TEXT: An e23 Sourcebook for GURPS
  ®
  STEVE JACKSON GAMES
  Stock #37-0128
  Version 1.0 – May, 2008
  ®
  Written by SEAN PUNCH
  Illustrated by ED NORTHCOTT, JEAN ELIZABETH MARTIN, and DAN SMITH
  POWER-UPS
  IMBUEMENTS 1
  TM
  
  INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
  About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
  THE IMBUE ADVANTAGE . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
  Multiple Imbue Advantages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
  IMBUEMENT SKILLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
  What Can I Imbue? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
  Enhancement Skills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
  Transformation Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
  Imbuing Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
  Noncombat Imbuement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
  Optional Rule: Combination Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
  IMBUEMENT IN THE CAMPAIGN . . . . . . 14
  GURPS Dungeon Fantasy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
  GURPS Martial Arts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
  GURPS Supers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
  INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
  About GURPS
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  CONTENTS
  2
  CONTENTS
  GURPS, Warehouse 23, and the all-seeing pyramid are registered trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. Power-Ups 1: Imbuements, Pyramid, and the names of all
  products published by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated are registered trademarks or trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated, 
  or used under license. GURPS Power-Ups 1: Imbuements is copyright © 2008 by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. All rights reserved. 
  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal, 
  and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage 
  the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
  Playtesters: Ze’Manel Cunha, Peter Dell’Orto, Craig Roth, Mark Skarr, and Emily Smirle
  GURPS System Design ❚ STEVE JACKSON
  GURPS Line Editor ❚ SEAN PUNCH
  Indexer ❚ NIKOLA VRTIS
  Page Design ❚ PHILIP REED and
  JUSTIN DE WITT
  Managing Editor ❚ PHILIP REED
  Art Director ❚ WILL SCHOONOVER
  Production Artists ❚ PHILIP REED
  and NIKOLA VRTIS
  Prepress Checker ❚ MONICA STEPHENS
  Marketing Director ❚ PAUL CHAPMAN
  Director of Sales ❚ ROSS JEPSON
  Errata Coordinator ❚ FADE MANLEY
  GURPS FAQ Maintainer ❚ MOLOKH
  
  Ever wanted to give a character the ability to make the
  longsword in his hand flaming or the arrows from his bow (or
  bullets from his gun) armor-piercing? For one particular mag-
  ical or otherwise “special” weapon, this is relatively easy: buy
  the desired Affliction, Binding, or Innate Attack with suitable
  gadget limitations from pp. B116-117. But a few fictional
  heroes are capable of imbuing any weapon of a particular class
  – perhaps every weapon they use – with special properties.
  That’s a little more complicated!
  The Modifying ST-Based Damage rules in GURPS Powers
  might seem appropriate at first. That prescription applies the
  desired enhancements to ST-based damage exactly as if it was
  a Crushing Attack of the same size, and uses the point cost of
  just the modifiers as the cost to alter the nature of your bare-
  handed damage. Unfortunately, that system was designed for
  unarmed, ST-based crushing damage, and is extremely diffi-
  cult to extend to weapons – especially if they’re ranged, not
  crushing, and/or not muscle-powered (guns, for instance, have
  all three problems).
  You could still try, of course. You could build the most
  expensive attack that you’re capable of creating by imbuing a
  weapon and modifying its stats – the attack with the best dam-
  age, range, RoF, etc. Then you could subtract the price of the
  basic advantage, read the point cost of the modifiers as that of
  the imbuement ability, and only allow the modifiers to aid
  weapons that, once imbued, would be no better than this best
  attack. But that would be a delicate exercise before the game
  began and tedious in play – whenever you grabbed a new
  weapon, you would have to do hasty math to determine
  whether the imbuement pushes it over the line!
  This mediocre showing isn’t surprising. Enhancements
  in GURPS assume that you have a specific attack to modify.
  They misbehave when you’re after the ability to modify
  something as general as “anything that may come to hand”
  . . . because, really, there’s no fair price for modifiers when
  you have no idea what they might modify at some future
  point. A munchkin player might even point out – not with-
  out some justification – that because ordinary guns and
  swords don’t cost points in GURPS, enhancements on them
  would be multiples of 0 points and hence free!
  Fortunately, there’s a way around this headache. GURPS
  already has a set of abilities that make weapons more effective.
  These potent traits can increase accuracy, lower target
  defenses, reduce DR, raise attack rate, extend the useful range
  of missile weapons, and many other things. They are, of
  course, combat skills. (For the curious, lowering defenses is
  simply Deceptive Attack, reducing DR is targeting chinks in
  armor, raising attack rate is Rapid Strike, and increasing accu-
  racy and range are basic skill effects.)
  Still, ordinary combat skills don’t quite cut it when it comes
  to adding genuine attack enhancements. No amount of believ-
  able training will let you pick up any pistol and fire armor-
  piercing shots no matter what its actual ammunition, or grasp
  any broadsword and set the blade ablaze. Such feats call for a
  new kind of skill – an Imbuement Skill.
  Imbuement Skills are akin to both cinematic combat skills
  like Breaking Blow and Pressure Secrets, and magic spells
  like Flaming Weapon and Penetrating Weapon. They channel
  some exotic or supernatural force – such as mana, the
  wielder’s chi, or super-powered bioenergy – to give the user’s
  weapon special capabilities. While they’re priced and bought
  as skills, the GM is welcome to treat them as something
  closer to advantages.
  ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  Sean “Dr. Kromm” Punch set out to become a particle
  physicist in 1985, ended up the GURPS Line Editor in 1995,
  and has engineered rules for almost every GURPS product
  since. During the GURPS Third Edition era, he compiled both
  GURPS Compendium volumes, developed GURPS Lite,
  wrote GURPS Wizards and GURPS Undead, and edited or
  revised over 20 other titles. With David Pulver, he produced the
  GURPS Basic Set, Fourth Edition, in 2004. His latest creations
  include GURPS Powers (with Phil Masters), GURPS Martial
  Arts (with Peter Dell’Orto), and GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 1-
  4. Sean has been a gamer since 1979. His non-gaming interests
  include cinema and wine. He lives in Montréal, Québec with
  his wife, Bonnie. They have two cats, Banshee and Zephyra,
  and a noisy parrot, Circe.
  INTRODUCTION
  3
  INTRODUCTION
  
  It isn’t balanced simply to let PCs buy whatever Imbuement
  Skills they like. Just as wizards need Magery to cast their spells
  and martial artists must be Trained by a Master to learn
  Breaking Blow, individuals who can imbue require a special
  advantage, which we’ll define here before discussing the skills.
  Imbue
  10, 20, or 40 points
  You can learn Imbuement Skills that grant additional capa-
  bilities to weapons ready in your hands – including your hands
  themselves, claws, and so on. Each level of Imbue (maximum
  three) gives access to more and increasingly powerful
  Imbuement Skills. The prerequisite level of Imbue for each skill
  is noted with that skill.
  Special Limitations
  Unmodified Imbue is a “wild” ability that works anywhere
  and isn’t subject to special countermeasures, although protec-
  tion effective against the type of attack that the empowered
  weapon delivers works normally. However, Imbue is often asso-
  ciated with a particular power source and subject to that
  source’s drawbacks; this may even be a requirement in certain
  game worlds. Simulate this by giving Imbue a suitable power
  modifier; e.g., Chi (-10%), Divine (-10%), Magical (-10%), or
  Psionic (-10%), all from GURPS Powers. If the power modifier
  is Cosmic, you only need the +50% version to bend a few limits
  (see individual skills) and avoid being dispelled, but you must
  take the +300% version if all of your Imbuement Skills can
  ignore DR. An upside of adding any power modifier is that the
  power’s Talent adds to Imbuement Skill rolls!
  One special limitation is common on both wild and power-
  linked Imbue:
  Limited Skill Access: Your Imbue only enables you to acquire
  some Imbuement Skills (each of which you can still buy for
  multiple weapon skills). The limitation is -80% for a single skill,
  -60% for two, -40% for three, or -20% for four skills. Access to
  five or more Imbuement Skills isn’t a meaningful limitation.
  The GM may require PCs who want two to four skills to select
  thematically related choices – e.g., Burning Strike and
  Incendiary Weapon – rather than cherry-pick favorites. This
  limitation doesn’t waive Imbue level prerequisites and always
  applies to the whole advantage; to get Limited Skill Access for
  skills that require Imbue 2 or 3, buy Imbue 2 or 3, respectively,
  and apply this limitation to the entire advantage (even if only
  one of your chosen skills is at the highest level!).
  MULTIPLE IMBUE ADVANTAGES
  You can buy more than one copy of Imbue provided that all
  versions have power modifiers and the modifiers differ. You can
  give any or all of them Limited Skill Access, if you wish; this is
  occasionally a little cheaper than Imbue for one source with the
  same total number of skills, but not very often – and not by
  much. When you have multiple instances of Imbue like this,
  you must learn each Imbuement Skill for a specific source; e.g.,
  Envenomed Weapon (Bow; Magical) isn’t the same as
  Envenomed Weapon (Bow; Chi).
  This has one significant drawback, of course: You have to
  pay extra points for two or more versions of Imbue – and pos-
  sibly for several versions of your favorite Imbuement Skills to
  go with them. This is more than offset by two major benefits,
  however.
  The most obvious benefit is that you’ll rarely be without
  your imbuement abilities. If countermeasures or other prob-
  lems faced by one power source cause it to fail, you can switch
  sources without missing a beat. If one Imbue advantage is
  somehow crippled or drained, you still have the other.
  The most potent benefit is that you can use differently
  sourced versions of the same Imbuement Skill simultaneously,
  like any two other compatible skills, provided that you can
  make the skill rolls and afford the FP cost; see Multiple Skills
  (p. 5). This produces cumulative effects, where applicable. For
  instance, Envenomed Weapon gives 1d worth of poison at -3 to
  skill, 2d at -7, or 3d at -10, so if you knew both the Chi and
  Magical versions, you could avoid a tricky skill-7 roll for 2d
  damage by making a pair of easier skill-3 rolls for the same 2d
  – or, if you’re skilled, you could get 6d of poison damage, cir-
  cumventing the skill’s normal 3d limit, by making two skill-10
  rolls!
  IMBUEMENTS
  4
  THE IMBUE ADVANTAGE
  IMBUEMENT SKILLS
  Imbuement Skills have no default, except across specialties
  (see Specialties, below). All are DX/VH, although the GM is wel-
  come to make them IQ/VH if that would better suit the power
  source of Imbue (e.g., for psionics). Every Imbuement Skill has
  some level of Imbue as a prerequisite.
  Specialties
  All Imbuement Skills require specialization by particular
  combat skill. For instance, Multi-Shot (Pistol) – associated with
  Guns (Pistol) – is different from Multi-Shot (Bow), Multi-Shot
  (Rifle), and Multi-Shot (Thrown Knife), for use with Bow, Guns
  (Rifle), and Thrown Weapon (Knife), respectively. You can spe-
  cialize in any weapon skill that suits the skill type (see Types of
  Imbuement Skills, p. 5), and there are two further specialties
  that work slightly differently:
  Throwing: This specialty lets you imbue hurled objects not
  covered by any specific Thrown Weapon skill, regardless of
  what they look like. It works with both Throwing and Throwing
  Art (if you have it!).
  Unarmed: This specialty enables you to charge up bare-
  handed attacks regardless of what unarmed combat skill you use
  – although you’ll find striking skills more useful. It covers kicks,
  
  punches, and blows with Claws, Strikers, Teeth, etc. It doesn’t
  include natural ranged attacks such as a dragon’s flame breath
  (see What Can I Imbue?, above).
  Specialties of a given Imbuement Skill default to each other
  at the same penalty as the associated combat skills. For
  instance, if you know Flaming Strike (Broadsword), you can
  attempt Flaming Strike (Shortsword) at -2. There’s no default
  between specialties for completely unrelated weapons.
  To be able to imbue more than one weapon type, buy several
  specialties – possibly improving them from default, for related
  weapons – or purchase a wildcard Imbuement Skill.
  Wildcard Imbuement Skills
  Those who can truly imbue any weapon may learn a “wild-
  card” (“!”) version of any standard Imbuement Skill; see
  Wildcard Skills (p. B175). Price such a skill as usual for the
  desired level and then triple the point cost. Such a skill works
  with every applicable combat skill – and possibly even with
  skills for noncombat equipment (see Noncombat Imbuement,
  p. 13). For instance, someone with Flaming Strike! could turn
  any weapon to flame, be it a staff, a sword, an arrow from a
  bow, or a bullet from a gun.
  Types of Imbuement Skills
  Imbuement Skills are divided into three basic classes based
  on what weapons they can affect (for further details, see What
  Can I Imbue?, above):
  General: Any specialty is possible – Throwing, Unarmed, or
  any weapon skill.
  Melee: Allowed specialties are those for melee combat skills
  (all Melee Weapon skills, plus Cloak, Garrote, Lance, Net, and
  Shield) and Unarmed.
  Ranged: Only missile and thrown weapon specialties are
  available. For missile weapons, it’s the ammunition rather than
  the launcher that’s imbued.
  This distinction is made on the grounds of whether the
  granted effects make sense for a given category of weapons. For
  instance, enhancements that affect ranged combat stats have
  no meaningful definition for melee weapons.
  Imbuement Skills are also split into two large functional cat-
  egories; see Enhancement Skills (pp. 6-11) and Transformation
  Skills (pp. 11-13). Technically, there’s a third category here –
  Combination Skills (pp. 13-14) – but this straddles the line
  between the first two and isn’t truly distinct.
  Using Imbuement Skills
  To use an Imbuement Skill, you must be holding a ready
  weapon of a type that skill can affect (if only at default); a mis-
  sile weapon must also be loaded and ready to shoot. You can-
  not empower an unready weapon or unloaded missile weapon,
  or a weapon that you, personally, aren’t using. You can never
  imbue a weapon and hand it off to someone else – the only way
  to give another person an imbued weapon is to charge up a pro-
  jectile and attack him with it!
  Imbuement Skills require no concentration or preparation.
  Roll before you make each attack roll. If you succeed, add the
  skill’s effects to that attack. Failure simply means you don’t get
  the benefit of the skill. Critical failure also costs 2 FP.
  Each use of an Imbuement Skill costs 1 FP. You can pay this
  with standard FP or, if your Imbue advantage is part of a power,
  out of an Energy Reserve associated with that power. You can
  try to avoid this cost by making your Imbuement Skill roll at -5
  (but if you critically fail, you still pay 2 FP).
  Many Imbuement Skills offer variable effects. This doesn’t
  change FP cost but gives an additional penalty, cumulative with
  the -5 to avoid FP cost. Without very high skill, it often isn’t pos-
  sible to attempt the more potent effects “for free” (or at all!).
  You can use an Imbuement Skill multiple times per turn: roll
  and pay FP once per attack roll. A rapid-fire attack is just one
  attack roll, so roll and pay FP only once for that. Keeping the
  special effects of your skills “on” full-time while your weapon is
  in hand requires no skill roll or FP – thus, even a low level of
  skill can look cool!
  Defensive Use
  You can attempt to imbue a weapon on somebody else’s turn
  for such purposes as parrying and discouraging a foe from
  grabbing your weapon. To do so, roll (Imbuement Skill/2) + 3,
  adding +1 for Combat Reflexes. The modifiers and FP cost
  work as usual. Success gives your weapon the skill’s usual ben-
  efits for the duration of one defensive action.
  Multiple Skills
  You can use as many different Imbuement Skills as you like,
  provided that you can make the skill rolls and afford the FP
  cost. You can even use the same skill more than once if you
  know it for several power sources (see Multiple Imbue
  Advantages, p. 4). However, you can never use more than one
  Transformation Skill (pp. 11-13) of any kind per attack, certain
  skills are mutually exclusive, and you can’t combine skills that
  produce exactly the opposite effect (if there’s any doubt, the
  GM’s decision is final).
  IMBUEMENTS
  5
  What Can I Imbue?
  Imbuement Skills require specialization by combat
  skill. Those with weapon skill specialties can imbue any
  weapon covered by the associated weapon skill, those
  with the Throwing specialty can charge up any hurled
  object not covered by a weapon skill, and Imbuement
  Skills that have the Unarmed specialty can enhance any
  strike delivered by the user’s natural “melee weapons” –
  punches, kicks, elbow strikes, knee strikes, head butts,
  bites, claws, stings, etc.
  However, you can’t imbue a ranged attack bought
  with points, whether natural (like a racial ability) or
  superhuman, even if it has gadget limitations. To this
  end, the Innate Attack skill (p. B201) is never a valid spe-
  cialty for Imbuement Skills. If you want to enhance such
  an attack, put the desired modifiers on the underlying
  attack advantage and pay for them directly. Imbuement
  Skills exist specifically to enhance attacks for which you
  can’t easily do this, like swords, guns, and fists.
  You might be able to enhance spells and/or equip-
  ment other than weapons. These special cases have
  important rules of their own. For details, see Imbuing
  Spells (p. 11) and Noncombat Imbuement (p. 13).
  
  Talent
  If your Imbue advantage is associated with a power, that
  power’s Talent adds to both regular and defensive uses of your
  Imbuement Skills. In addition, a few advantages that aren’t
  always associated with powers are effectively Talents for com-
  mon power sources:
  Chi: Chi Talent (from GURPS Dungeon Fantasy) and
  Forceful Chi (from GURPS Martial Arts) provide a bonus for
  individuals who have Imbue (Chi, -10%).
  Divine: Power Investiture doubles as a Talent for holy folk
  with Imbue (Divine, -10%).
  Magical: Magery acts as Talent for mages with Imbue
  (Magical, -10%). In Dungeon Fantasy, remember that Bard-
  Song is a magical power as well – so Bardic Talent works the
  same way.
  ENHANCEMENT SKILLS
  Essentially, Enhancement Skills do for weapons what vari-
  ous modifiers from the Basic Set and Powers do for advan-
  tages. In most cases, you can combine these skills with each
  other and with Transformation Skills (pp. 11-13) – although
  some are relatively useless if you transform the weapon into a
  non-damaging one, and a few are mutually exclusive.
  Annihilating Weapon
  Melee; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 2.
  Your damaging melee weapon automatically gets to roll its
  usual damage against any weapon that parries it – in effect, it’s
  destructive for parrying purposes, just like a force sword. Roll
  its damage normally and apply it to the parrying weapon (or
  body part, if your opponent made an unarmed parry).
  This effect is always obvious – your weapon flames, vibrates,
  turns to brilliant green energy, or otherwise telegraphs its
  destructive nature. Thus, canny foes can avoid the worst of it by
  relying on Dodge instead. However, you can trigger your skill
  defensively (see Defensive Use, p. 5) so that your weapon
  damages a rival’s weapon or body when you parry him.
  Arching Shot
  Ranged; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 2.
  This lets a ranged weapon arch up over the target and
  strike from the top, regardless of its normal ballistics.
  Effects are identical to Overhead (p. B107): the attack
  bypasses any cover that doesn’t offer overhead protection,
  negates penalties to hit for low target postures, and gives
  the victim -2 to defend the first time he’s attacked (after that,
  he’ll be on the lookout!). Arching Shot is useful for getting
  arrows and bullets to targets that are behind a barrier of
  finite height that blocks projectiles but not vision (e.g., a
  Force Wall spell).
  Bank Shot
  Ranged; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 2.
  You can bounce your damaging ranged attack off “hard
  cover” in the environment in order to reach your target. The
  exact DR and HP of the things you’re bouncing the shot off
  aren’t important. What matters is that these objects are con-
  vincingly hard: walls and rocks, not curtains and ferns.
  To use this skill, plot your course and count the bounces. If
  there’s nothing but floor or ground around, then only one
  bounce is possible: from you, to the floor, and back up to your
  target. Once you have your course, roll vs. Bank Shot.
  Modifiers: -2 per bounce after the first (-2 for two bounces,
  -4 for three, and so on); an extra -2 for each ricochet off some-
  thing fragile, like rice paper or window glass.
  If this works, make a standard ranged-attack roll to hit
  with the imbued projectile. Use the full range along the zigzag
  path to the target. An alerted target always gets a defense, but
  this is at -1 per bounce.
  Conic Blast
  Ranged; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 3.
  This skill is only available for missile weapons (bows, guns,
  etc.). It converts a single ranged attack into a cone that origi-
  nates from the weapon, similar to a blast of grapeshot; see Area
  and Spreading Attacks (p. B413). An unmodified skill roll gives
  a cone that’s RoF yards wide at the attack’s Max range. High-
  RoF weapons get broader cones – not multiple cones.
  Modifiers: You can spread the attack further at -1 per extra
  yard of maximum width.
  IMBUEMENTS
  6
  Imbuement Skill
  Categories
  For the purpose of Wild Talent (p. B99), “Imbuement
  Skills” is a valid category for the Focused limitation, worth
  the usual -20%. To choose this option, you must have the
  Imbue advantage without the Limited Skill Access modifier.
  You cannot spontaneously use skills above your Imbue level.
  For the purpose of Modular Abilities (p.
  B71),
  “Imbuement Skills” is an allowed category for Limited when
  used in its trait-limited sense (see GURPS Powers), and is
  worth -20%. “Enhancement Skills” or “Transformation
  Skills” – or “Melee Imbuement Skills” or “Ranged
  Imbuement Skills” – is a -30% limitation. Anything more spe-
  cific (e.g., “Ranged Enhancement Skills”) is worth -40%. You
  must have Imbue to select any of these, and you can’t use
  Modular Abilities slots for skills above your level.
  
  Continuing Attack
  General; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 3.
  This skill causes wounds from a damaging weapon to
  worsen after the initial attack. Choose an effect consistent with
  the attack you’re enhancing – acid or big grubs eating away at
  the victim, bleeding, rotting, sticky napalm, venom, etc.
  Whatever the visuals, the effect is to give the attack a form of
  Cyclic (pp. B103-104).
  An unmodified roll means that if the initial attack injured
  the target at all, he will suffer the same injury again in one
  day’s time.
  Modifiers: For a shorter interval, roll at -2 for 1 hour, -4 for 1
  minute, -6 for 10 seconds, or -8 for 1 second. Repeated cycles are
  possible: for standard 1 day intervals, roll at -1 per cycle after the
  first; for other intervals, multiply the time penalty by the total
  number of intervals (e.g., -24 for three cycles 1 second apart).
  This is injury that comes right off HP – not damage that
  must penetrate DR again, be multiplied for damage type, and
  so forth. Should it matter, the effects are consistent with the
  original attack’s damage type. For instance, enough continuing
  injury from a burning attack would reduce someone to char-
  coal, while the same HP loss to cutting injury would leave
  ground meat.
  When imbuing an attack that has a linked or follow-up
  effect, you must specify which part of the attack is continuing.
  You can’t enhance more than one part of a linked attack, or
  both a carrier and its follow-up attack.
  Unless your Imbue advantage is Cosmic (+50% or +300%),
  you must specify some reasonably obvious way to halt the con-
  tinuing injury: dousing flame, picking out grubs, applying dis-
  infectant to rotting flesh, etc. This isn’t likely to matter for
  short intervals, of course!
  Crippling Blow
  General; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 3.
  Lets you envenom your weapon or make a pressure-point
  strike in such a way that a living victim may suffer a physical
  Affliction (p. B40), as if your attack had a Side Effect (p. B109).
  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 harm-
  ful effect. A blow that doesn’t penetrate does nothing.
  The default effect of a failed HT roll is that the target is
  stunned. He may roll vs. HT at the same penalty every turn to
  recover. More potent Afflictions give a penalty to your
  Crippling Blow roll, but last for minutes equal to the victim’s
  margin of failure.
  Modifiers: -1 per -2 to ST or HT; -1 per -1 to DX; -1 per -10
  points of physical disadvantages (but never exotic or racial
  effects); -2 for Coughing or Moderate Pain; -3 for Nauseated; -4
  for Severe Pain; -5 for Retching; -6 for Terrible Pain; -10 for
  Agony or Choking; and -15 for total Paralysis. You can combine
  several effects.
  Dancing Weapon
  General; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 3.
  You can cast your weapon into the air to fight on its own.
  This is like any other use of an Imbuement Skill: it takes no
  preparation, requires 1 FP, and calls for a skill roll at the usual
  modifiers. You cannot “stack” Dancing Weapon with any other
  Imbuement Skill, though, because once you activate it, the
  weapon isn’t ready in your hand!
  On the turn you activate the skill, the weapon fights on its
  own at a skill level equal to your Dancing Weapon skill. Its
  Basic Move equals your own, and its damage is identical to
  what it would do in your hands. It engages any one opponent
  you indicate, executing Attack maneuvers to strike him when
  he’s within range or Reach, and Move maneuvers to get to
  him when he isn’t. This leaves you free to do something else.
  Enemies can attack the weapon at penalty equal to its SM.
  It can dodge at (Dancing Weapon/2) + 3, at -1 per defense
  after the first. Use its usual DR and HP to determine break-
  age. If a foe manages to seize it (a grapple with DX or an
  unarmed grappling skill, still with SM penalties), the imbue-
  ment ends immediately and your enemy acquires a new
  weapon!
  On later turns, you may pay 1 FP to keep the weapon fight-
  ing . . . or not. If you don’t, the weapon’s effective skill drops by
  one, cumulative from turn to turn. Should skill ever fall below
  3, the imbuement ends and the weapon falls to the ground
  wherever it may be. The only way to erase the skill penalty or
  “revive” the weapon is to grab it and reactivate the skill.
  To recover a still-active weapon, it has to be within your
  reach and you must take a Ready maneuver. This requires no
  success roll (and Fast-Draw isn’t allowed). If it’s on the ground,
  pick it up normally.
  Drugged Weapon
  General; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 3.
  The weapon or its projectile carries a tranquilizing agent,
  or isn’t “drugged” at all but strikes nonlethal pressure points.
  Such an attack gains a 1-point follow-up fatigue attack that
  obeys the rules for the Follow-Up modifier (p. B105). If 
  the weapon attack fails to penetrate DR, its follow-up does
  nothing!
  Modifiers: Higher fatigue damage gives a penalty of -1 for 1d-
  2, -2 for 1d-1, -3 for 1d, -4 for 1d+1, -5 for 1d+2, -6 for 2d-1, -7
  for 2d, -8 for 2d+1, -9 for 2d+2, or -10 for 3d; minimum damage
  is 1 point in all cases.
  Electric Weapon
  General; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 3.
  IMBUEMENTS
  7
  
  The weapon crackles with electricity and gains the Surge
  modifier (p. B105). Targets such as electronics and robots with
  electrical systems that take over 1/3 HP from it must make a
  HT roll to avoid shorting out. Failure disables the target for
  seconds equal to the margin of failure; critical failure disables
  it until repaired. A critical hit with the charged-up weapon has
  the same effect as a critically failed HT roll.
  On an unmodified skill roll, the surge is the only effect.
  Modifiers: To add follow-up electrical burning damage,
  roll at -1 for 1d-4, -2 for 1d-3, -3 for 1d-2, -4 for 1d-1, -5 for
  1d, -6 for 1d+1, -7 for 1d+2, -8 for 2d-1, -9 for 2d, or -10 for
  2d+1. In all cases, minimum damage is 1 point and metal
  armor is treated as DR 1 vs. the follow-up if the carrier attack
  doesn’t penetrate.
  Envenomed Weapon
  General; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 3.
  The weapon or its projectile becomes envenomed. Such an
  attack gains a 1-point follow-up toxic attack that obeys the
  rules for the Follow-Up modifier (p. B105). If the weapon
  attack fails to penetrate DR, its follow-up does nothing!
  Modifiers: Higher toxic damage gives a penalty of -1 for 1d-
  2, -2 for 1d-1, -3 for 1d, -4 for 1d+1, -5 for 1d+2, -6 for 2d-1, -7
  for 2d, -8 for 2d+1, -9 for 2d+2, or -10 for 3d; minimum dam-
  age is 1 point in all cases.
  Far Shot
  Ranged; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 2.
  Far Shot gives a ranged weapon more range, most often by
  stabilizing its flight via some form of telekinesis or force con-
  trol. An unmodified skill roll doubles both 1/2D and Max.
  Modifiers: -2 to multiply 1/2D and Max by 5, -4 to multiply
  by 10, -6 to multiply by 20, -8 to multiply by 50, -10 to multi-
  ply by 100, and so on.
  Forceful Blow
  General; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 1.
  This skill enhances a damaging weapon’s knockback
  (p. B378) – usually via focused chi or psychokinetic force. The
  attack effectively gains the Double Knockback modifier
  (p. B104).
  For a crushing weapon, use double the damage rolled to find
  knockback. For other weapons, calculate knockback as if using
  a regular crushing weapon. Damage type and amount are unaf-
  fected; Forceful Blow only changes knockback.
  Ghostly Weapon
  General; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 1.
  Gives the weapon the Affects Insubstantial enhancement
  (p. B102), allowing it to affect ghosts and other insubstantial
  foes.
  Guided Weapon
  Ranged; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 2.
  Guided Weapon lets you control a projectile after releasing it,
  guiding it to its target with magical whistling, telekinesis, etc.
  This works just like the Guided enhancement (p. B106): the
  attack ignores range penalties and the projectile moves at 1/2D
  yards/second – regardless of its normal speed – until it hits the
  target or reaches Max range. Against distant targets, you must
  take a Concentrate maneuver on turns after the first to control
  your weapon.
  Modifiers: -1 if you can turn the projectile around for a sec-
  ond attack next turn, at the original effective skill level, in the
  event that your target dodges the first one; -2 to get a third pass;
  and so on.
  Guided Weapon cannot be combined with Conic Blast,
  Multi-Shot, Shockwave, or any other skill that affects multiple
  targets by default. It guides one attack to one target.
  IMBUEMENTS
  8
  
  Homing Weapon
  Ranged; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 3.
  Homing Weapon lets a projectile guide itself to a target
  using any one sense that you yourself possess. You must take
  an Aim maneuver and make an unmodified weapon skill roll
  to “lock on,” but you can ignore all ranged combat modifiers
  except for effects that obscure the chosen sense. The weapon
  then homes in on its target as if it had the Homing enhance-
  ment (p. B106): it ignores range penalties and moves at 1/2D
  yards/second – regardless of its usual speed – until it hits the
  target or reaches Max range.
  Modifiers: -1 to enable the projectile to try a second attack
  next turn, at the original effective skill level, should the target
  dodge the first one; -2 for a third pass; and so on.
  Homing Weapon cannot be combined with Conic Blast,
  Multi-Shot, Shockwave, or any other skill that affects multiple
  targets. You can only lock one shot onto one target at a time.
  You can’t combine Guided Weapon with Homing Weapon,
  either. The chief benefit of the latter over the former is that it
  doesn’t require you to take Concentrate maneuvers when
  engaging foes that require multiple turns (or multiple passes)
  to hit.
  Incendiary Weapon
  General; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 3.
  The weapon or its projectile is wreathed in flame; in effect, it
  acquires the Incendiary modifier (p. B105). Treat such attacks as
  if they had a 1-point burning attack as a follow-up (if any dam-
  age penetrates DR, the target suffers 1 HP of extra fire injury).
  The real benefit here is that the weapon can retain its original
  damage type but still set fires!
  A burning attack enjoys the same bonus injury – but since it
  can already set fires, the odds of that increase. Move the effective
  flammability class of anything damaged up one step. See
  Making Things Burn (p. B433).
  Modifiers: -2 per additional flammability class shift (maxi-
  mum five shifts – or four for a burning attack, which already
  gets one free shift). Higher burning damage gives a penalty of -
  1 for 1d-3, -2 for 1d-2, -3 for 1d-1, -4 for 1d, -5 for 1d+1, -6 for
  1d+2, -7 for 2d-1, -8 for 2d, -9 for 2d+1, or -10 for 2d+2; mini-
  mum damage is 1 point in all cases.
  Multi-Shot
  Ranged; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 3.
  You can supernaturally split your projectile(s) in midair,
  increasing RoF. For missile weapons, this uses up only the
  usual number of shots. For thrown weapons, you just need to
  have one weapon to hurl. In either case, the additional shots
  last for long enough to do harm and then vanish – if you go
  downrange to retrieve ammo (or someone examines the
  scene), you will only find the number of projectiles present
  before the split.
  A Multi-Shot attack effectively gains the Rapid Fire modifier
  (p. B108). Not all shots will necessarily find targets. Follow the
  rules under Rapid Fire (p. B373).
  An unmodified skill roll gives +1 to weapon RoF. This gives
  most thrown and low-tech missile weapons RoF 2 and most
  repeating handguns RoF 4. You need RoF 5+ to use Spraying
  Fire or Suppression Fire (both p. B409).
  Modifiers: -1 per additional +1 to RoF, with no limit. If your
  skill is high enough to deal with -18, you’re certainly welcome to
  try for a RoF 20 bowshot!
  Penetrating Strike
  General; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 3.
  The weapon hardens, becomes partly insubstantial, or does
  something else that lets it pass through DR, giving it the Armor
  Divisor enhancement (p. B102). The basic armor divisor is (2),
  but this can be improved by taking a penalty to the roll. This is
  cumulative with targeting chinks in armor (p. B400).
  Modifiers: -2 for (3), -4 for (5), -6 for (10), -8 for (100), and -
  10 to bypass DR completely.
  Project Blow
  Melee; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 3.
  The melee weapon delivers its usual damage from a distance
  – typically by projecting chi, psychokinetic force, or similar. This
  ranged attack has Acc 3, Range 10/100, RoF 1, Shots N/A, Bulk
  -2, and Recoil 1. Use the usual melee combat skill for the attack,
  not a ranged combat skill. Project Blow doesn’t unready the
  weapon for melee use.
  Modifiers: -10 if used again immediately on the same turn, -9
  the next turn, -8 in two turns, -7 in three, -6 in four, -5 in five, -4
  in six, -3 in seven, -2 in eight, -1 in nine, and no penalty after 10
  turns. Restart the counter after each use.
  Shattershot
  Ranged; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 2.
  Shattershot causes the projectile of a damaging ranged
  weapon to rupture on impact, scattering harmful fragments.
  The attack gains the Fragmentation modifier (p. B104). Note
  that this destroys the projectile – be sure you want to sunder
  reusable ammo like an arrow or a spear!
  IMBUEMENTS
  9
  
  An unmodified skill roll gives fragments that inflict 1d cut-
  ting damage – or burning damage, if the modified weapon is
  burning, incendiary, or simply on fire. The fragments attack
  everybody within 5 yards as explained under Fragmentation
  Damage (p. B414). Note that hits aren’t guaranteed, cover pro-
  tects, and victims may dodge.
  Modifiers: -2 for 2d damage attacking everyone within 10
  yards, -4 for 3d damage and 15 yards, -6 for 4d damage and 20
  yards, -8 for 5d damage and 25 yards, or -10 for 6d damage and
  30 yards. However, fragment damage can never exceed the
  underlying attack’s basic damage.
  Shattershot cannot be combined with Conic Blast.
  Shockwave
  General; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 3.
  The weapon launches explosive attacks. With a melee
  weapon, you smash your hands together, drive the charged-up
  weapon into the ground, or something similar, causing a blast
  that is centered on you but doesn’t harm you; make a combat
  skill roll to execute this move, but don’t attack a specific foe. For
  a ranged weapon, the projectile blows up or causes a massive
  shockwave wherever it hits; check for scatter (p. B414).
  Treat the weapon’s damage as if it had the Explosion modi-
  fier (p. B104), regardless of damage type. Divide damage by
  three times the distance in yards to each target.
  Modifiers: -5 to divide by twice the distance in yards or -10 to
  divide by the distance in yards.
  Shockwave cannot be combined with Conic Blast.
  Stealthy Attack
  General; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 1.
  You can silence your weapon or make it invisible, as if it had
  Low or No Signature (p. B106). An unmodified skill roll gives -2
  to all Perception rolls to notice the attack.
  Modifiers: -1 per additional -2 to Perception rolls, to a limit of
  -4 to skill giving -10 to Per.
  Stupefying Blow
  General; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 3.
  Lets you envenom your weapon or make a pressure-point
  strike in such a way that a living victim may suffer a mental
  Affliction (p. B40), as if your attack had a Side Effect (p. B109).
  If any damage penetrates the target’s DR, he must make a Will
  roll, at -1 per 2 points of penetrating damage, or suffer the bad
  effect. A blow that fails to penetrate does nothing.
  The default effect of a failed Will roll is that the foe is men-
  tally stunned. He may roll vs. Will at the same penalty every turn
  to recover. More potent Afflictions give a penalty to your
  Stupefying Strike roll, but last for 1 minute times the victim’s
  margin of failure.
  Modifiers: -1 per -1 to DX or IQ; -1 per -10 points of mental
  disadvantages (but never self-imposed ones; see p. B121); -1 for
  Tipsy; -2 for Drunk; -3 for Euphoria; -5 for Daze or
  Hallucinating; -10 for Ecstasy or Seizure; and -15 for Sleep. You
  can combine several effects.
  Sudden Death
  General; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 2.
  Sudden Death gives the weapon a type of Delay enhancement
  (p. B105). Resolve the weapon attack normally and work out
  what injury or other baneful effects your victim would suffer,
  given the damage roll, DR, damage type, etc. But don’t apply
  these when you deal the blow! Instead, they happen on your
  command, at any future point and from any distance.
  Modifiers: -5 if the damage occurs when a certain condition
  is met, such as “when the victim next sleeps,” rather than when
  you actively choose to trigger it.
  Unless your Imbue advantage is Cosmic (+50% or +300%),
  you must specify some way to neutralize the pending effect.
  Typical options are the Esoteric Medicine skill for chi effects,
  the Remove Curse spell for magical effects, the Exorcism skill
  for spirit effects, or the Neutralize Poison spell for a toxin. To
  be valid, this measure has to be one that exists in your game
  world.
  You can always cancel the pending effect permanently at any
  time, from any distance, instead of activating it.
  Supreme Control
  General; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 1.
  You can make a damaging strike so precisely that it has only
  some of its effects – the ones you want – and not the others. This
  is valuable when you’re interested in shoving things around
  (knockback) but not breaking things (injury), for instance. An
  unmodified roll lets you avoid one of blunt trauma (see No Blunt
  Trauma, p. B111), DR reduction (if making a corrosion attack),
  fire hazard (if making a burning attack), knockback (see No
  Knockback, p. B111), or wounding (see No Wounding, p. B111).
  Modifiers: -2 per additional feature switched off after the first.
  Telescoping Weapon
  Melee; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 1.
  IMBUEMENTS
  10
  
  You can cause your melee weapon to change length briefly by
  physically altering it instead of changing grips. This allows it to
  hit a foe who’s out of reach, or enables you to fight in close quar-
  ters without the usual penalties. In effect, you’re able to adjust
  your weapon’s intrinsic Melee Attack limitation (p. B112).
  An unmodified roll increases or reduces Reach by 1 yard.
  Allowed Reach categories are, in order: C, 1, 2, 3, and 4.
  Modifiers: -2 for ±2 yards, -4 for ±3 yards, or -6 for ±4 yards.
  Final Reach must fall within the C-4 range.
  Traumatic Blow
  General; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 1.
  Enhances a damaging weapon’s blunt trauma (p. B379) –
  possibly via a momentary density increase or an armor-
  deforming force field. In effect, the attack gains the Double
  Blunt Trauma modifier (p. B104).
  Crushing weapons do 1 HP of blunt trauma per 2 points of
  basic damage resisted by flexible armor. Cutting, impaling, and
  piercing ones cause 1 HP of blunt trauma per 5 points of basic
  damage. Other weapons only inflict 1 HP of blunt trauma per 10
  points of basic damage.
  TRANSFORMATION SKILLS
  These Imbuement Skills change the fundamental nature of
  your weapon. You cannot combine them with each other. You
  can combine them with Enhancement Skills (pp. 6-11).
  Binding Shot
  Ranged; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 3.
  Lets you convert a damaging ranged attack into a Binding
  (p. B40). The projectile trails silk, sprouts tendrils, turns to goo,
  etc., tying up the target. Roll your usual damage dice and read
  the result as the Binding’s ST – no actual damage occurs. The
  Binding’s DR is ST/3, rounded down.
  Modifiers: You can add certain Binding modifiers by rolling
  at a penalty: -2 for Sticky, -6 for Engulfing, and/or -8 for
  Constricting or Suffocating.
  Burning Strike
  General; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 2.
  The weapon or its projectile turns to flame or a scorching
  heat blast, converting the damage of a non-burning attack from
  its usual damage type to burning. For most attacks, the main
  benefit is that you can set fires. For impaling or piercing
  weapons, you end up with a tight-beam burning attack, which
  can target vital areas.
  Chilling Strike
  General; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 3.
  This skill turns the weapon into some sort of cold projector
  or even a blade of chilling negative energy. Roll damage as usual
  but interpret it as fatigue damage that works like the FP loss
  described for Cold (p. B430), which is difficult to recover from.
  In effect, this grants the Freezing modifier (p. B104).
  Corrosive Strike
  General; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 3.
  Coats the weapon in acid, turns it into a disintegrator, or oth-
  erwise converts the damage of a non-corrosion attack from its
  usual damage type to corrosion. Doing so halves the basic dam-
  age rolled, however.
  Modifiers: -2 for 60% damage instead of 50% damage; -4 for
  70% damage; -6 for 80% damage; -8 for 90% damage; or -10 for
  full damage.
  Crushing Strike
  General; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 1.
  IMBUEMENTS
  11
  Imbuing Spells
  If the GM wishes, mages can buy Imbuement Skills to
  use with Missile and jet spells (a jet spell is simply a
  Regular spell with “jet” in its name; e.g., Flame Jet). These
  require specialization by spell – Arching Shot (Fireball),
  Ghostly Weapon (Flame Jet), and so on – rather than by
  Innate Attack skill. For this purpose, treat Missile spells as
  ranged weapons and jets as melee weapons.
  It’s probably best to allow only Enhancement Skills.
  Transformation Skills for spells badly blur college distinc-
  tions. For instance, a one-college Earth mage with Stone
  Missile could circumvent the limitation on his Magery
  and a whole lot of prerequisite spells by learning Burning
  Strike (Stone Missile) and Impaling Strike (Stone Missile)
  as substitutes for Fireball and Ice Dagger. Still, the GM
  may be willing to live with this.
  Finally, it’s also up to the GM whether wizards can
  use any form of Imbue to affect spells or if their Imbue
  advantage requires the Magical limitation. In the latter
  case, note that Magery doubles as the Talent for magic
  powers in most cases, so Magery will benefit spells and
  Imbuement Skills. This may or may not be a desirable
  outcome.
  
  Blunts the weapon or engulfs it in a broad force field, con-
  verting the damage of a non-crushing attack from its usual
  damage type to crushing. This lets it work with other
  Imbuement Skills that function best with crushing attacks,
  improves knockback (p. B378) and blunt trauma (p. B379),
  and lets a deadlier weapon “merely” beat a victim senseless.
  Cutting Strike
  General; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 2.
  Narrows or sharpens the weapon in one dimension, con-
  verting the damage of a non-cutting attack from its usual dam-
  age type to cutting. Good for severing limbs.
  Dazzling Display
  General; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 2.
  Lets you convert a damaging attack to Obscure (p. B40)
  directed at vision. A melee weapon becomes a shaft of dark-
  ness or brilliance, or generates a visible shockwave that warps
  light, affecting a two-yard radius or a radius equal to its Reach,
  whichever is larger, on any turn when you use
  this skill; this effect is centered on you. A pro-
  jectile fills a two-yard radius with darkness,
  glare, smoke, or something similar where it
  hits, which lasts 10 seconds.
  Roll your usual damage dice and halve the
  result (round down). Read this as the Vision
  penalty, to a maximum of -10. No actual dam-
  age occurs.
  Modifiers: You can add the Defensive mod-
  ifier (the Vision penalty doesn’t affect you) by
  rolling at -5.
  Deafening Display
  General; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at
  same penalty as weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 1.
  Lets you convert a damaging attack to
  Obscure (p. B40) directed at hearing. A melee
  weapon cracks, hums, rattles, etc., making a
  din that affects two-yard radius or a radius
  equal to its Reach, whichever is larger, on any
  turn when you use this skill; this effect is cen-
  tered on you. A projectile goes off like a string
  of firecrackers or otherwise makes a racket,
  making hearing difficult in a two-yard radius
  for the next 10 seconds.
  Roll your usual damage dice and halve
  the result (round down). Read this as the
  Hearing penalty, to a maximum of -10. No
  actual damage occurs.
  Modifiers: You can add the Defensive modifier (the Hearing
  penalty doesn’t affect you) by rolling at -5.
  Fatiguing Strike
  General; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 2.
  Winds the target by hitting nonlethal pressure points,
  charges the weapon with a kind of stunner field, or otherwise
  converts the damage of a non-fatigue attack from its usual
  damage type to fatigue.
  Impaling Strike
  General; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 3.
  Greatly narrows or sharpens the weapon in two dimensions,
  converting the damage of a non-impaling attack from its usual
  damage type to impaling. This gives -1 per die on the basic
  damage roll, however.
  Modifiers: -5 for full damage.
  IMBUEMENTS
  12
  Noncombat Imbuement
  Optionally, imbuement can have noncombat applications. The GM
  may permit Imbuement Skills specialized to almost any mundane
  equipment-operation skill – if there’s a logical interpretation! Some
  examples:
  • Cutting Strike (Forced Entry) to make a crowbar work as a fire axe.
  • Dancing Weapon (Photography) to enable your camera to fly around
  taking pictures while you stay hidden – an interesting alternative to
  Telekinesis!
  •Far Shot (Sensors), for Electronics Operation (Sensors), to extend the
  range of a radar.
  •Project Blow (Explosive Ordnance Disposal), for Explosives (EOD), to
  deal with bombs from a safe distance.
  If the GM allows this, base the Imbuement Skill on the same attribute
  as the mundane skill for which it’s learned; e.g., IQ for Photography.
  In a campaign where noncombat specialties exist, wildcard Imbuement
  Skills (p. 5) encompass these, too. When using wildcard Imbuement Skills
  this way, base the roll on the attribute that controls the mundane skill
  being enhanced.
  The industrious GM could even dream up new Imbuement Skills with
  few or no combat applications. These might have narrow applicability –
  but that need not mean “useless.” For instance, a Video Transmission skill
  that bestows the Video enhancement for Telecommunication (p. B91)
  would let the user transmit a video signal over any phone, radio, or simi-
  lar device, using his eyes as cameras. This could be a real boon to a super-
  powered spy or journalist! Skills like this should normally require only
  Imbue 1 – or Imbue 2 if they’re remarkably handy.
  
  Piercing Strike
  General; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 2.
  Gives the weapon a narrow-but-blunt profile by reshaping
  it, projecting a force field, etc., converting the damage of a
  non-piercing attack from its ordinary damage type to piercing.
  This improves blunt trauma for most non-crushing attacks and
  allows crushing attacks to target vital areas.
  Modifiers: +2 for small piercing, -2 for large piercing, or -5
  for huge piercing.
  Strike of Negation
  Melee; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 3 with suitable power modifier.
  Lets you deal a melee attack that neutralizes a specific
  group of supernatural effects instead of causing damage.
  Normally, the effects canceled are those that have the same
  source as your Imbue advantage; e.g., magic spells, if your
  Imbue is Magical. However, if the source of your Imbue is split
  into clearly opposed powers – for instance, Moral (-20%) typi-
  cally has Good and Evil powers – then the Strike negates
  effects associated with the power that opposes yours. And if
  your Imbue is Cosmic, the Strike can negate any one source at
  a time (choose when you roll) at the +50% level, or all paranor-
  mal effects at once at the +300% level! Fighters with “wild”
  forms of Imbue can’t learn the Strike at all.
  If your attack hits, roll its usual damage dice. Treat the
  result as the effective skill of the “dispel.” Roll a Quick Contest
  of this “dispel skill” vs. the skill used to activate each ongoing
  effect of the correct type on the target; victory means that a
  temporary effect (like most spells) is dissipated for good while
  a permanent one (like an enchantment) ceases to work for
  minutes equal to margin of victory.
  If the target has active, ongoing effects due to advantages in
  the affected category, also roll a Quick Contest against his Will.
  Victory means that all such advantages are shut off until he
  reactivates them.
  Modifiers: -4 to target one specific ongoing effect on the 
  target.
  Strike of Negation offers a unique option: if the user is
  capable of two or more attacks per turn with his weapon, and
  one of these hits and wounds the target, then he can waive a
  later attack on that turn to roll against Strike of Negation with
  the usual modifiers and FP cost. If it works, roll the Quick
  Contests above. Effective skill of the “dispel” is the earlier
  attack’s basic damage roll or the injury that attack caused,
  whichever is higher.
  Toxic Strike
  General; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 1.
  Sprays poison, strikes lethal pressure points, or otherwise
  converts the damage of a non-toxic attack from its usual dam-
  age type to toxic. Toxic damage only harms living things and
  has no special damage effects – but it also leaves no bruises or,
  in this case, any other evidence! In effect, it’s dim mak: the
  hand of death.
  Vampiric Weapon
  Melee; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 3.
  You’re capable of converting the injury you inflict with a
  melee weapon into a “life force drain” that can heal your own
  injuries. For every full 3 HP of injury your weapon inflicts on
  a living victim, you heal 1 HP. You can’t raise your HP above
  normal.
  Modifiers: -5 to heal 1 HP per full 2 HP of injury, or -10 to heal
  1 HP per HP of injury; -5 to “heal” an Energy Reserve instead of
  HP at the same rate, if your Imbue advantage has a power mod-
  ifier and you have an ER for that power.
  Withering Strike
  General; DX/Very Hard
  Default: Specialty for related weapon at same penalty as
  weapon default.
  Prerequisite: Imbue 3.
  This skill’s effects are obviously supernatural: The weapon
  penetrates DR as usual but leaves no wound. Instead, it visibly
  drains the target’s vital bodily fluids. Roll damage as usual but
  interpret it as fatigue damage that works like the FP loss under
  Dehydration (p. B426). This skill gives the Dehydration modifier
  (p. B104), in effect.
  OPTIONAL RULE:
  COMBINATION SKILLS
  A nice thing about Imbuement Skills is that you can mix
  and match them as noted in Multiple Skills (p. 5). For instance,
  if you know Burning Strike (Unarmed) and Project Blow
  (Unarmed), then each turn you can choose to barbeque ene-
  mies in close combat with burning punches, or project crush-
  ing punches, or blast distant targets with fire. But this flexibil-
  ity doesn’t suit every setting or every character concept. What
  if you want only the ability to hurl fireballs that do punching
  damage?
  IMBUEMENTS
  13
  Withering Strike’s effects are
  obviously supernatural: The
  weapon visibly drains the target’s
  vital bodily fluid.
  
  The solution is a Combination Skill. Construct such a skill
  by choosing two or more compatible Imbuement Skills whose
  effects you wish to combine and merging them into a single
  skill with a fitting name; e.g., “Project Burning Strike.” This
  custom Imbuement Skill is DX/VH like the any other, and has
  the highest Imbue level prerequisite among the skills involved.
  It counts as one skill if you have Limited Skill Access on your
  Imbue advantage.
  Combination Skills have both upsides and downsides. The
  biggest benefit is that they cost fewer points: you can buy just
  one skill instead of two and pay half as much, one skill instead
  of three and pay 1/3 as much, and so on. Another nice feature is
  that one roll produces the effects of all the merged Imbuement
  Skills, which means that high skill makes your combined imbue-
  ment more reliable (and easier to affect with Luck!).
  The most significant drawback is that you can’t separate the
  skills. For instance, that Project Burning Strike skill always
  shoots ranged fireballs with a “cool down” penalty between
  uses; you can’t give yourself burning fists or hurl ordinary
  crushing punches.
  Another downside is that the cost to use the skill is 1 FP per
  merged skill (although critical failure still only costs 2 FP). For
  instance, Project Burning Strike costs 2 FP – and Project
  Penetrating Burning Strike would cost 3 FP. It’s still possible to
  reduce this cost, but at -5 to skill per -1 FP.
  A further difficulty is that while you can generate all the
  effects of every constituent skill, the penalties for “advanced
  applications” listed for both skills apply to the single skill roll.
  Between this and FP reduction, points you save by not buying
  multiple skills might well end up spent anyway – to get your
  Combination Skill to the level where it’s as effective as two sep-
  arate skills.
  Finally, note that while Combination Skills can be “stacked”
  with other Imbuement Skills, you can’t use them with any skill
  that isn’t compatible with a constituent skill – the incompati-
  bility extends to the entire Combination Skill. For instance, if
  you know both Project Burning Strike and Impaling Strike,
  you can’t project impaling strikes, because Burning Strike and
  Impaling Strike are both Transformation Skills, and thus
  exclusive.
  The GM has the final say on whether Combination Skills
  are allowed, which ones exist, and whether players can define
  their own.
  IMBUEMENTS
  14
  IMBUEMENT IN THE CAMPAIGN
  It’s up to the GM whether to allow imbuement at all. In gen-
  eral, it is balanced against other abilities. The best Imbuement
  Skills need Imbue 3, which – at 40 points – is in the same ball-
  park as Magery 3-4, Trained by a Master, and Weapon Master.
  Imbue doesn’t grant any “hidden benefits” in its own right,
  unlike those other advantages. And while Imbuement Skills cost
  just 1 FP and work quickly, they’re also either Very Hard skills
  specific to one weapon type (allowing the GM to disable them
  temporarily by taking away those weapons) or triple-cost wild-
  card skills. The choice to use imbuement comes down to a mat-
  ter of campaign style: imbuement competes with other superhu-
  man gifts, especially cinematic martial arts and magic, so it best
  suits games where the GM wants lots of competing options.
  Next, the GM has to decide what power modifiers to allow
  on Imbue. It’s logical to permit any modifier allowed on advan-
  tages in the campaign, and to make Imbue one of the abilities
  of any power it suits. Imbue need not coexist with powers,
  though – it could be the only advantage with a power modifier
  in the entire campaign, making it the most important manifes-
  tation of chi, magic, psi, etc.
  After that, the GM must decide what Imbuement Skills to
  allow, and to whom. He might use the whole list or only a small
  subset. He may even associate particular skills with specific
  power modifiers in order to emphasize the differences between
  different types of Imbue; e.g., the Chi modifier could give
  access to skills comparable to Breaking Blow and Pressure
  Points, while the Magical modifier allows the ones that deal in
  flashy elemental energies.
  Finally, there are all the decisions explicitly left to the 
  GM throughout these rules. Are Imbuement Skills IQ-based
  rather than DX-based for some (or all) power modifiers? Can
  wizards imbue spells? Do Combination Skills exist – and if
  they do, which ones? Is noncombat imbuement allowed, and
  are there unique skills for that? All told, these rules are highly
  customizable.
  GURPS DUNGEON FANTASY
  Imbuement works well in Dungeon Fantasy – particularly
  in campaigns that aim to ape computer RPGs, which often
  use “skills” to refer to something closer to Imbuement Skills
  than to Broadsword or First Aid. When using character tem-
  plates, niche protection is best served by giving each role
  access only to suitable skills. The GM should probably require
  professions that use powers to apply their power modifier to
  Imbue, but possibly give them access to more skills. Some
  suggestions:
  Barbarian: The barbarian can put his great strength to
  good effect smashing weapons (Annihilating Weapon), ham-
  mering his breastplate (Deafening Display), tossing enemies
  around (Forceful Blow), hurling projectiles hard enough to
  rupture 
  them 
  (Shattershot), 
  causing 
  small 
  quakes
  (Shockwave), and putting big dents in things (Traumatic
  Blow).
  Bard: Dancing Weapon could be a bard’s best friend while
  he strums. Both Dazzling Display and Deafening Display fit a
  flamboyant performer. Singing an arrow to its target with
  Guided Weapon has fictional precedent. And of course
  Stupefying Blow fits with the bard’s other mind-control
  tricks. Bards should buy Imbue with Bard Song (-30%).
  Cleric: Clerics will have Holy (-10%) on their Imbue advan-
  tage. Imbuement Skills should suit the gods – blows from the
  heavens (Arching Shot), strikes that affect ghosts (Ghostly
  Weapon) and dispel evil (Strike of Negation), and so on.
  Druid: All manner of natural venoms could work their
  magic via a druid’s weapons, justifying Crippling Blow,
  Drugged Weapon, Envenomed Weapon, Fatiguing Strike,
  Stupefying Blow, and Toxic Strike. Burning Strike and
  Incendiary Weapon, on the other hand, are inappropriate for
  a forest guardian. Druidic (-10%) will apply to Imbue.
  
  Holy Warrior: The advice for
  clerics applies here, too. As mas-
  ters of slaying evil, holy warriors
  might have a few extra options,
  such as cleansing fire (Burning
  Strike and Incendiary Weapon)
  and the ability to drive even the
  bluntest weapon into a vampire’s
  heart (Impaling Strike). Unholy
  warriors will fancy Chilling Strike, Withering Strike, and
  Vampiric Weapon.
  Knight: The knight’s Imbuement Skills should be limited to
  those that imitate shoves (Forceful Blow), blows aimed at
  chinks in armor (Penetrating Strike), careful subduing attacks
  (Supreme Control), and similar effects that could pass as pure
  skill at arms.
  Martial Artist: Most Imbuement Skills work here – but
  especially good are the ones easy to justify as pressure-point
  strikes (Crippling Blow, Drugged Weapon, Envenomed
  Weapon, Fatiguing Strike, Stupefying Blow, Sudden Death,
  and Toxic Strike) or chi projection (Far Shot, Guided Weapon,
  and Project Blow). Apply Chi (-10%) to the Imbue advantage.
  Scout: If the GM is fine with scouts being essentially mys-
  tic archers, then almost any Imbuement Skill in the Ranged
  category will work. Popular video games have depicted
  Arching Shot, Bank Shot, Conic Blast, Far Shot, Guided
  Weapon, Homing Weapon, Incendiary Weapon, Multi-Shot,
  and Penetrating Strike.
  Swashbuckler: The advice for knights applies here, too, but
  the focus should be more on finesse than on power; e.g.,
  Dazzling Display, Penetrating Strike, Stealthy Attack, and
  Supreme Control.
  Thief: Most of the poison-oriented skills noted for the druid
  suit the thief, as do subtle tricks like Penetrating Strike,
  Stealthy Attack, and Sudden Death.
  Wizard: Wizards should apply Magical (-10%) to Imbue.
  The major attractions here are imbuing Missile spells with the
  Imbuement Skills suggested for scouts and dispelling magic
  with Strike of Negation (Staff). Remember that Magery acts
  like a power Talent!
  GURPS MARTIAL ARTS
  Imbuement Skills definitely suit the martial arts depicted in
  video games and comics. The underlying Imbue advantage
  will often be modified with Chi (-10%) – although the draw-
  backs of that limitation don’t especially suit truly over-the-top
  fighters! Imbue will usually give access to few enough skills to
  justify Limited Skill Access as well.
  Some Imbuement Skills mirror standard cinematic
  martial-arts skills. Crippling Blow can produce stunning and
  incapacity, much like Kiai and Pressure Points; Forceful Blow
  is similar in purpose to Push; Guided Weapon and Homing
  Weapon are alternatives to Zen Archery; Impaling Strike
  resembles Pressure Secrets; Penetrating Strike is akin to
  Breaking Blow; and Stupefying Strike is like beefed-up
  Hypnotic Hands. Imbuement Skills might replace these other
  skills or “stack” with them, allowing very potent effects.
  Other Imbuement Skills are more extreme, allowing mar-
  tial artists to shatter weapons with fists (Annihilating
  Weapon), punch out robots (Electric Weapon), and hurl
  swarms of throwing stars (Multi-Shot).
  Combinations of skills can produce
  the most outré effects seen in the source
  material. For instance, Project Blow can
  work with Burning Strike to turn
  punching damage into a ranged fireball,
  with Binding Shot to tie up foes, or with
  Chilling Strike to freeze them. And of
  course the dreaded dim mak mixes
  Toxic Strike with Sudden Death.
  Combination Skills (pp. 13-14) are often very suitable here!
  The choice of Imbuement Skills might be the player’s. The
  GM could let each player pick a theme for his martial artist
  and use Imbuement Skills to define signature moves. This is
  excellent when trying to simulate fighting video games, where
  one ninja ensnares his enemies with Binding Shot and finishes
  them with Burning Strike, while his brother freezes foes with
  Chilling Strike and spears them on icicles created with
  Impaling Strike. The GM decides how many skills each fighter
  can have – perhaps simply by requiring that Imbue always
  have Limited Skill Access.
  On the other hand, the industrious GM could go through
  the martial-arts styles in the campaign and associate suitable
  skills with each. A modest number of Imbuement Skills and
  specialties for each style would help distinguish different mar-
  tial arts and fighters, which is a crucial element of any Martial
  Arts campaign. For instance, Dagger Fighting might offer
  Envenomed Weapon (Knife), Penetrating Strike (Knife), and
  Stealthy Attack (Knife); Sumo could instead proffer Forceful
  Blow (Unarmed), Shockwave (Unarmed), and Traumatic Blow
  (Unarmed); and Kung Fu styles associated with particular ele-
  ments might give suitable elemental skills. Such an approach
  would still justify Limited Skill Access.
  Finally, the GM may wish to build entirely new styles around
  Imbuement Skills, designed to capitalize on their strengths.
  Below is one such example, intended for a fantasy setting. See
  Martial Arts for explanations of the terms and abilities.
  Sample Style: Way of the Flaming Fist
  6 points
  Legend has it that this style was born in a long-forgotten
  blood feud. On one side was a faction of imperious lords who
  forbade commoners to carry weapons. On the other was a soci-
  ety of wizards who claimed a monopoly on magic. In the mid-
  dle were defenseless villagers, being chopped up and cursed.
  Horrified by this turn of events, the monk Wei Yu developed a
  way of shaping chi into effects that could rival spells and
  weapons, and taught it to villagers as a means of self-defense.
  The Way of the Flaming Fist is almost exactly what it
  sounds like: a punching art that mixes in fire-related
  Imbuement Skills for good measure. The style assumes that
  the user will be going up against weapons and armor – and
  possibly magic – with nothing but his bare hands. It therefore
  focuses on tactics and abilities that compensate for a lack of
  equipment and minimize the odds of losing important body
  parts to weapons.
  The style includes two Combination Skills (pp. 13-14):
  • Annihilating Burning Strike: This combines Annihilating
  Weapon (p. 6) with Burning Strike (p. 11).
  • Project Burning Strike: This combines Project Blow (p. 9)
  with Burning Strike.
  IMBUEMENTS
  15
  
  Against an enemy with a ranged weapon, the practitioner
  uses Dazzling Display to make himself a difficult target. This can
  often drive off weak-willed foes through sheer intimidation (see
  the Fiery Resolve perk, below). A more determined rival is
  forced to get closer. As he does, the martial artist softens him up
  with Project Burning Strike.
  If the battle starts at or moves to melee range, the warrior
  waits for a weapon attack, parries with Karate, and tosses in
  Annihilating Burning Strike against a polearm, spear, or other
  weapons with wooden parts. Then he hits back with a
  Counterattack carrying Incendiary Weapon, combined with
  whatever hand strike suits the situation – Ear Clap or Eye-Poke
  to incapacitate without killing, Hammer Fist against armor,
  Spinning Punch against poorly trained rivals, or Exotic Hand
  Strike or Uppercut to finish the fight. Most of these are thrown
  as Deceptive Attacks. Other common tactics are disarms to take
  the weapon out of the equation and feints that minimize the
  odds of the rival successfully parrying a fist with a blade.
  Advanced students are fast – both on their feet (Basic Speed)
  and with their punches (Rapid Retraction). Most have vast
  reserves of chi, allowing them to use even powerful Imbuement
  Skills at will. They often learn advanced skills that have little to
  do with fire, including Telescoping Weapon to give fists reach
  comparable to weapons, Penetrating Strike and Traumatic Blow
  for overcoming armor, and Forceful Blow for shoving around
  foes too well-armored for even these skills to harm.
  Traditionalists often learn Ghostly Weapon for striking down
  ethereal wizards and the ghostly undead that serve them, and
  may have Magic Resistance as well.
  Masters are even more frightening. They learn deadly secret
  hand strikes (Lethal Eye-Poke and Lethal Strike), often delivered
  with Iron Hands. Many learn ways to reduce the deadliness of
  weapons, such as the Roll with Blow technique and even exer-
  cises that turn the skin to armor. They combine their
  Imbuement Skills with other chi abilities like Hypnotic Hands
  and Power Blow – and frequently develop Forceful Chi, which
  benefits these skills and their chi-based Imbuement Skills.
  Masters can be more than a match for wizards, too, as they can
  resist spells with Body Control and Mental Strength.
  These days, a kwoon can be found in almost any large city.
  However, as students need many years to learn how to fight
  and to develop the basic gifts required (Imbue 3), even before
  they learn the more extraordinary methods, the style remains
  relatively rare. A PC seeking training will have to demonstrate
  that he has the commitment (or gifts) to learn the style – and
  traditional masters simply won’t train mages or members of
  the warrior class.
  Skills: Annihilating Burning Strike (Unarmed); Dazzling
  Display (Unarmed); Incendiary Weapon (Unarmed); Karate;
  Project Burning Strike (Unarmed).
  Techniques: Counterattack (Karate); Disarming (Karate); Ear
  Clap; Exotic Hand Strike; Eye-Poke; Feint (Karate); Hammer
  Fist; Spinning Punch; Uppercut.
  Cinematic Skills: Body Control; Hypnotic Hands; Mental
  Strength; Power Blow.
  Cinematic Techniques: Dual-Weapon Attack (Karate); Lethal
  Eye-Poke; Lethal Strike; Roll with Blow.
  Perks: Chi Resistance (Any); Iron Hands; Rapid Retraction
  (Punches); Shtick (“Fiery Resolve”: Vision penalty from
  Dazzling Display acts as Intimidation bonus of the same size);
  Special Exercises (DR 1 with Tough Skin); Special Exercises
  (FP can exceed HT by 100%); Technique Mastery (Any punch-
  ing technique).
  Optional Traits
  Secondary Characteristics: Improved Basic Speed and FP.
  Advantages: Energy Reserve (Chi); Enhanced Parry (Bare
  Hands); Forceful Chi; Magic Resistance; Temperature
  Tolerance. Imbue 3 (Chi, -10%) [36] is required to learn the
  Imbuement Skills, and hence the style.
  Disadvantages: Overconfidence; Pyromania; low Status.
  Skills: Acrobatics; Breath Control; Crippling Blow
  (Unarmed); Forceful Blow (Unarmed); Ghostly Weapon
  (Unarmed); 
  Impaling 
  Strike 
  (Unarmed); 
  Meditation;
  Penetrating Strike (Unarmed); Telescoping Weapon (Unarmed);
  Traumatic Blow (Unarmed).
  GURPS SUPERS
  Just about any super-power might include Imbue among its
  abilities; apply the power modifier and you’re almost done. It’s
  up to the GM which powers actually offer Imbue, though.
  Powers that project elemental forces (Air, Earth, Fire, Water,
  etc.) and similar energetic effects (Bioenergy, Electricity,
  Sound/Vibration, and so on) are good choices – as are those that
  exert force at a distance, like Kinetic Energy, Magnetism, and
  Psychokinesis. Other powers may require some negotiation
  between player and GM.
  In all cases, the GM should limit the Imbuement Skills
  available to those that truly suit the power. The Fire power, for
  instance, could easily justify Annihilating Weapon, Burning
  Strike, Dazzling Display, Incendiary Weapon, Shockwave, and
  even Withering Strike, as it sets things on fire, blows them up,
  and dehydrates them. Chilling Strike, on the other hand,
  wouldn’t make a lot of sense here – but it would be perfect for
  the Cold power.
  Remember that Imbuement Skills are for fists and
  weapons, not for attack abilities. If you want an enhancement
  on your advantage, buy the enhancement! What Imbuement
  Skills do is let Captain Sarin use his Poison power to doctor
  weapons (Drugged Weapon, Envenomed Weapon, Toxic
  Strike, etc.) as well as to project poison bolts, poison gas, and
  so on. The knack of projecting super-powers through ordinary
  weapons – as opposed to via unique gadgets – is a common
  super-ability, and one that’s incredibly difficult to get right
  using advantages alone.
  Don’t forget, too, that the goal of imbuement is to let heroes
  “power up” ordinary weapons – for instance, to enable a super-
  marksman to pick up any Smith & Wesson .38, Colt .45, or
  Desert Eagle .50 and make it work better. Supers who rely on a
  specific gadget weapon with an array of effects should simply
  define a set of alternative attacks (p. B61) and apply gadget lim-
  itations (pp. B116-117); such gadgets have well-defined limits
  and don’t need imbuement to define them. Still, the GM may
  allow gadget limitations on Imbue, which means that the
  owner’s Imbuement Skills work only on one specific weapon
  (although if that’s a missile weapon, the skills can imbue any
  type of ammo the weapon can shoot).
  One final option is especially suitable for a Supers campaign:
  a power that focuses on imbuement. Below is one possible take
  on such a power. If it exists in a setting, the GM should limit the
  number of Imbuement Skills available to other powers that offer
  Imbue – or even make this the only power with Imbue.
  IMBUEMENTS
  16
  
  Imbuement
  Sources: Chi, Divine, Magical, Psionic, or Super.
  Focus: Weapon power-ups.
  This is the power to enhance weapons with amazing capabil-
  ities. If these effects are produced by an energy that originates
  from the body thanks to esoteric exercises (Chi) or mutation
  (Super), the resulting Imbuement Skills are DX-based. If the
  power arises from the mind (Psionic), gods (Divine), or ambient
  mana field (Magical), those skills are IQ-based. Imbuement abil-
  ities only affect the world indirectly, by powering up an attack for
  the user to wield with his combat skills.
  Imbuement Talent
  10 points/level
  This costs 10 point/level instead of the more usual 5
  points/level because it modifies all of the power’s abilities and a
  wide selection of potent skills (every Imbuement Skill).
  Imbuement Abilities
  Detect, for imbuement or others with this power; Imbue; and
  Protected Power.
  Any number of Afflictions, Bindings, and Innate Attacks
  are allowed, but these must have the modifier Follow-Up (Any
  Melee or Weapon Attack), +50%. This is priced the same as
  the +50% version of Cosmic because it circumvents the nor-
  mal requirement that Follow-Up be associated with a specific
  carrier, allowing any weapon (melee or ranged) or bare-
  handed attack – that is, anything that an Imbuement Skill of
  the General variety could empower – to carry the attack
  advantage.
  The skills enabled by Imbue receive the Imbuement Talent
  bonus but aren’t abilities of this power per se.
  Power Modifier: Imbuement. The advantage belongs to the
  Imbuement power. This modifier is usually Chi (-10%), Divine 
  (-10%), Magical (-10%), Psionic (-10%), or Super (-10%).
  IMBUEMENTS
  17
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  INDEX
  18
  INDEX
  Advantages, treat as, 3.
  Annihilating Weapon skill, 6.
  Arching Shot skill, 6.
  Bank Shot skill, 6.
  Bardic Song Talent, 6, 14.
  Bardic Talent, 6.
  Binding Shot skill, 11.
  Burning Strike skill, 11.
  Campaigns and Imbuement Skills, 
  14-17.
  Categories of Imbuement Skills, 6.
  Chi power source, 4, 6, 14-17.
  Chi Talent, 6.
  Chilling Strike skill, 11.
  Combination Skills, 13-14.
  Conic Blast skill, 6.
  Continuing Attack skill, 7.
  Corrosive Strike skill, 11.
  Crippling Blow skill, 7.
  Crushing Strike skill, 11-12.
  Cutting Strike skill, 12.
  Dancing Weapon skill, 7.
  Dazzling Display skill, 12.
  Deafening Display skill, 12.
  Defensive use, 5.
  Definition of Imbuement Skills, 3.
  Divine power source, 4, 6, 14, 17.
  Drugged Weapon skill, 7.
  Electric Weapon skill, 7-8.
  Enhancement Skills, 6-11.
  Envenomed Weapon skill, 8.
  Far Shot skill, 8.
  Fatiguing Strike skill, 12.
  Forceful Blow skill, 8.
  Forceful Chi Talent, 6.
  Ghostly Weapon skill, 8.
  Guided Weapon skill, 8.
  GURPS, 6; Basic Set, 6; Dungeon
  Fantasy, 6, 14-15; Martial Arts, 6, 15-
  16; Powers, 3, 4, 6; Supers, 2, 16-17.
  Homing Weapon skill, 9.
  Imbue advantage, 4; special limitations,
  4.
  Imbuement possibilities, 5.
  Imbuement power, 17; abilities, 17.
  Imbuement Skills, 3-14; categories, 6;
  definition, 3; missile spells and, 11;
  multiple, 5; specialties, 4-5; Talents
  and, 6; types, 5; using, 5; wildcard, 5.
  Imbuement Talent, 17.
  Impaling Strike skill, 12.
  Incendiary Weapon skill, 9.
  Jet spells and Imbuement Skills, 11.
  Limited Skill Access limitation, 4.
  Magery advantage, 6.
  Magical power source, 4, 6, 15, 17.
  Missile spells and Imbuement Skills, 11.
  Multi-Shot skill, 9.
  Multiple Imbue advantages, 4.
  Multiple skills, 5.
  Noncombat Imbuement, 12.
  Penetrating Strike skill, 9.
  Piercing Strike skill, 12.
  Power Investiture advantage, 6.
  Power modifiers, 4, 6, 14-15, 17.
  Project Blow skill, 9.
  Psionics power source, 4, 17.
  Sample martial arts style, 15-16.
  Shattershot skill, 9-10.
  Shockwave skill, 10.
  Specialties for Imbuement Skills, 4-5.
  Spells and Imbuement Skills, 11.
  Stealthy Attack skill, 10.
  Strike of Negation skill, 12-13.
  Stupefying Blow skill, 10.
  Sudden Death skill, 10.
  Super power source, 17.
  Supreme Control skill, 10.
  Talents and Imbue power sources, 6.
  Telescoping Weapon skill, 10-11.
  Throwing specialty, 4.
  Toxic Strike skill, 13.
  Transformation Skills, 11-13.
  Traumatic Blow skill, 11.
  Types of Imbuement Skills, 5.
  Unarmed specialty, 4-5.
  Using Imbuement Skills, 5.
  Vampiric Weapon skill, 13.
  Way of the Flaming Fist sample style,
  15-16.
  Wildcard Imbuement Skills, 5.
  Withering Strike skill, 13.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/GURPS [multi]/4th edition/GURPS 4e - Power-Ups 1 - Imbuements {SJG 37-0128}.pdf