If you decide to go beyond just the GURPS 4E Basic Set and use the Power-Ups series of books, I’ve gone through and identified certain things that are applicable to Spec Ops templates. Some of these may lean away from the hard-core realistic and venture more into the cinematic or fantastical, but I wanted to include them as options. Each GM should decide whether or not to allow them in his/her campaign.
For the purposes of simplicity, all upcoming 4E Special Ops templates will be designed only using the Basic Set, with no built-in Perks or Talents. I will, however, try to include options for each template that are suitable to that specific template.
Perks
Desirable Perks:
Armorer’s Gift (Power-Ups: Perks p. 5), Weapon Bond (Power-Ups: Perks p. 9), Eye for Distance (Power-Ups: Perks p. 13), Patience of Job (Power-Ups: Perks p. 13); Penetrating Voice† (Power-Ups: Perks p. 14), Dabbler (Power-Ups: Perks p. 16).
† Especially useful for officers and NCOs.
Acceptable Perks:
Any Appearance Perk (Power-Ups: Perks p. 4), Equipment Bond (Power-Ups: Perks p. 9), Accent (Power-Ups: Perks p. 12), Good with (Animal) (Power-Ups: Perks p. 13), Deep Sleeper (Power-Ups: Perks p. 13), Clothing Shtick: Looks Good in Uniform (Power-Ups: Perks p. 14), Influence Shtick: Fearsome Stare† (Power-Ups: Perks p. 15), Background Knowledge (Power-Ups: Perks p. 16), Cross-Trained (Power-Ups: Perks p. 16), Efficient (Power-Ups: Perks p. 16); Naval Training (Power-Ups: Perks p. 6), Off-Hand Training (Power-Ups: Perks p. 16).
† Especially useful for officers and NCOs.
Talents
Desirable Talents:
Born Soldier (Power-Ups: Talents p. 12), or Born Tactician† (Power-Ups: Talents p. 12), or Born War-Leader† (Power-Ups: Talents p. 12); Outdoorsman (Power-Ups: Talents p. 14), Stalker (Power-Ups: Talents p. 15), Survivor (Power-Ups: Talents p. 16).
† More suited for senior NCOs and officers.
Acceptable Talents:
Animal Friend (Power-Ups: Talents p. 6), Born Sailor (Power-Ups: Talents p. X), Craftiness (Power-Ups: Talents p. 9), Cultural Chameleon (Power-Ups: Talents p. 9), Talker (Power-Ups: Talents p. 16), Tough Guy (Power-Ups: Talents p. 16).
Quirks
GURPS Power-Ups: Quirks provides some examples and additional guidance on quirks to use – however, be cautious, those that are the same as the prohibited disadvantages should also be considered prohibited in most cases.
Wildcard Skills
For a realistic to semi-realistic Special Ops campaign, I would not consider Wildcard Skills as being allowable. However, for a cinematic Special Ops campaign, consider the following Wildcard Skills as desirable/appropriate:
Assassin! (Power-Ups: Wildcard Skills p. 27), Boat! (Power-Ups: Wildcard Skills p. 28), Demolition Man! (Power-Ups: Wildcard Skills p. 29), Drive! (Power-Ups: Wildcard Skills p. 29), Fake! (Power-Ups: Wildcard Skills p. 30), Fist! (Power-Ups: Wildcard Skills p. 30), Gun! (Power-Ups: Wildcard Skills p. 30), Medic! (Power-Ups: Wildcard Skills p. 33), Pilot! (Power-Ups: Wildcard Skills p. 34), Scout! (Power-Ups: Wildcard Skills p. 35), Security! (Power-Ups: Wildcard Skills p. 35), Shooter! (Power-Ups: Wildcard Skills p. 35), Ten-Hut! (Power-Ups: Wildcard Skills p. 36), Wheel Man! (Power-Ups: Wildcard Skills p. 37).
I understand why you’d like to stick to Basic Set, but the Dabbler perk really is useful for building semi-realistic people, especially when converting templates that have 3e half-point skills on them.
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Thanks! I’ll take a look at it. These 4E templates are going to be a work in progress.
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I can confirm the usefulness of Dabbler – I use it myself to represent “basic familiarity course” on some of my soldier templates – someone who’s only had one instructional course and a one day range day on using ATGMs, for instance.
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