Universal Gaming System
  • Why?
  • Dedication
  • The Authors
  • License
  • Introduction
    • What Sort of Games Can I Run?
    • Why Do People Roleplay?
    • Does Universal Gaming System Do X?
    • What Do I Need To Play?
    • How Do I Roleplay?
    • Playing the Game
    • Dialog
    • Gamer's Etiquette
  • Designing A Character
    • Concepting a Character
    • Goals and Motivations
    • Abilities
    • Backstory
  • The Mechanics
    • Character Points
    • Ability Scores
    • Derived Stats
    • Talents
    • Skills
      • Skill Checks
  • Playing The Game
    • What Do I Do With All These Dice?
    • Rounds
    • Combat
      • The Combat Round
        • Significant Actions
        • Insignificant Actions
        • Move Actions
        • Free Actions
      • Initiative Checks
      • Surprise Rounds
      • Attacking An Opponent
      • Critical Hits and Misses
      • Using Stealth
      • Defending Yourself
        • Dodging
        • Using Stealth
        • Taking Damage
      • Dying
      • Status Effects
    • Magic
      • How Does Magic Work?
      • Magic Is A Talent
      • Spells
      • Mana
  • Game Mastering
    • Learning to Be a Game Master
    • Typical DCs
    • Talents
    • Magic
    • The Nitty Gritty
      • Arcane Magic
      • Damage
      • Areas
        • Areas of Effect
      • Abilities
      • Teleportation
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Last updated 1 year ago

A talent is a special ability that you cannot acquire by sheer effort. It is an innate ability – it sets you apart from the rest of the normal world.

You purchase talents in levels, a concept which will appear several times in the mechanics of this system. Typical skills cost six character points per level, but these may be adjusted by your GM depending on the rarity of the ability in their campaign. Depending on what level you choose to purchase, talents bestow certain abilities.

For instance, if you are designing a powerful wizard, you might choose to purchase Arcana Level 5, for 15 character points. In this case, Arcana 5 grants you the ability to cast fifth level spells, and determines the number of mana points you have to power those spells. You will have to ask your game master for a list of talents (if any) that are available in their game.

Example Talents

Talent Name
Cost

Arcana (Magic)

6 pts/lvl

Lightning Reflexes (+1 initiative)

5 pts/lvl

PreviousDerived StatsNextSkills
  1. The Mechanics

Talents