====== GURPS Core Resources: Creating Templates ======

The GM is responsible for establishing which professional, social, and racial
origins are (and aren’t) appropriate for PCs. No GM can hope to anticipate every
possible character concept, but a good GM shares his expectations with his players
and helps those who are struggling for ideas. One effective way to do this is to
provide the players with a set of “templates”: collections of traits that typify the
kinds of characters that are likely to figure prominently in the campaign.
This section gives rules for template design, and is intended for GMs.
It assumes you have read the rules for template use in Chapter 7.

How GURPS Works: Character Templates Aren’t Rules!

Character templates are not rules. They are just a character-
design aid with no effect on point costs, success rolls,
NPC reactions, character development, or any other aspect
of game play. The traits on templates are suggestions as to
what abilities a hero will need to fill his role in the game
world. Make sure your players know this! They should feel
free to customize or alter templates, or to create characters
without using templates at all.

Character Templates
and Player Perceptions
The character templates you offer your players will affect their view
of the game world and the type of campaign you intend to run. Suppose
you are planning a fantasy campaign. If you present only thief and warrior
templates, your players will justifiably conclude that you intend to
run a freebooting campaign set in a world where rough-and-tumble
“professional adventurers” are common. But if you also include templates
for farmers, herbalists, and minstrels, your players may infer
that you intend a more staid campaign, set in a quasi-medieval world.
Make sure your template list sends the right message!
Always make clear when templates are for PCs and NPCs alike –
and when they aren’t. Players usually assume that the abilities listed
on templates reflect status quo in the game world. For instance, they
will expect enemy thieves and warriors to have certain abilities . . .
and spend their points and cash to prepare accordingly. If this
assumption proves costly or fatal, you might end up with confused or
angry players!
Finally, design your templates as a complementary set. If some templates
outshine others, or are clearly of lower quality, the players might
feel that you favor those who play certain character types – even if that
is not actually the case.




CHARACTER
TEMPLATES
A “character template” is a carefully structured list of the attribute
levels, secondary characteristics, advantages, disadvantages,
and skills the GM feels a PC should possess to fill a particular professional,
social, or dramatic role in the campaign. The GM calculates
all point costs in advance and gives the results with the template,
reducing the amount of math involved in character creation.
The main purpose of a character template is to prevent new
players from overlooking vital abilities when choosing from among
all the options in Chapters 1-6. The secondary goal is to accelerate
character design. Thus, a template should list only necessary traits
– not everything that might fit. The player should always have room
to customize his PC!


TYPES OF
CHARACTER
TEMPLATES
Most character templates fall into
one of the general categories below – a
few will fall into more than one. There
is no harm in mixing PCs built using
different classes of templates within a
single campaign.
Occupational Templates
Someone who does a certain job
(e.g., a physician or a mechanic)
should have the necessary job skills –
see Jobs (p. 516). Not all occupations
are jobs, however; you could create
occupational templates for hereditary
nobles, idle rich, slaves, students, etc.
These latter templates might include
Duties, codes of conduct (see Self-
Imposed Mental Disadvantages,
p. 121), and “entrance requirements.”
All occupational templates should
suggest Wealth and Status appropriate
to the occupation, and should
specify attribute levels and advantages
that would lead to success at – or successful
adaptation to – that career.
Cultural Templates
Cultural background is a powerful
defining concept in many settings. For
instance, Alexander the Great was first
and foremost a Macedonian, and this
identified him throughout his adventures.
A cultural template might specify
the genetic traits of a closed breeding
group, skills taught to all members
of a culture, or the beliefs and prejudices
of a given tribe, nation, or religion.
It will often include Cultural
Familiarity and Languages.
Dramatic Templates
A dramatic template defines a
character’s role in the plot – often in
terms of an archetype such as “wise
man” or “trickster.” Some roles are
genre-specific (“screaming victim” is
rare except in horror, for instance);
others are universal (e.g., “femme
fatale”). The dramatic template
ensures that the PC has the traits he
needs to advance the plot, regardless of
his exact occupation or culture. This
type of template attempts to define
personality as much as ability; therefore,
it often includes more mental
disadvantages than other kinds of
templates.
CONCEPT
A character template is a partially
built character. To design it, you need
a “concept” – a clear idea of what it
represents and where it fits in – just as
for a fully realized character (see
Character Concept, p. 11). Decide on
the type of template you are designing
and what role it will fill, and then visualize
which traits would best meet the
demands of that role in your campaign.
Use your knowledge of the
game world to help you here!
Example: We shall construct a
“heroic knight” template for a fantasy
campaign. This template is both dramatic
(the “heroic” part) and occupational
(the “knight” part). We could
create separate templates for each
aspect – or even treat one as a “lens”
on the other (see Lenses, p. 449) – but
we have chosen to keep things simple.
We decide that a heroic knight should
be strong, honorable, a wise leader,
and a skilled warrior.
FLEXIBILITY
The concept behind a template
should be sufficiently flexible that the
player can easily individualize his
character. Leave enough creative
“space” that the player is not stuck
playing a stereotype. There are two
useful measures of flexibility: the
number of abilities on the character
template (its degree of detail) and the
extent to which those abilities use up
the player’s “budget” for character creation
(its point cost).
Degree of Detail
A “dense” character template
includes many traits. It defines a particular
role precisely . . . so precisely
that it can rob a PC of individuality. A
“sparse” template makes a few suggestions,
perhaps only a skill or two. It
makes the resulting PC easier to customize,
but leaves inexperienced players
wondering, “What’s my role?” The
secret is to strike a balance between
the two: don’t try to give the template
every trait that might fit – just focus on
the traits that define the role!
Template Cost
The more expensive the template,
the more points you’re spending for
the player. Keep the campaign power

level in mind and come in under the
point budget for PCs, leaving enough
unspent points (and enough unused
points in disadvantages, if you are
enforcing such a limit) that the player
can customize his character. If a template
absolutely must tie up a lot of
points, make it “interactive” (see
p. 449).
Example: We’ll design our heroic
knight for a 150-point game with a
-75-point disadvantage limit. This
means we’ll try to spend fewer than
150 points total, and take less than the
full -75 points of disadvantages.
SELECTING
TRAITS
The next few sections offer
concrete advice on selecting the actual
traits that appear on character
templates.
Attributes
The 9-13 range is suitable for most
characters. “Adventuring” templates
should have one or two above-average
scores, but those for most normal jobs
should leave everything at 10.
Remember that an 11 or 12 is noteworthy,
and that a 13 or 14 is exceptional
– see How to Select Basic
Attributes (p. 14). Dramatic templates
are a special case, as it often serves the
purposes of drama for an archetype to
have extreme attributes. Still, try to
avoid excessive stereotyping.
Example: We see our knight as a
capable warrior, so we give him superior
physical attributes: ST 12 [20],
DX 12 [40], and HT 12 [20]. To reflect
his wisdom and resolve, we give him
IQ 11 [20] – he is supposed to be a
wise leader, not a genius. This comes
to 100 points.
Secondary
Characteristics
It is usually best to leave Hit Points,
Will, Perception, Fatigue Points, Basic
Speed, and Basic Move at their base
values. Tweaking these numbers is
likely to confuse new players. Unless
the concept absolutely requires exceptional
talent in one of these areas (e.g.,
high Perception for a detective), just
choose attributes that give fair secondary
characteristics and leave finetuning
to the adventurous player.
Advantages
For occupational templates, list the
job’s requirements (e.g., Languages for
a translator) or benefits (e.g., Clerical
Investment for a priest). Other possibilities
include “tricks of the trade”
(e.g., Combat Reflexes for a soldier)
and talents that would lead a person to
select this particular career (e.g.,
Night Vision for a thief).
For cultural templates, also consider
genetic and cultural traits (e.g., “All
Northerners have Temperature
Tolerance”), as well as Cultural
Familiarity (p. 23), Languages (p. 23),
and Social Regard (p. 86).
For dramatic templates, include
traits that are invariably found in literary
and cinematic examples of the
archetype (e.g., Charisma or
Handsome appearance for a swashbuckler).
Justify each advantage using an
argument similar to one of those
above – which means that most advantages
on a character template should
be learned or social in nature. Also, try
to avoid unusual advantages. If every
single character of a given type has a
rare advantage, it will dilute the value
of the advantage and possibly strain
the suspension of disbelief.
Example: A knight requires Status 2
[10]. His Wealth should be at least
Comfortable [10], to cover his cost of
living and buy his expensive equipment.
This costs 20 points.
Disadvantages
For the most part, follow the advice
given for advantages. In the case of
occupational templates, avoid disadvantages
that are liable to inhibit job
performance (e.g., Honesty for a
thief). Focus instead on those that are
likely to help with the chosen career
(e.g., Fat for a sumo wrestler) and
those that are expected (e.g.,
Disciplines of Faith or Vows for a
priest). Some professions tend to lead
to disadvantages, a few of which
might be so common that they merit a
place in the template (e.g., Social
Stigma for a thief).
Dramatic templates are often
defined almost entirely by their mental
disadvantages, and frequently have
“good” disadvantages or tragic flaws –
see Disadvantages for Heroes (p. 119).
Example: Our knight owes fealty to
his liege lord, so we give him Duty
(Liege lord, 9 or less) [-5]. Since he’s a
heroic knight out of fantasy, we also
give him Code of Honor (Chivalry)
[-15], Honesty (6) [-20], and Vow
(Never refuse a request for aid) [-15].
This comes to -55 points.
Skills
Pick the skills needed for the character
to be competent at the role the
template describes. Avoid excessive
numbers of skills, but include all necessary
skills, a few skills that are complementary
but not vital, and perhaps
one or two skills that serve mostly to
provide background color.
When assigning skill levels,
assume that skill 12 suffices for “safe”
jobs (e.g., accountant or librarian)
and that skill 14 is plenty for “risky”
jobs (e.g., assassin or surgeon) –
including most “adventuring professions.”
Save skill 16+ for those who
truly stand out in their field; don’t
water down the value of high skill by
making it commonplace.
Of course, these guidelines assume
relatively realistic characters. Many
larger-than-life heroes have dozens of
skills at high levels. It is up to the GM
whether he wishes to encourage this
pattern of skill buying in his campaign.

Examples: Our knight is an adventurer
first, so we make his primary
skills Broadsword-14 [8], Lance-14
[8], Riding (Horse)-12 [2], and
Shield-14 [4]. We make his leadership
abilities secondary: Leadership-11 [2]
and Tactics-11 [4]. Finally, we add
Armoury (Melee Weapons)-10 [1] and
Heraldry-10 [1] as background skills,
to cover his knowledge of arms and
armor. Total cost is 30 points.
SETTING
THE PRICE
Total the cost of everything on
the character template. This is the
“template cost”: the number of
points the player must pay to purchase
the template.
If template cost comes to more
than 90% of the campaign’s starting
points (see Starting Points, p. 10), players
are liable to find it restrictive. To
remedy this, lower attribute levels,
remove noncritical advantages and
skills, or add a few appropriate disadvantages.
Alternatively, you can try to
optimize the template (see below).
If you still can’t get template cost
down to a reasonable level, it is likely
that the starting points you’ve selected
are less than ideal for the heroes you
see working well in the game world. It
might be a good idea to revise the
campaign power level! See Power
Level (p. 487) for advice.
Example: Our knight has spent 100
points on attributes, 20 on advantages,
-55 on disadvantages, and 30 on skills.
That’s 95 points, which is well within
the recommended 90% limit for a 150-
point campaign (135 points).
Optimization
Experienced players usually
attempt to minimize the point cost
and maximize the effectiveness of
their characters. New players are
unlikely to do so; therefore, it is a good
idea to optimize templates so that
characters built with them are not less
efficient than scratch-built PCs. There
are two main methods for doing this:
1. Select attribute levels that minimize
the cost of the chosen skills. For
instance, an Average skill at DX+2
level costs 8 points; six such skills
would cost 48 points. An Average skill
at DX+1 costs 4 points; six skills at this
level would cost only 24 points. By
lowering six skills from DX+2 to
DX+1, you could free up 24 points –
and if you then spent 20 points on DX,
you could raise DX by one level,
regain the original skill levels, and
save 4 points!
2. Add advantages that give skill
bonuses at discount rates – notably
Talents (see p. 89).
If you have trouble justifying this,
remember: templates are blueprints
for adventurers – exceptional characters
built with more points than the
average person – so high attributes
and rare advantages are going to be
more common than in the general
population.


Listing Skills
When listing skills, include all relevant information in the following
format:
Skill Name (Difficulty) Relative Level [Point Cost]-Actual Level
For instance, “Broadsword (A) DX+2 [8]-14.” This might look odd
now, but it makes things much more transparent when the time comes
to customize the character!
It can also be helpful to break down skill listings as follows:
Primary Skills: Vital skills, at level 12+ – or at 14+, if they are likely
to matter in life-or-death situations.
Secondary Skills: Helpful skills that it’s hard to imagine the character
not having, at level 11+.
Background Skills: Anything else that fits, chosen for descriptive reasons
rather than utility, usually at a lower level than primary and secondary
skills.

Discounts
Avoid the temptation – often carried over from other RPGs – to offer
a discount on template cost. A character built using a template should
be indistinguishable from an equivalent character designed from the
ground up.
Adjusting for Player Experience
When designing character templates, be sure that they take into
account the character-creation habits of your experienced players. For
instance, if all their warriors have Combat Reflexes and all their wizards
have Magery 3, your templates should follow suit – even if the
“typical” warrior or wizard in the setting lacks this level of talent. This
puts the characters of inexperienced players who use your templates on
an equal footing with those of more experienced players.

WRITING IT UP
Use the following format for the
final character template (illustrated
here using our heroic knight):
Heroic Knight
95 points
You are a brave knight out of fantasy
or fairy tales – strong, honorable,
a wise leader, and a skilled warrior.
Attributes: ST 12 [20]; DX 12 [40]; IQ
11 [20]; HT 12 [20].
Secondary Characteristics: Dmg 1d-
1/1d+2; BL 29 lbs.; HP 12 [0]; Will

11 [0]; Per 11 [0]; FP 12 [0]; Basic
Speed 6.00 [0]; Basic Move 6 [0].
Advantages: Status 2 [10]; Wealth
(Comfortable) [10].
Disadvantages: Code of Honor
(Chivalry) [-15]; Duty (Liege lord; 9
or less) [-5]; Honesty (6) [-20]; Vow
(Never refuse a request for aid)
[-15].
Primary Skills: Broadsword (A)
DX+2 [8]-14; Lance (A) DX+2
[8]-14; Riding (Horse) (A) DX
[2]-12; Shield (E) DX+2 [4]-14.
Secondary Skills: Leadership (A) IQ
[2]-11; Tactics (H) IQ [4]-11.
Background Skills: Armoury (Melee
Weapons) (A) IQ-1 [1]-10; Heraldry
(A) IQ-1 [1]-10.
CUSTOMIZATION
NOTES
Give the player a few thoughts on
how he can make his character different
from other PCs built using the
same character template. For
instance, you might include a brief list
of useful traits to buy with leftover
points, advice on how to flesh out the
player-defined traits in the template
(e.g., self-imposed mental disadvantages,
Patrons, and the details of Ugly
appearance), or thoughts on appropriate
or necessary equipment.
Example: We mention that the
player should specify his knight’s coat
of arms and liege lord. He also needs
weapons, armor, and a mount! Since
Wealth (Comfortable) cannot cover all
that, we suggest using a few leftover
points to purchase additional Wealth –
or to buy his liege lord as a Patron
who can provide these things.
For an occupational template, this
is the place to note the job roll, monthly
pay, and wealth level for the job –
see Jobs (p. 516). Job prerequisites
should appear in the template; there is
no need to reiterate them here.
ADDITIONAL
OPTIONS
Character templates need not be
“set pieces.” With a little extra effort,
you can greatly expand the versatility
of templates by building in tools that
let the player customize his character
in the course of buying the template.
Lenses
You can treat common variations
on templates as “lenses” through
which to view the basic design. A lens
is a package of advantages, disadvantages,
and skills that adds to the base
template, changing its emphasis. It
might be specific to just one template
or applicable to several (or all) templates
in your campaign. Some lenses
are mutually exclusive; others can
“stack.”
A lens should not add traits that
oppose or that are redundant with
those on the base template(s). If this is
inevitable, explain what to do when
conflict occurs. A lens should also be
compatible with all other lenses the
player can select at the same time (but
don’t worry about mutually exclusive
lenses).
The player adds the cost of any
lenses selected to the cost of the base
template and writes down both sets of
abilities.
Example: It is possible to represent
the “heroic knight” in our example as
a “warrior” template modified by
“heroic” and “knight” lenses:
Warrior
101 points
You are a fantasy warrior – a barbarian,
knight, swashbuckler, or
someone else who lives by the sword.
Attributes: ST 12 [20]; DX 12 [40]; IQ
10 [0]; HT 12 [20].
Secondary Characteristics: Dmg 1d-
1/1d+2; BL 29 lbs.; HP 12 [0]; Will
10 [0]; Per 10 [0]; FP 12 [0]; Basic
Speed 6.00 [0]; Basic Move 6 [0].
Skills: Armoury (Melee Weapons) (A)
IQ-1 [1]-9; Shield (E) DX+2 [4]-14;
and two weapon skills, each (A)
DX+2 [8]-14.
Lenses
Heroic (-9 points): You are wise, honorable,
and a leader of men. Add +1
IQ [20], Honesty (6) [-20], Vow
(Never refuse a request for aid)
[-15], Leadership (A) IQ [2], and
Tactics (H) IQ [4].
Knight (+3 points): You are an invested
knight, with all the attendant
privileges and duties. Add
Comfortable [10], Status 2 [10],
Code of Honor (Chivalry) [-15],
Duty (Liege Lord, 9 or less) [-5],
Heraldry (A) IQ-1 [1], and Riding
(Horse) (A) DX [2].
Interactive Templates
Along with fixed character traits,
you may wish to include a number of
choices with identical point costs.
These can be specific (e.g., High Pain
Threshold or +1 ST; Chemistry-14 or
Mathematics-14) or general (e.g., any
DX/Average weapon skill at 15; any
three IQ/Hard sciences at 14), as long
as the point cost is the same. A good
compromise is to set aside a pool of
points that the player can spend on a
specific list of options however he
sees fit.
Once you are comfortable with
template design, consider using this
option for all your templates. It simplifies
the player’s choices without
eliminating them and is an effective
stepping-stone to unassisted character
design. It is especially useful for mental
disadvantages, because it gives the
player more latitude in defining his
character’s personality.
Example: Not all knights use
broadswords; many prefer the mace.
On our heroic knight template, we
could replace “Broadsword (A) DX+2
[8]-14” with “Axe/Mace or Broadsword,
both (A) DX+2 [8]-14” and let
the player choose.
We could also offer a choice of
mental disadvantages. Instead of
requiring Code of Honor, Honesty, and
Vow, we could say: “A total of -50
points chosen from Charitable [-15*],
Code of Honor (Chivalry) [-15],
Honesty [-10*], Selfless [-5*], Sense of
Duty [-2 to -20], Truthfulness [-5*],
and Vow [-5 to -15].” Note how disadvantages
with variable values offer a
range of point costs, and how disadvantages
that require self-control rolls
are marked (*) to indicate that they
might be at ¥.5, ¥1, ¥1.5, or ¥2 value,
depending on the self-control number.

RACIAL TEMPLATES

The baseline character in GURPS
is human, but nonhumans are common
in many game worlds. The collection
of traits that differentiate a
nonhuman species from humanity is
called a “racial template.”
Unlike character templates, racial
templates are not normally optional or
customizable – every member of a
species must purchase its racial template,
exactly as written. Furthermore,
racial templates are subject to a number
of special rules that have ramifications
in play, and may even include
“hidden features” that can affect outcomes
in the game.
CONCEPT
Before building a racial template,
you should develop a clear idea of
what it is you are designing. A racial
concept is not a character concept –
you are creating an entire species, and
must consider morphology, survival
strategies (biological, technological, or
magical), group behavior, and culture.
What Is a Race?
A “race” is normally a biological
species – human, tiger, elf, Gray alien,
etc. – but you need not limit yourself
to this definition. A race might be a
genetically engineered subspecies, a
particular category of fantastic creature
(for instance, “faerie” or “vampire”),
or a specific make or model of
construct (golem, robot, sentient
computer program, etc.). What matters
is that every member of the group
possesses a common set of identifiable
traits.
What Do They
Look Like?
A race’s appearance suggests many
of its racial traits. For instance, a
species with four arms needs to purchase
Extra Arms, because it has two
more arms than a human, which is an
advantage. Likewise, a species with
one eye should have One Eye, as its
lack of binocular vision puts it at a disadvantage
next to a human.
Be sure to distinguish between
purely cosmetic features and those
that actually affect play. Outward
appearance is often just a “special
effect,” and special effects should not
cost points – see Features and Taboo
Traits (p. 452). Only genuine differences
in function, relative to a human,
call for definition in terms of attributes,
advantages, and disadvantages.
Assigning point values to racial characteristics
unnecessarily is a sure-fire
way to make a multiracial campaign
confusing, if not unbalanced.
How Do They Think?
Decide how members of the race
act, and lend some thought to the
race’s dominant cultural background.
These things determine the race’s
mental traits, including racial skills.
Here again, be careful to distinguish
features that affect play from those
that do not.
The most challenging problem is to
determine how the race thinks. This is
crucial if you expect people to roleplay
members of the race! Humanity’s two
primary motivations seem to be sex
and material comfort. Other races
might not share these drives. Of
course, any biological creature must
feel some instinct to preserve its young
and itself, or the race will vanish.
Races that lack this drive would have
psychologies that humanity would
find truly alien.

PC Races vs. NPC Races
A “player character race” is one that the PCs can belong to at the
time of character creation. A “nonplayer character race” is one reserved
for NPCs under the GM’s control. There is no rule distinction between
a PC race and an NPC race. As the GM, you are free to assign a race to
either category – or even to move a race from one category to the other
during the course of the campaign.
Try not to be too restrictive, however. GURPS, being a generic system,
has rules for most situations. This makes it feasible to allow PCs
to belong to races reserved for NPCs in other games (ghosts, monsters,
robots, etc.) if the players and GM are up to the roleplaying challenge.
Player-Created Races
It is the GM’s job to design the racial templates for his campaign.
The rules given here have fewer arbitrary limitations and balancing factors
than do those for creating individual characters, because this is
intended to be a GM’s system, and the GM is free to decide what is balanced
in his campaign.
That said, the adventurous GM might allow an especially good player
or group to design races for their characters. This can be a major
time-saver for the GM in a campaign that calls for a plethora of nonhuman
species!
A few tips for GMs who wish to allow player-created races:
• Watch out for abuse. The lack of balancing factors in these rules
makes it possible to create a race that has a significant advantage in
effectiveness over the human race. Do not allow such races – at least,
not as PCs.
• Do not allow abilities (or combinations of abilities) that you do not
want in the PCs’ hands, however balanced they may be. In particular,
keep an eye on exotic and supernatural traits. If a trait is strictly off-limits
to all PCs, then the race of the PC should be unimportant.
• Player-generated races work best in game worlds that already have
many different races, because “yet another race” will rarely upset the
campaign. Be sure to have a few ready-made PC races on hand for players
who do not wish to create their own, however – and to serve as
examples for those who do.
• Be leery of player-created NPC races. In most game worlds, NPC
races are supposed to be somewhat mysterious. Mystery is hard to
maintain when the creator is a member of the party!

SELECTING
TRAITS
A racial template consists of attribute
modifiers, secondary characteristic
modifiers, advantages, disadvantages,
quirks, and skills that apply to
every member of the race. A race may
also have features that do not have a
point cost but that do have in-game
effects.
Most of the mental and physical
traits in Chapters 1-3 are suitable as
racial traits. More rarely, social traits
are appropriate – for instance, an
entire race might enjoy Social Regard
or suffer from Social Stigma.
As the GM, you are free to assign
exotic (1) and supernatural (5) traits
to racial templates as needed – even if
such traits are otherwise forbidden (in
which case nonhumans are likely to
be the only ones who have such traits).
A few traits explicitly note that they
are reserved for racial templates, and
cannot occur otherwise.
In all cases, make sure that the
traits you choose are in line with the
racial concept and, more importantly,
make sense.
Racial Attribute
Modifiers
If the ST, DX, IQ, or HT of an average
member of a race differs from the
human norm of 10, that race has a
“racial attribute modifier.” This costs
±10 points per ±1 to racial average ST
or HT, or ±20 points per ±1 to racial
average DX or IQ.
A member of a race with such
modifiers pays for his personal scores
as usual, and then applies his racial
modifiers to find his final scores.
Example: A racial +10 to ST costs
100 points, while a racial -1 to IQ costs
-20 points. A racial template with
these modifiers notes “ST+10 [100]”
and “IQ-1 [-20].”
A member of this race buys a personal
ST 9 [-10], IQ 14 [80]. He then
applies his racial attribute modifiers:
ST+10 gives ST 19, and IQ-1 gives IQ
13.
Racial Secondary
Characteristic Modifiers
These work much as do racial
attribute modifiers. The main difference
is the point cost: ±1 to HP costs
±2 points; ±1 to FP costs ±3 points;
and ±0.25 to Basic Speed or ±1 to Will,
Perception, or Basic Move costs ±5
points.
Example: A racial -0.75 to Basic
Speed would cost -15 points. A racial
template with this modifier would
note “Basic Speed-0.75 [-15].”
A member of a race with such
modifiers calculates his basic secondary
characteristics from his attributes
as usual, after applying all racial
attribute modifiers. He may buy these
characteristics up or down, as usual.
After that, he applies racial secondary
characteristic modifiers to find his
final scores.


Example: A member of a race with
DX+2, HT+1, and Basic Speed-0.75
buys a personal DX 12 [40], HT 12
[20]. His racial attribute modifiers
make this DX 14, HT 13. These attributes
give Basic Speed 6.75. Next, he
buys his Basic Speed up to 7.75, for 20
points. At the very end, he applies his
racial Basic Speed-0.75 to get a final
Basic Speed 7.00.
Racial Advantages
and Disadvantages
A nonhuman race could conceivably
possess almost any advantage or
disadvantage that an individual could
. . . within reason. When in doubt, the
GM should exercise common sense.
Traits related to build – Skinny,
Overweight, Fat, Very Fat, Dwarfism,
and Gigantism (see Build, p. 18) – are
relative to the racial norm. They’re
valid for individuals, not races. To create
an entire race that is smaller or
larger than humanity, assign an
appropriate Size Modifier (see Size
Modifier, p. 19). This has no point cost
– the advantage of longer reach cancels
out the disadvantage of being a
large target, while the disadvantages
of being short balance the advantage
of being hard to hit. Individual members
of such races can have any build;
e.g., an ogre with racial SM +1 could
take Dwarfism and have a personal
SM of 0.
Note that racial disadvantages do
not count against the campaign disadvantage
limit (see Disadvantage Limit,
p. 11). This limit applies only to personal
disadvantages. For instance, a
player in a campaign with a -75-point
disadvantage limit may take up to -75
points in disadvantages, regardless of
which race he selects for his PC.
Racial Quirks
It can be useful to assign a few
quirks on a racial basis to define a
race’s minor disadvantages or personality
traits. Use these sparingly, however
– players are obligated to roleplay
their quirks, and too many racial
quirks can result in a complicated,
unplayable character.
Racial quirks do not count against
the normal limit of five quirks.
Features and
Taboo Traits
Many traits distinguish a race without
actually increasing or reducing its
capabilities. Such traits cost 0 points,
and fall into two categories:
Features: A “feature” is just a note
on how the race differs cosmetically or
physiologically from humanity when
that difference does not grant an
advantage or a disadvantage. For
instance, a human subspecies genetically
modified to lack an appendix has
a feature; so does a fantasy race that
bears a magical mark from birth.
Faster and slower maturation are features
as well. A race’s native environmental
conditions are also features, if
they differ from the human norm
(humans are adapted to 1G of gravity,
have a temperature “comfort zone” of
35° to 90°, and breathe 78% nitrogen/
21% oxygen at 1 atm of pressure).
A race that can tolerate a broader spectrum
of conditions than humanity has
an advantage, however!
Taboo Traits: A specific advantage,
disadvantage, or skill might be offlimits
(“taboo”) for the race – that is,
no member of the race can possess
that trait. Given the number of possible
choices, and the small odds that a
given character would actually take a
particular trait, this is not considered
a disadvantage. Often, “taboo traits”
result from racial disadvantages; for
instance, No Legs (Sessile) logically
forbids movement-related traits. To
keep a race fun to play, do not assign
excessive numbers of taboo traits,
and give a plausible cultural, psychological,
or physiological reason for
each one.
Racial Skill Bonuses
and Penalties
A race with a particular gift for a
skill or a set of skills has an advantage,
while a race that is unusually inept
has a disadvantage.
Racial talent for one skill costs 2
points for +1 to skill, 4 points for +2,
or 6 points for +3 (the maximum
bonus allowed). Write this as, for
instance, “+1 to Forgery [2]” or “+3 to
Fast-Talk [6].” This trait does not actually
grant the skill – it gives a bonus
whenever a member of the race rolls
against that skill or its default.
Treat a racial knack for a group of
related skills as a Talent (see p. 89).
Each +1 to those skills costs 5 points
for six or fewer skills, 10 points for
seven to 12 skills, or 15 points for 13
or more skills. The maximum bonus is
+4. If this is not a standard Talent,
note which skills get the bonus. (Keep
an open mind – some unusual things
might be “closely related” for a race
that thinks nothing like humanity!)
Racial ineptitude at one skill is a
flat -1 point for -4 to skill. This is just
a racial Incompetence quirk (see
p. 164), and is subject to all the usual
rules for Incompetence. To keep
things balanced, no race can be
incompetent at more than five individual
skills (-5 points), and the affected
skills must be important in the game
world to qualify for points.
Evaluate racial incompetence at a
group of related skills like a Talent, but
put a minus sign in front of the cost.
For instance, -2 with 7-12 skills
would be a -20-point racial disadvantage.
A race can have only one “group
incompetence.”
The bonuses and penalties above
apply to all specialties of any affected
skills.
Effects of Experience: When an individual
improves a racially modified
skill, disregard the racial modifiers
and calculate the new level based solely
on the points he spent. Apply the
racial skill bonus to his final skill level.
For example, a member of a race with
+1 to Fast-Talk would pay only 1 point
to have Fast-Talk at IQ. If he wanted to
improve Fast-Talk to IQ+1 later on, he
would pay 1 more point.

Racially Learned Skills
A “racially learned skill” is an automatic
level of proficiency acquired by
every member of the race. It is usually
innate or instinctive. For instance, a flying
race might possess racial Flight
skill, while a race with padded feet
might have Stealth skill on a racial
basis.
Price racially learned skills just as if
an individual character were learning
them; see the Skill Cost Table (p. 170).
Write them in the format used on character
templates (see Listing Skills,
p. 448), calculating the final skill level
based on the racial average attribute
score. For instance, a race with DX+4,
HT-1 would have racial average DX 14,
HT 9, and would write “Flight (A) HT
[2]-9” and “Stealth (A) DX+1 [4]-15.”
The actual skill levels that an individual
member of the race enjoys vary according
to his personal attribute scores.
Effects of Experience: Members of a
race may improve racially learned skills
just as they would any other skill. For
instance, if a race has Flight at HT, it
would cost an individual member of
that race 2 points to increase his skill to
HT+1.
Racial Magic
Many races of fantasy and horror
are magical. Below are two possible
ways to handle magical powers.
Advantages: Any advantage might
stem from the race’s magical nature as a
“special effect” (see Advantage Origins,
p. 33). Such advantages require mana
to work. If regions without mana are
common in the campaign world, apply
the limitation “Mana Sensitive,” worth
-10%, to the cost of such abilities.
Racially Innate Spells: Every member
of the race might have the inborn ability
to cast one or more spells; see
Chapter 5. Ignore the usual prerequisites
and buy the spells using the rules
for racially learned skills (above). Add
racial Magery, if any, to the race’s skill
level. Magery is not required for racially
innate spells – but without Magery,
the race’s magic only works in areas of
high or very high mana (see Mana,
p. 235). A race that can only cast racially
innate spells pays the usual 5 points
for Magery 0, but may buy Magery 1+
with a -40% Accessibility limitation:
“Racially innate spells only.”

SETTING
THE PRICE
The point cost of a racial template
– called the “racial cost” – is the sum
of the point values of its constituent
traits. Anyone who wishes to play a
member of the race must pay its
racial cost. If racial cost is 0 points or
more, treat the template as an advantage;
if racial cost is negative, treat it
as a disadvantage. (It costs 0 points to
play a human, but there is no need to
note this, as characters are assumed
to be human unless they buy a racial
template.)
A template with a negative racial
cost does not count against the campaign
disadvantage limit, if any (see
Disadvantage Limit, p. 11). Individual
mental, physical, and social problems
are as likely for members of low-powered
races as they are for humans and
members of high-powered races!
Players must normally purchase all
elements of a racial template as a unit,
and may only “opt out” of a given trait
with the GM’s permission. Opting out
of an advantageous trait saves points,
while opting out of a disadvantageous
one costs points. In both cases, pay
racial cost normally and note the
changes separately – for instance, “No
Infravision [-10]” or “No Bad Sight
[25].” See Omitting Racial Traits
(p. 262) for additional details.
SUB-RACES
A “sub-race” is a sizeable portion of
a race that differs significantly from
the racial norm. Examples include
extreme sexual dimorphism, true biological
subspecies, half-breeds, and
radical mutations (or even upgrades,
in the case of robots).
Sub-races should share most of the
parent racial template, but with a few
important differences (and a matching
adjustment to racial cost). Write
up sub-races exactly as you would
“lenses” for a character template – see
Lenses (p. 449).
FILLING IN
THE BLANKS
After finalizing any racial template,
try to answer the following questions.
The answers will help you present the
race to the players and help them roleplay
members of that race!
• What do they look like? How big?
How tall? What shape? What color?
Do they have hair? What color? Do
they have eyes? Do they have distinctive
markings? Do they have hands or
claws? What direction do their joints
bend?
• Were they created or did they
evolve? Where? What environmental
pressures combined to give them their
advantages and disadvantages?
• How do they live? How do they
govern themselves? Are they gregarious
or solitary in nature? If they are
gregarious, do they favor large cities,
small villages, or family groups?
• How do they think? Do they have
a racial philosophy? Do they have a
religion? Do they have many religions?
How do they react in an emergency?
Do they like new things, or are they
complacent? Can they be trusted?
• How do they get along with others?
Do they fight among themselves?
How do they react to new races?
Suspiciously? Enthusiastically? Do
they trade with other races? Are there
other races they particularly like or
dislike?

Character Cost vs. Racial Strength
Many GMs will want to create at least a few races with powers far
beyond those of normal humans. In game terms, this means a high
racial cost. This may create an apparent contradiction in the campaign:
“If these guys are so great, why don’t they control the whole world?”
The most obvious answer is “They do!” There’s no reason why
humanity has to be the dominant race of the campaign. Mankind could
be an insignificant minor race or an audacious upstart to the ancient
civilizations of the nonhumans!

However, the GM needn’t forsake superhuman races in an anthropocentric
campaign. The factors that allow individuals to excel are
quite different from those that allow one race to dominate another. An
anthropocentric story or campaign usually assumes that humanity has
several advantages, relative to other races, that would never show up on
a character sheet.

Humans are prolific. A woman can easily bear six to 12 children in
her lifetime; a man can father children with a huge number of women.
Other races might be strictly monogamous, tied to a complex fertility
cycle, or generally infertile, allowing humanity to dominate them
through sheer numbers. This is borne out in nature, where extremely
capable species – such as the dominant carnivores – inevitably have
smaller populations than “lesser” species.

Humans are aggressive. They tend to want money, property, and
power for its own sake. A pragmatic race might let the humans move
in and assume the burden of running things! They might insist on a few
basic rights, but not necessarily political power. Of course, an extremely
powerful or supernatural race might pursue goals that humans cannot
comprehend, leaving humanity to do as it pleases.

Humans are organized. A super-race might never need to band
together for protection from nature as humanity’s ancestors did. Such
a race might be unable to withstand an organized human military campaign
or political program. Indeed, such a race might find real economic
and cultural benefit in accepting organization by humanity.

This discussion applies equally to extremely low-powered races visà-
vis humanity. The members of a hive mind or primitive horde might
be no match for us individually, but be more prolific, aggressive, and
organized than we are as a race!



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