The Cyberpunk genre in itself gives some comparatively "unique" options for characters, that aren't common with the standard Silhouette character Perk and Flaw lists. Herein is a list of perks and flaws used in my campaigns. In general, they playtested quite well, and seem fairly balanced. Additionally, some of the other Canon Perks that I've found a bit over-powerful (like Wealth) are also modified. Perks that have descriptions are ones that I have modified in some way; descriptions of the other character Perks and Flaws (henceforth referred to as Perks) can be found in the Jovian Chronicles Companion or the Heavy Gear GM's Guide.
The Type column describes whether the Perk is Innate or Acquired. Innate Perks may ONLY be purchased at character generation, as they are something Innate to the character, a trait that they've been born with. Acquired Perks are just that -- acquired. They are either learned, or the result of something that happened during the character's life, such as losing an eye.
In my campaign, Perks and Flaws are purchased using Attribute Points, rather than Skill Points. I feel that as many of the perks can be rather powerful, that it's more appropriate that they be purchased from the more valuable point pool. Other GMs have suggested that Innate perks can be purchased with Attribute Points, and Acquired perks purchased with Skill Points.
| PERK NAME | TYPE | COST | DESCRIPTION & COMMENTS |
| Accelerated Healing | I | 4 | Healing rate is doubled |
| Acute Sense | I | 2/Sense | 2 points for each Sense (Sight/Smell/Hearing/Taste/Touch) |
| Ambidextrous | I or A | 1 | Does NOT allow any extra actions! |
| Animal Companion | A | 2 to 4 | PC has a loyal pet. |
| Animal Kinship | I | 2 | |
| Authority | A | 3 | E.G. PC is Police, Government, or Mafia |
| Allies | A | 3 to 7 | Trusted friends who will come to the PCs aid, perhaps even risking injury to do so. More expensive Allies will either be more powerful (highly skilled, very well equipped) or have large resources available (money, influence, etc). |
| Contacts | A | 1 to 5 | People the character knows... Often, Contacts work by the trading of favors. A gunrunner contact may aid the PC by supplying them with a hard-to-find weapon, but may also ask for a favor in return (help to "liberate" his next big hardware shipment). |
| Cybernetics | A | Spec | Cost is 1 Perk Point per 10 Humanity Loss incurred by cybernetic implantation. At character generation, purchasing this Perk assumes the character has adjusted well to the surgery, and not had any ill side-effects. If such side-effects are desired, PCs should purchase an appropriate Flaw (such as a Quirk, Addiction, etc). After character generation, HL is determined a bit differently -- PSY can be reduced by 1 for every 20 HL incurred, or an additional psychological or physiological flaw for every 10 HL. |
| Cybernetics: Full Conversion | A | 5 to 25 | The Player Character has undergone full cybernetic conversion, and now a Full Conversion Borg. The Perk Cost involved will vary, depending on the capabilities of the Borg Body chosen. Additionally, Full Conversion will often grant some attributes (such as a super-high BLD of +6 to represent their physical mass, and a minimum +1 AGI for combat 'borgs) at no cost to the PC. It is also assumed with this perk that the PC has undergone some form of therapy to prevent cyberpsychosis. However, if the PC so desires, they may also select appropriate Flaws (bloodthirsty, Quirks) to represent continuing psychological problems. See the Borg Conversions list for details on specific bodies and their capabilities. Additional cybernetics not included with the Borg body may be purchased as normal (e.g. buy the Perk) |
| Fake Identity | A | 3 each | The PC has an alternate identity, with papers (ID, etc), living arrangements, and more. |
| Famous | A | 2 to 5 | Pretty obvious... |
| Favor | A | 1 to 5 | Effectively a 1-shot Ally. The more expensive the perk, the more powerful the Favor. |
| Juicer | A | 10+ | The PC has undergone the Juicer Conversion. As with Borg Conversion, this Perk also grants some Attributes (Typically a +1 bonus to AGI, and a minimum +2 FIT), as well as grants the same effect as some cybernetics (notably Sandevistan Boost). However, Juicer Conversion has a built-in flaw of its own! The conversion burns out the human body at incredible rates! 99% of all Juicers die within 6 years. If purchased at character generation, roll 2d6 to determine how long (in months) he's been a Juicer. See the Juicer Conversions page for further details. |
| Light Sleeper | A | 2 | |
| Luck | I | 4 | PC may reroll a single fumble during the course of a game, or reverse the penalties on a single action. The latter ability can also be used against other characters, changing all pluses into minuses. |
| Machine-Touch | I | 5 | PC has a knack with machines... |
| Night Vision | I | 3 | No penalties for low-light situations (but still can't see in total darkness). Effectively natural Low-lite vision. |
| Photographic Memory | I | R x 3 | This perk is Rated. At any time in which the PC needs to remember something, they may roll a number of dice equal to the Rating of the perk. If the roll is sufficient (GM's call), they remember the detail... |
| Prestige | A | 2 to 4 | |
| Property | A | 1 to 7 | The lowest values of this Perk denote the PC has either a very rare or expensive piece of equipment (like a gun, or armor). At 1 point, the object should be worth less than $10,000. At 2 points, less than $25,000. See the Books for what the typical range is... Usually things like houses, nightclubs, ships, tanks, etc. |
| Psychic: Active | I | 5 | The player character is an Active Psychic, meaning that they start the game with psychic abilities. Only Active Psychics may purchase Psychic Skills at character generation. |
| Psychic: Latent | I | 2 | The player character is a Latent Psychic. They have the potential to become Active, but for some reason it hasn't triggered yet... Typically, a latent will manifest during some traumatic experience. During such an experience, the PC should make a PSY check, using the absolute value of their PSY stat. Results of 6+ denote that an ability has manifested. Typically, the ability will be one that will save the PC's life (telekinesis and danger sense are some of the most common). Whatever abilities that manifest are purchased using the Character's available XPs (how many abilities, what level, and which abilities are the GM's call). |
| Quick Learner | I | 2 | PC learns more when undergoing Tutoring/Training. |
| Radiation Resistance | I | 2 | |
| Military Rank | A | 2 to 12 | PC has Military Rank, and all the career perks that come with it... |
| Civilian or Paramilitary Rank | A | 0 to 12 | PC has Rank or Status within a Civilian or PM organization such as the police, the government, or organized crime. |
| Sense of Direction (2D) | I | 2 | PC rarely (if ever) gets lost. |
| Sense of Direction (3D) | I | 3 | Good for pilots and scuba divers. You (almost) always know which way is up, and which way to go. |
| Strong Immune System | I | 3 | PC is resistant to toxins and diseases |
| Subordinates | A | 2 to 5 | PC has MINIONS! May divide perk points up if PC desires multiple minions. Higher perk points denote more powerful minions (more skills, more money, more guns, whatever). |
| Thick Skinned | I | 4 | PC has 5 pts of natural armor. May be Aquired by PCs with HtH of 3+ |
| Wealth: Renewable | A | 3/level | Each level of Renewable Wealth gives the PC more and more money! Level 1 gives the PC access to $50,000. A Business roll x5% yields the amount that may be renewed. Withdrawals do take some time to recover, however (12 hours for Level 1). See the Books for details. |
| Wealth: Nonrenewable | A | 1/level | Just like Renewable Wealth, but the money doesn't come back. I've had problems with this unbalancing the game a bit, as A PC got to have $250,000 at the beginning of a game... |
| FLAW NAME | TYPE | COST | DESCRIPTION & COMMENTS |
| Addiction | A | R/-3 | Divide the Addiction rating by 3 to get the rebate. See the Addiction rules in the Jovian Chronicles Companion (p76) for more details on Addiction (physical addiction) and Dependence (psychological addiction). |
| Allergy: Mild | I | -1 | Nuisance allergy |
| Allergy: Severe | I | -3 | Potentially life-threatening allergy |
| Age: Young | I | -4 | Player character is young. Multiply their available Stat and Skill pools by the ratio of the PCs age divided by 20 to find the amount that may be purchased. Also, Young characters may not have any skills at level 3, and BLD and KNO may be limited, depending on age. Example: Jane is 15. Her character will then have only (15/20 * 30; 15/20 * 40) 22 Attribute Points and 30 Skill Points. Unspent points are saved -- they can spend them when they're old enough. When they reach 20, they'll have spent all available Character points. |
| Age: Old | I | -2 | You're old, frail. Some stats are limited (notably FIT and AGI) to a maximum of +0. Generous GMs may give you an additional pool of XPs to spend. Remember, you've had a lifetime of experience, so you'll have lots of skills. |
| Amnesia | A | -2 | You don't remember your past... |
| Animal Antipathy | I | -1 | Animals hate you... |
| Bad Luck | I | -5 | The reverse of the Luck perk. Once per session, BAD things happen to you. |
| Beliefs | A | -1 to -3 | You've got some funny beliefs. |
| Blind: Permanent | I or A | -5 | You're blind, and apparently Cybernetics can't fix it either. |
| Blind: Reparable | I or A | -2 | You're blind, but haven't been able to afford getting it fixed. |
| Bloodlust | A | -3 | You're a bit on the bloodthirsty side. |
| Code of Honor | A | -1 to -4 | |
| Criminal Background | A | -1 to -2 | -1 is like being wanted on a Misdemeanor or minor Felony. -2 is being wanted for major Felonies and you just might make a Most Wanted list somewhere. |
| Curse | A | -2 | You're cursed... Wierd stuff happens to you. You have a tragic destiny, or something. May be real or imagined. |
| Deaf: Permanent | I or A | -4 | You're deaf, and modern medicine still can't help you. |
| Deaf: Reparable | I or A | -2 | You're deaf, but haven't been able to get it cured yet. |
| Debt | A | -1 to -5 | You owe someone money. Lots of it. Level 1 is $50,000. You might have a significant Debt of Honor instead. |
| Dedicated | A | -1 to -3 | You've got some kind of a Higher Purpose. |
| Dependents | A | -1 to -4 | You've got family...kids. People you need to take care of. |
| Flashbacks | A | -2 | May be triggered by stressful situations |
| Heavy Sleeper | I | -1 | |
| Infamous | A | -1 to -4 | "So famous, you're IN-famous.". Anti-fame, guys... |
| Insomnia | A | -1 | You don't sleep well. May effect some of your rolls (GM's call) since you're so tired. |
| Lame: Permanent | I or A | -4 | You've got a crippled limb, and modern medicine can't help you. |
| Lame: Reparable | I or A | -2 | As above, but it can be fixed. |
| Liar | A | -1 | |
| Liar: Mythomaniac | A | -3 | Compulsive liar. It's very hard (WIL vs 4) to tell the truth, even if you want to! |
| Mechanical Inaptitude | I | -1 | You and machines don't get along. |
| Nemesis | A | -1 to -5 | You've got an enemy. Specifically, a single person. A Level 1 Nemesis is effectively another PC-type character (30/40 point character). Higher values of this flaw mean your Nemesis has access to lots of money, resources, influence, etc. |
| Obligation | A | -1 to -3 | You owe someone ELSE a favor. |
| One-Armed: Permanent | I or A | -4 | You've got one arm, and you can't get the bad one replaced. |
| One-Armed: Reparable | I or A | -2 | You've only got one arm, but the bad one can be fixed. |
| Paranoid | A | -1 | They're out to get you. |
| Phobia: Mild | A | -2 | You've got a nuisance phobia. You scream, you kick. A WIL roll vs. 4 and you can overcome it. |
| Phobia: Severe | A | -4 | You've got a crippling phobia. You're catatonic, or running away. You don't care if it's a teeny spider. |
| Poor | A | -2 | You never have money. Whenever you do come into some, you realize it's obligated somewhere else -- bills, debts, etc. |
| Poor Sense | I or A | -2/Sense | You've got a poor sense. Might mean you need glasses, or are partially deaf. Either way, you've got a -1 PER penalty when using that sense. |
| Quick | A | -1/Quirk | You can have as many as you want, but only the first 2 count at character generation. |
| Radiation Vulnerability | I | -2 | |
| Secret | A | -2 to -3 | You've got skeletons in your closet. Definite blackmail material. |
| Sick | A | -1 to -4 | You've got some kind of disease. More expensive versions are life-threatening, like terminal cancer. |
| Slow Healing | I | -4 | It takes you twice as long to recover from injuries. |
| Slow Learner | I | -2 | You don't benefit from tutoring as much as others. |
| Social Stigma | I or A | -1 to -3 | People don't like you for some reason... |
| Space Sickness | I | R x -1 | Rated skill. GM'S NOTE: Do not allow the purchase of this flaw unless zero-gee situations come up in a significant fashion. |
| Split Personality | A | -1 to -4 | GM's call on how many points they're worth. |
| Thin-Skinned | I | -4 | You bruise easily. |
| Wanted | A | -1 to -5 | Someone wants you. Might be a government, might be a corp. Higher values mean they're willing to use much more resources to try and FIND you. |
| Weak Immune System | A | -3 | You're more susceptible to drugs, toxins, and disease. |