Babylon 4: Merits

Merits are special bonuses that can be purchased with XP and help to define the resources at your characters disposal, whether they be physical wealth, social favours, or special training. Most merits can be purchased during play, but some are restricted to only being available during character creation, and some are available to only certain types of characters.

Merits can be purchased more than once if it makes sense to do so (e.g. multiple Contact or Allies) but not just to double up a bonus (e.g you can't be twice the Ace Pilot). At character creation a Merit can't be purchased more than 3 times.

Ace Pilot

Restriction: Your character must have at least level 3 in the Piloting skill to take this merit.
Cost: 5 XP
You are an amazing pilot, able to beat the odds when facing death in the cold vacuum of space. Three times per session, you may change a failed Piloting skill roll into a success or an opponent's successful Piloting skill roll into a failure. You can only use this later part if they are acting directly against you, your luck doesn’t protect others.

Ally

Cost: 5 XP
You have a trustworth NPC ally who can be counted on to do what you ask. They are someone at your side and could be a friend, a servant, a fellow gang member, or just someone that owes you big. They won’t necessarily die for you, but can be trusted not to betray you.

When you purchase this merit, specify their name, Faction, Background, and concept. Choose two skills they should be proficient in. The GMs will create their stats.

Your ally can also carry out an action during downtime.
Note that Ally is very different to Contacts and is not nessisarily an upgrade: An Ally is at your side helping you with immediate things, a Contact is a spy in another organisation, feeding you information and favours.

Bruiser

Cost: 4 XP
You look large and intimidating, this could be due to your size or because you're covered in muscles. You gain a +2 bonus to the Intimidation skill and many NPCs will back down when confronted by you.

Contacts

Cost: 3 XP
You have contacts in a particular organisation, government, or part of society.

You can take this merit multiple times but each time you do, you must specify the nature of your contact, which can be in any government, corporation, location, or social group. Examples include “Centauri Royal Court”, “Earthgov”, “Down Below”, “Merchants”, “ISN News”, “The Zoccolo”, etc.

Once per session you can call upon them to answer a question that they would reasonably have an answer for, or you can ask them for a favour that they could reasonably and safely do (e.g. smuggle a box through customs, give someone a letter, look the other way while a crime is taking place, etc).

You can also use your contacts during downtimes, this uses them up for the following session.

Destiny

Restriction: Can only be taken at character creation.
Cost: 15 XP
You have a destiny. Your future is already set in stone, for good or ill, and nothing can change the path you are on. Fate will always find a way to save you and keep you aimed at your eventual destination, this doesn’t mean things always go your way however. You might not die when mugged in a back alley, but you could still end up unconscious, abducted, and sold off to slavery on a distant world, but at some point your destiny will get you back on track.
The GMs will work out what your destiny is.

Fame

Cost: 2 XP
You are well known across the galaxy, famous for your actions, your arts, or perhaps your fame is inherited from your family. NPCs will often have heard of you and will be more likely to do what you want in exchange for a moment of your time, this grants you a +2 bonus on all skill tests to influence their actions. This also makes it hard for you to go unnoticed however.

Gills

Restriction: Narn only.
Cost: 2 XP
You have had gills surgically implanted in your neck that allow you to breathe in other atmospheres. They are painful to use, causing you a -1 penalty to all rolls while using them.

Implanted Tech

Cost: Varies
Implants are not common but they do exist, artificial eyes, replacement limbs, and synthetic organs are all possible. Usually the implant is inferior to the natural equivalent, so the surgery is most commonly performed on people who have been injured and need prosthetic replacements, few doctors would agree to replace a healthy part of the body but black market clinics might perform such operations.

You have been given not only a prosthetic implant, but one that contains some hidden features beyond the norm. Use of such features might be illegal.
It could include a weapon built into your body, an eye that can be removed and continues to record like a camera, organs that filter out poisons or harmful gases, or other things.

Such implants often come with a drawback, for example -2 on a skill due to that part of the body no longer functioning as well as it once did.

Discuss your idea with the GMs who will work out the cost.

Income

Restriction: Can be taken up to 3 times.
Cost: 2 XP
You have a steady income that exceeds your living expenses or a great deal of wealth that you can draw upon. You gain 2 extra Credits cards at the start of each session. You can take this merit up to three times to gain even more money per session. You can also choose to spend your first session's credits on starting gear when making a character so that you come into play with the items instead of buying them during your first session.

Knowledge of Alien Anatomy

Cost: 3 XP
You’ve spent considerable time studying alien physiology and can adapt quickly when treating the injuries on an unfamiliar species.

You never suffer any penalty due to using the Medicine skill on an alien species and may always attempt Medicine skill tests even when dealing with a life form you’ve never encountered before.

Language

Restriction: Can only be taken at character creation.
Cost: Varies
You have learnt some of another language or maybe even speak it fluently. This could be one from your own world or one from an alien culture. Your fluency determines the cost.

• Language Limited (2 XP): You can understand the basics, enough for simple but slow and stilted communication.
  
• Language Fluent (4 XP): You are fluent in the language.
  

(Note PCs that originally purchased fluency for just 2 XP at creation keep their fluency and don't need to spend the extra XP)

Martial Arts

Cost: 4 XP
You’ve been trained in a form of martial arts, probably one specific to your faction. Each alien culture has its own fighting styles, but it’s very rare that these would be taught to an outsider.
Once per session, you may reroll a Melee skill test, and once per session you may force someone attacking you to reroll their Melee skill test.

Military Training

Cost: 2 XP
You’ve been properly trained in the use of military equipment and don’t suffer any penalty to skill tests due to wearing armour.

Nimble

Cost: 6 XP
You are very quick on your feet. You gain a +1 bonus to your Defence and a +2 bonus on all Athletics skill tests involving movement. The Defence bonus doesn’t stack with any bonuses from armour and you lose these benefits while you are restrained or encumbered in any way.

Paranoia

Cost: 3 XP
You never trust anyone. Your paranoia means you are never surprised in combat, but you also have a -2 penalty on Diplomacy tests because on some level others can sense your lack of trust.

Patron

Cost: 4 XP
You work for an important NPC and this grants a significant degree of influence as they smooth things over for you. Choose which part of society your patron comes from, for example they could be an influential businessman, an important member of government, a crime boss, or a literal patron of the arts, etc.
Your patron will assist you when you get in trouble and can be called upon for favours during session or downtimes.

Prodigy

Cost: 4 XP
You have a natural aptitude for a particular skill. Choose any skill except Melee or Ranged, once per session you may change a failed skill test using that skill into a success.

Rank

Restriction: Can only be purchased at character creation but might change during play due to narrative events.
Cost: 2 XP
You have high status in some part of society. It could be an official rank and title in a government, military, or corporate organisation or it could represent the respect you’ve earned from your past actions.

People with lower rank in that same part of society will usually respect you and do what you tell them to do.

This merit can be taken multiple times, either to increase your rank or to represent status in a different organisation.

Record this merit along with the number of times you’ve taken it, as well as what organisation it affects and what your title is.
For example “Rank 2 (Narn Military)” would involve taking this merit 2 times (and spending 4 XP)

PCs can have up to Rank 3 in a single organisation, equivalent to a military commander, a ship captain, or a corporate manager.
Example ranks:

1. Lieutenant, minor noble, team leader, assistant to someone of higher rank,
   
2. Lieutenant Commander, middle manager, mayor
   
3. Commander, Captain, important noble, manager
   

Higher ranks are reserved for NPCs and can go up to 5 or higher for the leaders of each faction and for people of great cultural significance.

Rare Item

Restriction: Can only be taken at character creation.
Cost: Varies
You start the game with an unusual item, it could be a weird alien artefact of unknown purpose, a rare and valuable item, or an illegal weapon. This item will either find its way back to you if lost or will be replaced with a similar one, depending on the type of item and what makes the most narrative sense at the time. If someone else takes your item, they will eventually lose it.

Some items might get your character into trouble if you're not meant to have them, illegal items for obvious reasons, while culturally restricted ones might offend the original owners, and an alien artefact might just eat your brain while you sleep.

The cost depends on the nature of this item, these are just some examples, discuss your idea with the GMs to work out a cost:

Description	Example	Cost
A common but illegal item	Drugs, illegal weapon, fake ID card	3 XP
A rare, culturally restricted, or highly illegal item	Minbari fighting pike, poisoned Drazi blade, a mind probe	5 XP
An unknown alien artefact	Technology looted from the ruins of a dead world	10 XP

Seer

Restrictions: Centauri only. Can only be taken at character creation.
Cost: 12 XP
Minor prophetic ability is not uncommon amongst the Centauri, and some have dreams about how they will die, but you have a greater aptitude and are able to see visions of the future while you are awake.

These visions are rarely straightforward, they are often cryptic and almost never mean exactly what they appear to mean. They also represent possible futures and the events they show may be averted.

This ability works in two ways:

• Sometimes the GMs will approach you and give you a vision unexpectedly, such visions come upon you suddenly and completely overwhelm your normal senses, leaving you weakened and vulnerable for a time.
  
• You may request a vision, to do so you must spend a few minutes meditating on the question you want answered.
  

In both cases, the GMs will describe a dreamlike vision to you, full of cryptic hints about things to come.

You also possess a minor telepathic ability that allows you to share your visions with others. To do this you require physical contact (through clothing is fine) and must concentrate intensely for 6 seconds, after which both you and they relive a vision you had in the past.

Using these abilities are very physically draining and whenever you have a vision or share your vision with another, you lose 1 Health, representing the exhaustion it causes. If your health is 2 or lower, you cannot use these abilities at all, you are just too injured or tired.

Ship Owner

Cost: Varies
You own your own civilian ship. This gives you a degree of autonomy beyond what others might have through renting a ship or being assigned to pilot a fighter by the military.
The cost of this merit determines the ship's size and capability. Ships need to be registered to legally have weapon but they could be concealed and go undetected if powered down.

Note that travel through the jumpgates takes more time than will generally be available during a session so this ship would be mostly only useful during downtime.

Type	Size	Max Crew	Jump Capable	Hull	Defence	Accuracy	Weapons	Cost
Small Transport	Small	2	No	1	6	1	None	3 XP
Small Armed Transport	Small	2	No	1	6	1	1x Small Pulse Cannon: 1 damage	7 XP
Medium Transport	Medium	6	No	6	6	0	None	6 XP
Medium Armed Transport	Medium	6	No	6	6	0	2x Medium Pulse Cannon: 2 damage	10 XP

Telekinetic

Restrictions: Must have the Telepath merit (at any P-Rating). Can only be taken at character creation.
Cost: 5 XP
Only one in every 10,000 telepaths has telekinetic ability and half of them go insane. You are one of the rare individuals that survived your training and can move small objects with your mind. This ability is extremely limited, no species has ever produced a powerful and stable telekinetic.

You can lift an object of similar size and weight to a pen and move it slowly, at about 5cm per second, you can push over an object several times that size, and with effort you can accelerate a coin-sized object to speeds fast enough to cause harm, this requires a Perception skill test to hit your target, and deals 1 damage.

You have very little finesse and cannot tie knots or manipulate objects in complex ways that would require more than one finger if you were doing it with your hand.
Using your telekinesis requires intense concentration, and you can do nothing else at the same time except walk and talk slowly.

Telepath

Restrictions: Can only be taken at character creation, it cannot be increased during play. You cannot take this merit at all unless your Role says otherwise.
Cost: Varies
You are a telepath, able to read minds and project your own thoughts to others. The cost of this merit depends on how powerful you are, which is measured as your “Psi Rating” or “P-Rating”, you should note this down next to the merit name, e.g. Telepath (P5)

This merit grants you access to the Telepathic Abilities listed below. They always work (no roll needed), but in order to use them, you require a long moment of intense uninterrupted concentration (it’s not subtle), and depending on your P-Rating, you will require either line of sight or physical contact with your target (contact through clothes counts).

You can also sense the moment another telepath starts using their abilities on you and you know what they are trying to do, and can potentially react before they complete their period of concentration.

Using these abilities on someone without their permission is illegal in Earth jurisdictions.

P-Ratings typically range from P1 to P12, but for PCs we’re limiting it to just three choices. Your P-Rating determines which abilities you can use, what range you need to use them, and how long you need to concentrate to use them.

Rating P3

• Cost: 6 XP
  
• Telepathic Abilities: Surface Scan, Project Thoughts.
  
• Range: Physical Contact.
  
• Concentration Time: 12 seconds.
  

Rating P5

• Cost: 9 XP
  
• Telepathic Abilities: Surface Scan, Project Thoughts, Deep Scan, Block.
  
• Range: Line of sight, up to 5 meters, or physical contact.
  
• Concentration Time: 9 seconds for line of sight. 6 seconds with physical contact.
  

Rating P7

• Cost: 12 XP
  
• Telepathic Abilities: Surface Scan, Deep Scan, Project Thoughts, Block, Lowering the Walls.
  
• Range: Line of sight, up to 20 meters, or physical contact.
  
• Concentration Time: 6 seconds for line of sight. 3 seconds with physical contact.
  

Telepathic Abilities:

• Surface Scan: You can read a person's surface thoughts, picking up only what’s currently going through their mind. Each time you use this ability, you get one short sentence worth of information about their thoughts and can determine if something they just said was a lie. This is commonly used by commercial telepaths during business deals to ensure the other side is dealing honestly.
  

• Project Thoughts: Each time you use this, you can send one emotion, one image, or one short sentence into another person’s mind. This isn’t subtle, it’s clear to the target that the projected idea is not theirs and they are not forced to act on the idea in any way. It’s a form of communication, not control.
  

• Deep Scan: You can dig deep into a target's mind to retrieve specific information that would otherwise be hidden. This causes your target pain for the entire duration of the concentration period and they feel exactly what you’re doing to them. When using this you may ask your target one question OOC and the other player must answer it truthfully. Telepaths rarely use this ability as it’s considered assault.
  

• Block: You can block another telepath from using their abilities on you or on one other person nearby. Unlike other telepathic abilities, this takes effect as soon as you start concentrating instead of at the end. You have to maintain concentration the entire time to keep them blocked, and can do no other actions except walk around and talk slowly. You cannot block a telepath with a P-Rating more than 3 levels above your own.
  

• Lowering the Walls: You drop the psychic walls that keep out stray thoughts and open your mind to the background hum of all the minds around you. When you use this, you gain a rough idea of how many minds there are nearby, a general sense of the emotional disposition of a room, and can tell if anyone in the room feels strong emotions towards you.
  

Combining Efforts: Telepaths can assist each other, combining their efforts and allowing multiple lower rated telepaths to overwhelm a higher rated one. One telepath leads the effort and their P-Rating is used. Each assisting telepath adds +1 to their P-Rating.

Trade Goods

Restriction: Can only be taken at character creation.
Cost: 6 XP
You have access to a large and ongoing supply of trade goods. Specify where they come from: perhaps you own a corporation that mines, trades, or manufactures the goods, or maybe you're a very successful merchant.

Choose one non-Special Resource type when you take this merit, you start each session with an additional resource card of that type. You can take this merit multiple times and each time you do, you may specify which resource it provides.

These resources are your own personal property and are not automatically given to your government at the end of the session, you may of course choose to donate them.

Weapon Authorization

Cost: Varies
Most people are not allowed to carry a weapon while on Babylon 4. You have official authorization to do so. You should work out why that is, such licences are usually only granted as a special concession to a government or other important group.

There are different classes of authorization, which determines the cost and what kind of weapon you are allowed to carry.

• Class 1 (3 XP): You are permitted to carry a melee weapon such as a dagger, sword, or club.
  
• Class 2 (6 XP): You are allowed to carry all the weapons of Class 1, as well as certain types of firearms, such as PPGs, that won’t damage the hull. Slug throwers are still prohibited due to the risk they pose to the station.
  

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