GURPSよろず

　The existence of Talents raises the question of disadvantages that penalize groups of related skills. Superficially, such “Anti-Talents” might seem like a fairly straightforward matter: Put a minus sign on the cost of a Talent, turn its bonuses into penalties, and call it a day. However, it isn’t quite that easy . . .

　As explained under Brand-New Problems (p. B166), bonuses and penalties to skills aren’t priced symmetrically.
There are dozens of examples of this in the Basic Set alone; compare, say, High Manual Dexterity (p. B59) to Ham-Fisted (p. B138), or the cost of skills (p. B170) to that of Incompetence (p. B164). This reflects the reality that players – all but the most fanatical roleplayers, anyway – select skills for which their characters have an aptitude, while ignoring those at which their alter-egos are hopeless. Ineptitude at even a large group of skills amounts to free points for someone who would never use those skills!

　In order to use the “opposite sign” pricing prescribed on p. B166 and in Racial Skill Bonuses and Penalties (p. B452), Anti-Talents must give penalties to sufficiently large groups of key skills that they’ll be noticed. Since only the GM knows for sure what skills are going to matter in his campaign, the following trait is intended for GMs creating new disadvantages for their campaigns. Players are welcome to propose Anti- Talents, but the GM’s word is final.

　You’re naturally inept at an important adventuring activity that can be defined by a set of closely related skills. Anti-Talents come in levels, and have several drawbacks:

　1. You have a penalty of -1 per level to success rolls associated with the activity the Anti-Talent covers. This effectively lowers your attribute scores for the purpose of the pursuit in question, and always affects any specific skills that the GM lists for the Anti-Talent. The GM may apply it to other skill rolls, too, where their purpose overlaps the endeavor that the Anti-Talent penalizes.

　2. You can never learn any of the skills specifically listed for your Anti-Talent, no matter how you attempt to learn them. You’re forced to function at default with these skills, and this is still subject to the penalty above. Even magical skill transference and cybernetic skill implants will somehow fail, thwarted by your brain’s wiring. (The GM may let you buy off your Anti-Talent with earned points in a campaign where it’s actually possible to get your brain rewired!)

3. You receive -1 per level on all reaction rolls made by anyone in a position to notice your Anti-Talent, if he would regard your ineptitude as worthy of derision, or as a sign of weakness or inferiority (GM’s judgment). The GM may instead select some of the effects under Alternative Benefits (pp. 18-19) and reverse these to turn them into shortcomings. The GM may even assess a reaction penalty and one or more additional drawbacks, if that’s what seems necessary to balance the trait.

　You may take at most four levels of a given Anti-Talent.
However, overlapping Anti-Talents can give penalties – to both success rolls and reaction rolls – in excess of -4. The GM has the right to forbid Anti-Talents that cover activities that would be irrelevant to a given character, or that are unlikely to matter in the campaign.

　The following Anti-Talents should be balanced inmost campaigns.
The notes on point cost in each case aren’t a firm calculation, but a check on whether the assigned price is reasonable in light of the drawbacks.