From magical amulets and staves to super science gadgets, fiction is full of special items that enhance existing special abilities. Today’s post contains some options for enhancing powers with special items. The options should work with systems that convert gadget point cost to monetary cost such as Meta/Psychotronic Generators and Sorcery Enchanted Items with only minor adjustments.

These options are fairly generic but make the following assumptions:

  • The enhanced abilities are designed using advantages
  • The enhanced abilities belong to some power
  • The associated power permits the option

Simple Cases

Keep in mind that we are considered with enhancing existing abilities rather than emulating abilities with gadgets. The simple cases are:

  • Increasing the level of an ability with a fixed leveled cost
    • This is most often the case for abilities consisting of a single advantage with a uniform cost/level such as DR or Innate Attack
  • Adding enhancements to abilities with a fixed cost
    • This is most often abilities consisting of a single, unleveled advantage
  • Increasing a power’s talent
  • Providing a “power battery”

To make an item that increases an ability’s level, simply purchase the additional levels of the ability with an appropriate Gadget limitation. You can expand this to abilities with arbitrary cost schedules by purchasing the lower levels normally and the higher levels as gadgets, but this is messy for items not crafted specifically for your character unless the power normally restricts higher levels to gadgets.

Making an item that adds an enhancement to a non-leveled advantage is simple. Simply add the enhancement with a Gadget limitation. This approach is more tricky with leveled advantages such as Innate Attack (B61). That requires either adding the enhancement to only some levels of the advantage or a gadget who’s cost increases when the base advantage increases in level. It does work for abilities that keep the base advantage at a fixed level and add enhancements for each level of the ability such as Telesend (Psionic Powers p. 60).

To make items that add levels of a power’s talent or provide energy for a particular source, simply purchase levels of the appropriate talent or ER with a gadget limitation.

Example: Encryption Helmet

An encryption helmet is an advanced psychotronic device which encrypts communication from the Telesend psionic ability. This functions exactly the same as the Secure technique except that it works without a skill penalty and does not cost any fatigue. It is a small (SM-4) device. $15,000, 3 lbs., 3xS/6 hrs., LC 4.

Notes: This is built as a Psychotronic Generator and thus does not apply the Gadget limitation to the point cost.

Advanced Cases

Sometimes, your specific case isn’t quite that simple. Perhaps you want an item that enhances multiple abilities within a power or a particular ability’s cost schedule is inconvenient for the above options. Powers give us Extra-Effort options to use for more difficult cases.

Increased Power

Making an item that increases the level of an ability with an inconvenient cost schedule can make use of the Trading Fatigue for Effect rules from Powers p. 160. The specific values are still inconvenient since the increased ability is based on level of the ability enhanced, so use the variant from Pyramid #3/9 p. 14 and Thaumatology: Sorcery p. 6 for a more uniform ability level increase. This option requires making a Will roll with appropriate consequences for critical failure.

Now that we know how to increase an ability’s level in a uniform manner, we need to turn that into an advantage. Buy ER (appropriate source; One Ability, varies; Extra-Effort only, -20%; Gadget, varies) [varies/2 level] + Increased Will (Only for Extra-Effort on one ability, -80%; Gadget, varies) [varies/4 levels]. For each level you need to increase, buy 4 levels of Will to buy off the Extra-Effort penalty, and buy ER in 2 level increments depending on how often you want to raise your ability’s level. ER can recover in increments of 2/20 minutes as a special effect. If you want the item to apply to all abilities in a power, replace “one ability” with “one power.” The specific costs may vary depending on the number of powers/abilities that could make use of this item and the Gadget limitation.

Added Enhancement

To make an item that adds an enhancement to an ability with a leveled advantage or otherwise has an inconvenient cost schedule, we can apply Temporary Enhancements (Powers p. 172). This is most convenient for power using Skills for Everyone (Powers p. 162). Determine how many points it takes to buy off the penalty and then use From Skills to Advantages (Pyramid #3/44) to convert the technique into an advantage. Ignore the Unusual Training perk since the user typically must already meet the prerequisites. Additionally, purchase ER with the same cost schedule as shown above (replacing Extra-Effort Only with Temporary Enhancements Only). To enhance all (applicable) abilities in a power, use a wildcard technique.

Example: Staff of Explosion

The Staff of Explosion is an ornate magical staff (worth at least $50 before enchantment) which enhances the mage’s attack spells with the Explosion 1 damage modifier. It has 2 charges which recharge at a rate of 1/2 hours. $3200, SM -3, DR 2, HP 13, 4 lbs.

Statistics: Explosive! [18] + ER 4 (Magical; Slow Recharge, 1/hour, -20%; Temporary Enhancements Only, -20%) [8]. Note: Explosive! is a wildcard technique for buying off the Explosion damage modifier technique created as an advantage using From Skills to Advantages.

Note: This assumes a magic system that uses Skills for Everyone with each spell having a separate skill. The Sorcery enchantment system is used for determining the price, and the TL is 3.

Designer Notes

This entire post is already designer notes, but note that the specific details for these options are unnecessary for any item that does not have a player facing cost. You can use some of these options for ideas, but don’t sweat the details unless it could affect the players in some manner.

The material presented here is my original creation, intended for use with the GURPS system from Steve Jackson Games. This material is not official and is not endorsed by Steve Jackson Games.