camp 
  Star Fleet uniforms, 269 
  Star Fleet Universe, 15, 16, 285; 
  Map, 291; Timeline, 313 
  Starfaring species, 18 
  Starship miniatures, 285 
  Starships, 335-345 
  Starvation, 230 
  Stats, 3 
  Status, 37, 241 
  Strangle, 207 
  Strength, 26 
  Striker (ship), 337 
  Structural damage, 216 
  Study, 249 
  Stunning, 215, 224; Mental, 224; 
  Phaser, 281 
  Subject races, 50-52, 302 
  Success rolls, 183; Critical failure, 
  186; Critical success, 185; 
  Difficulty, 184; Equipment 
  modifiers,186; Influencing rolls, 
  197; Repeated attempts, 188  
  Suffocation, 239 
  Sunburn, 236 
  Suppression fire, 220 
  Surgery, 227 
  Swimming, 192 
  Swinging damage, 26 
   
  Taboo traits, 42 
  Tactical Warp Era, 19 
  Takedown, 207 
  Taste, 197 
  Team Grissom, 357 
  Tech level, see Technology Levels 
  Technology availability by empire, 
  256 
  Technology Levels, 33, 254; And 
  equipment, 35; And starting 
  wealth, 35; Prime Directive, 
  254. 
  Tellarites, 48 
  Temporal scope, 153 
  Tholian webs in space combat, 326 
  Tholians, 57; Patrol Corvette, 343 
  Throwing things, 193 
  Thrown weapons, 194, 209 
  Thrusting damage, 27 
  Time, Between adventures, 241; 
  Between sessions, 241; During 
  adventures, 240 
  Timeline, 313 
  TL, see Technology Levels 
  To-hit roll, 206 
  Tractor beams, 263, 331 
  Transporters, 263, 331 
  Travel, interplanetary, 296, 298 
  Turn Sequence, 202 
  Turns, space combat, 325 
   
  UFP, see Federation 
  Unarmed combat, 206; Parrying, 212 
  Unarmed Critical Miss Table, 187 
  Unconsciousness, 232; Recovery 
  from, 226 
  Uniforms, Star Fleet, 269 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Index 
  Page 363 
  United Federation of Planets, see 
  Federation 
   
  Vacuum, 240 
  Veltressai, 65 
  Visibility, 210 
  Vision, 195 
  Vudar, 72 
  Vulcan psi powers, 108 
  Vulcans, 43 
   
  Wait maneuver, 205 
  Warp factors, 296 
  Wealth, 35; And Status, 241; Cost of 
  living, 241; Economics, 241; 
  Improving character wealth level, 
  248; Jobs, 244 
  Weapon damage, 273 
  Weapon status, ship, 325 
  Weapons, 276-284; Accuracy, 274; 
  Ammunition, 282; Breaking, 187; 
  Bulk, 274;  Cost, 274; Firearms, 
  280-283; Grenades, 279-280; 
  Heavy, 283-284; Incendiaries, 
  279-280; Legality Class, 275; 
  Malfunction, 219; Melee, 275-
  278; Parry, 273; Personal, 273; 
  Range, 274; Ranged, 278-279; 
  Rapid-fire, 209; Rate of fire, 274; 
  Reach, 273; Reach and Size 
  Modifier, 206; Recoil, 274; Ship, 
  327; Shots, 274; Strength, 274; 
  Thrown, 194; Weight, 274 
  Weather, 190 
  Webs, see Tholian webs in space 
  combat 
  Whips, 218 
  Will, 27; Will rolls, 200 
  Wounding modifier, 215 
  Wounds, see Injuries 
  WYN Star Cluster, 63 
   
  X-technology, 257 
  X-Technology Era, 21 
   
  Yitlians, 52 
   
  Zoolies, 52 
  Zorski’s Interspecies Compatibility 
  Table, 229 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Andromedan Intruder painted by 
  Kent Ing 
   
  SELECTED TABLES, 
  MAPS, AND CHARTS 
   
  Action and Time Required, 218 
  Alpha Octant Map, 291, 315, 319 
  Alpha Octant Map, Eastern, 292 
  Alpha Octant Map, Western, 294 
   
  Basic Lift and Encumbrance Table, 
  29 
  Build Table, 30 
   
  Climbing Table, 189 
  Cold Modifiers, 232 
  Critical Head Blow Table, 187 
  Critical Hit Table, 186 
  Critical Miss Table, 187 
   
  Damage Effects (Ship), 332-333 
  Damage from Thrown Objects Table, 
  194 
  Damage Table, 26 
  Damage Type, 273 
  Defense Modifiers, 213 
  Drone Rack Ammunition, 330 
   
  Encumbrance Table, 29 
  Engine Types, 255 
   
  Falling Velocity Table, 233 
  Firearm Malfunction Table, 219 
  First Aid Table, 227 
  Fright Check Table, 201-202 
   
  General Attack Modifiers, 210 
  Grade Titles, 40 
   
  Hand Grenade and Incendiary Table, 
  280 
  Hearing Distance Table, 197 
  Heavy Weapon Table (Personal), 
  284 
  Heavy Weapons Table (Ship), 328 
  Height and Weight Ranges, 75 
   
  Incendiary Table, 280 
  Interspecies Compatibility Table, 229 
  IQ-Based Technological Skills 
  Modifiers, 146 
   
  Job Table, 244 
   
  Long-Distance Modifiers, 105 
  Low and Negative Hit Point Chart, 
  223 
   
  Medical Help Table, 227 
  Melee Weapon Table, 276-277 
  Muscle-Powered Ranged Weapon 
  Table, 279 
   
  Negative Hit Point Chart, 223 
   
  Orion Cartels Map, 257, 324 
   
  Phaser Settings, Damage, and 
  Availability, 281 
  Pistol and Submachine Gun Table, 
  282 
  Plasma Torpedo Table, 330 
  Posture Table, 203 
  Probability of Success and Skill 
  Level, 148 
  Promotion/Grade Table, 39 
   
  Radiation Effects Table, 238 
  Rapid Fire Table, 209 
  Reach and Size Modifier, 206 
  Reaction Table, 198-200 
  Relative Explosive Force Table, 223 
  Rifle and Shotgun Table, 283 
   
  SFB/FC Skill Levels and Effects on 
  Die Rolls, 300 
  Shotgun Table, 283 
  Size and Speed/Range Table, 211 
  Size Modifier and Reach, 206 
  Size Modifier Table, 30 
  Skill Cost Table, 148 
  Skill Level and Probability of 
  Success, 148 
  Space Movement and Warp Factors 
  chart, 296 
  Speed/Range and Size table, 211 
  Standard Planetary Classes, 290 
  Star Fleet Universe Alpha Octant 
  Map, 291, 315, 319 
  Star Fleet Universe Map, 17 
  Star Fleet Universe Tech Level 
  Chart, 254-255 
  Starship Engine Types, 255 
  Status and Cost of Living Table, 242 
  Submachine Gun Table, 282 
   
  Task Difficulty, 184-185 
  Tech Level Chart, 254-255 
  Tech Levels for Empires and 
  Species, 255 
  Throwing Distance Table, 193 
  Transporter and Tractor Beam 
  Ranges, 255 
   
  Ultra-Tech Firearm Table, 283 
  Unarmed Critical Miss Table, 187-
  188 
  Universe Map, 17 
   
  Vulnerability Table, 141 
   
  Warp Factors and Space Movement 
  Chart, 296 
  Weight Ranges (Species), 75 
   
  Zorski’s Interspecies Compatibility 
  Table, 229 
   
   
  Federation Destroyer painted by 
  Kent Ing 
  
  Page 364  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Publisher’s Information 
  PUBLISHER’S INFORMATION 
   
  DISCLAIMERS AND WARNINGS 
   
  There are a few things that should be obvious, but 
  . . . 
   
  GMs in Command 
   
  GMs of a given group/campaign can pretty much 
  change anything they want any way they want if it 
  makes their campaign more fun for their group. If, in 
  your campaign, you have a group of Federation Na-
  tional Guard officers who kidnap the Klingon Emperor 
  and overthrow the Klingon government and stop the 
  General War, good for you. Just don’t think that events 
  in a given GM’s campaign need to result in changes to 
  the official “historical” data of the Star Fleet Universe. 
  And of course, you must be prepared to deal with the 
  consequences of your changes when they run afoul of 
  other published works. 
   
  PD and SFU 
   
  While GURPS Prime Directive is a game of the 
  Star Fleet Universe, no one should try to use a refer-
  ence in (or a concept extrapolated from) GPD to argue 
  for a given rules interpretation (let alone a change to a 
  published rule) for other games of the SFU (e.g., Star 
  Fleet Battles, F&E, Warlord, Star Fleet Battle Force, 
  etc.). Said in more direct terms, the judges of the Star 
  Fleet Battles tournaments are not going to award you 
  a victory in your SFB game in a Rated Ace Tourna-
  ment because some color text in a GPD adventure 
  could in theory be interpreted as meaning that you can 
  do something specifically outlawed in the rules of SFB. 
  When creating new items for any game in the SFU, 
  designers consider all of the data from all of the SFU 
  game systems, but there are known and accepted in-
  consistencies from one game to another and ADB, Inc. 
  reserves the right to publish rules in any of its games 
  that do not quite reflect the data from some other 
  game. 
   
  PD and Starship Design 
   
  Our ships were designed, some of them nearly 
  four decades ago (before GURPS was designed), us-
  ing the design principles of SFB, and trying to reverse 
  engineer them with various GURPS books is not al-
  ways going to work. Players and GMs can fudge, fina-
  gle, or fiddle the data any way they want for their own 
  campaigns without affecting the Star Fleet Universe 
  or Star Fleet Battles. In any case where contradictory 
  data appears, just ascribe it to problems in translating 
  those datatapes the Air Force found in 1979. 
   
  PD and Trek 
   
  This is the Star Fleet Universe, not Star Trek. 
  When we created this universe, we reviewed the 
  available source data. We used some, ignored others 
  (considering some things to be “plot devices” with no 
  real basis in technology), and when we found multiple 
  sources in conflict, we picked the most logical inter-
  pretation and rejected the rest. After we published our 
  decisions (in the form of numerous game products), 
  new source material appeared which contradicted the 
  SFU. That doesn’t make us wrong, or the data wrong. 
  Data that doesn’t fit is from the other parallel universe 
  and won’t always match up. 
   
  So you will find things in this game that do not 
  match at least some of the source data, while every-
  thing is grounded in that data. If a GM and his players 
  agree, feel free to use a different interpretation or 
  make up something new, but do not write to ADB, Inc. 
  and demand that we change a rule to match a given 
  interpretation, episode, novel, or comic book. We 
  won’t. And do not submit for publication things based 
  on source data unless that data appears in Star Fleet 
  Universe products; we can only use certain elements 
  of it and have already used all of the elements we are 
  allowed to use (although much of that has yet to mi-
  grate from SFB into GPD). 
   
  SFU in GURPS 
   
  We have attempted to stick close to GURPS, but 
  in some cases had to make changes or tweaks to fit 
  SFB history and technology. (One example is the Tech 
  Levels, where the established GURPS data, particu-
  larly in the case of transporters, cannot translate SFB 
  into a neat tech level.) None of these tweaks or 
  changes should be considered as our attempt to 
  change someone’s campaign or the core rules of 
  GURPS. The brilliance of the GURPS system is that 
  sub-universes and individual GMs can fiddle with the 
  rules until they fit what is needed. And you can cer-
  tainly use any GURPS skill, advantage, or disad-
  vantage in GPD. 
   
  GURPS PD 4e Revision 
   
  After over a decade, the core rulebook was show-
  ing its age. More information had been discovered and 
  it was time to add it to the book. We also added back 
  some information that had been in the original GURPS 
  PD 3e book. The result is a much longer book that we 
  hope you will find useful. 
   
  Forward to GURPS PD 4e 
   
  The release of G4e allowed us to do GPD over 
  again, fine tuning it for what the players wanted. Much 
  Federation data was moved to the GURPS Federa-
  tion book that had not been envisioned when GPD3e 
  was published in 2002. 
   
  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 
   
  Success has many fathers, and this book is no 
  exception. We would like to take a moment to thank 
  everyone who helped. 
   
  First, we must acknowledge Steve Jackson, who 
  created GURPS and guided its development. Many of 
  the actual words of this book come from other GURPS 
  books, and Steve even wrote a couple of new para-
  graphs when we needed them. Steve’s staff and vol-
  unteers, including Sean Punch (who did a month of 
  work on the original GPD 4e), Andrew Hackard, 
  
  GURPS Prime Directive 4e Rev Publisher’s Information 
  Page 365 
  Robert Gilson, and Jayson Howell, also had a lot to do 
  with what you see here, writing or rewriting many par-
  agraphs and patiently explaining why a rule had to be 
  done a certain way. 
   
  Gary Plana pulled everything together in the origi-
  nal GPD 4e book, combining the GURPS system with 
  the SFB background. To the extent that Steve Cole 
  and Steven Petrick helped, they felt more like they 
  were learning a new game than writing one. Gary and 
  both Steves thank the many playtesters who each 
  contributed many thoughts, suggestions, and con-
  cepts. Alex Chobot joined the team as Gary’s top as-
  sistant and handled a lot of the details for him. The 
  gang on the BBS contributed dozens of ideas and 
  hundreds of thoughts. 
   
  Mark Costello and Timothy D. Olsen did their part 
  many years ago in PD1, along with many others. A lot 
  of background text came out of that project, much of it 
  relatively unchanged. 
   
  David Lang worked out the warp factors for us. 
   
  Aaron Hendricks also deserves thanks for helping 
  create the artistic look and feel. We also acknowledge 
  the contribution of our artists, who did a great job. 
   
  This revision is the work of Jean Sexton, who fixed 
  some problems and added more rules and information 
  she thought would help both GMs and players. She 
  also discovered much of the information about the 
  species of the ISC. 
   
  Note from Jean Sexton 
   
  The first RPG that I played was Advanced Dun-
  geons and Dragons. Hard on its heels came GURPS, 
  second edition. I followed that with both the third and 
  fourth editions.  I played with and GMed for a small 
  group in North Carolina. 
   
  In 2007 Steve Cole made me part of the volunteer 
  staff of Amarillo Design Bureau, Inc. I proofread for the 
  company – and it is a testament to the patience of both 
  Steve Cole and Steven Petrick that they took those 
  reports over the phone. Once a year, I would travel to 
  Amarillo to work on “The Big Project.” When Steve 
  Cole found out I was into roleplaying games, he sug-
  gested that I become head of the Prime Directive line. 
  Gary Plana poured his knowledge into my head. 
   
  In 2013, I finally moved to Amarillo and we started 
  shaking down what I was to do. I added marketing and 
  managing one of the PDF stores. I kept the proof-
  reading job, also. And I started really focusing on the 
  RPGs. The only problem was I had never, ever done 
  layout. I worried that I had bitten off far more than I 
  could chew. 
   
  Finally I bit the bullet and produced a small booklet 
  that updated the Prime Directive PD20M Rulebook 
  with the missing information. I knew I could do this 
  publishing stuff!  
   
  The GURPS Prime Directive revision has been a 
  long time in coming. I’d like to thank the folks at ADB 
  for their patience. I’d like to dedicate this to my parents 
  who encouraged me to live and explore my dreams. 
  Thanks for your hand in shaping me.  
   
  ABOUT THE PUBLISHER 
   
  Amarillo Design Bureau, Inc., has been the de-
  signer of the Star Fleet Universe for more than two 
  decades, and became the publisher in early 1999. You 
  can contact us at: 
  Mail: Amarillo Design Bureau, PO Box 8759, Amarillo, 
  TX 79114 
   
  Phone: 806-351-1950  
  Email: design@starfleetgames.com or  
  prime@starfleetgames.com 
   
  Or check out our website at: www.starfleetgames.com 
   
   
  Information on GURPS Prime Directive is at: 
  www.starfleetgames.com/prime/pd-gurps.shtml 
   
   
  All submissions are accepted only under our 
  standard terms as published in SFB Advanced Mis-
  sions. In summary, any submission becomes our 
  property on receipt and may be modified at our sole 
  discretion before publication. The author of a submis-
  sion receives authorship credit and compensation at 
  our standard rates.  
   
  ADB, Inc., products are available to individuals in 
  retail stores, from several direct-mail outlets and from 
  the shopping cart on our website. If your store does 
  not carry our products, ask the manager to contact us 
  at sales@starfleetgames.com 
   
   
  COPYRIGHT & LICENSING 
   
  All rights are reserved under the Pan-American, 
  Berne, and International Copyright Conventions. No 
  material which is based on, for use with, incorporates 
  elements of, or is derived from Federation Com-
  mander,Star Fleet Battles, Federation & Empire, 
  Star Fleet Missions, Star Fleet Battle Force, 
  GURPS Prime Directive,Star Fleet Armada, A Call 
  to Arms: Star Fleet, Star Fleet Marines, or the Star 
  Fleet Universe background can be published by any 
  party without the advanced written permission of ADB, 
  Inc. SFB is produced under license from Franz Joseph 
  Designs, authors of the STAR FLEET TECHNICAL 
  MANUAL.  
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Space Amoeba 
  painted by 
  Matthew 
  Lawson 
  Elements of the Star Fleet Universe are the 
  property of Paramount Pictures Corporation 
  and are used with their permission. 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Star Trek RPG/Prime Directive/02. Armadillo Design Bureau/GURPS/Prime Directive 4e Revised Volume 1 and Volume 2 - Gary Plana.pdf