Eidetic Memory (2-PT Merit)
You remember, with perfect detail, things seen and heard. Documents, photographs, conversations, etc., can be committed to memory with only minor concentration. Under stressful conditions involving numerous distractions, you must make a Perception + Alertness roll (difficulty 6) to summon enough concentration to absorb what your senses detect.
Enchanting Voice (2-PT Merit)
There is something about your voice that others cannot ignore. When you command, they are cowed. When you seduce, they swoon. Whether thunderous, gentle, persuading or simply talking, your voice commands attention. The difficulties of all die rolls involving the use of the voice to persuade, charm or command are reduced by two.
Fashion Sense (2-PT Merit)
Your character doesn’t just dress well, he has an innate sense of what sort of clothes suit a particular occasion. This isn’t a case of slavishly following the latest trends from the hottest designers. It’s a matter of knowing when to dress smart and when to be casual, having the know-how to carry it off on a limited budget. Deduct one from the difficulty of Social rolls in situations in which dressing appropriately is important, such as in a business meeting, chatting at a club, or attending an invitation-only function.
Fast Reader (1-PT Merit)
You can read and understand a piece of writing far faster than most people. Although it can make long journeys by train or carriage expensive propositions due to the number of books you go through, it allows you to quickly extract useful information from anything written in your native language.
Flirt (2-PT Merit)
You claim that you’re a terrible flirt, but that quite manifestly isn’t true. You’re great at it. You’re an absolute master of all the subtle signals that give off the particular combination of promise and denial that makes teasing so much fun. At your best, you can make members of the opposite sex, or members of the same sex, putty in your hands. Add two dice to all Social rolls in such circumstances.
Forgettable (2-PT Merit)
It’s not that you’re ugly. It’s just that, well, people’s eyes tend to slide over you. You’re of average height and build, unremarkable looks and run-of-the-mill dress. People have problems remembering your appearance after they meet you, unless you have talked with them for a long time. Certainly people won’t be able to give a useful description of you if they only see you briefly. You must have an appearance of 2 or 3 and a Charisma no higher than 3 to take this Merit. If either of those Attributes moves outside its assigned range through play, you lose this Merit. This merit applies solely to your physical appearance. You might have a dreadful credit rating, a police file as thick as a phone book and a sexual history that would make a porn star blush, but people on the street just don’t remember you.
Friendly Face (1-PT Merit)
You have a face that reminds everyone of someone, to the point where strangers are inclined to be well inclined toward you because of it. The effect doesn’t fade if you explain the 'mistake', leaving you at -1 difficulty on all appropriate Social-based rolls (yes for Seduction, no for Intimidation, for example) when a stranger is involved. This Merit only functions on a first meeting.
Funny (1-PT Merit)
You can make people laugh. Your timing and sense of the absurd are second to none. You’re always being invited to parties because you’re so much fun. However, you’re also very good at judging the appropriateness of your humor. Sometimes the right joke can lift the spirits of people when everything seems to be going against them. So, you do what you can to make life more bearable for your fellows, even when the situation seems darkest. Lower the difficulty of any Social roll intended to boost morale by two.
Good Judge of Character (2-PT Merit)
You have an instinct for reading people. You can make an appraisal of the kind of person someone is after meeting her for a few seconds, based on little more than gut instinct. You’re rarely wrong. Decrease the difficulty of any Perception roll based on assessing someone by two.
Good Listener (1-PT Merit)
You’re interested in people, you enjoy hearing what they have to say and you’re prepared to hear them out without interrupting their opinion with your own. Others can sense this and open up to you without really meaning to do so. The difficulty of all apparently friendly social rolls that involve people talking to your character is reduced by two.
Good Map Reader (1-PT Merit)
You’re the Holy Grail of travelers everywhere: someone who can read a map well. Whether you’re using an old map carved into animal leather or a few brushes on a vellium scroll, you can find your way to where you need to be.
Good Night Vision (2-PT Merit)
Maybe you spent a lot of time camping. Maybe you’re just a fisherman who’s used to getting up before dawn. For whatever reason, your night vision is excellent. The difficulty of Perception rolls at night is decreased by two.
Good Recognition (1-PT Merit)
You are great at remembering the names of people you’ve encountered, and places you’ve been. You can call to mind the name of somebody you met briefly at a party three years ago, while you were a bit drunk, as clearly as if you’d met them only yesterday. You can also remember the streets you staggered along on your way home. You’re even good at remembering the names of people mentioned in newspaper stories and broadcast reports, and locations glimpsed in still photographs.
Good Taste (1-PT Merit)
You have a knack for choosing the right food from the menu, reading the right anecdotes and giving the right presents. You’ve seen the right films for discussion in cultured company, and you wouldn’t know who starred in Dumb and Dumber, let alone have the first clue about the plot. Your taste makes forging social contacts among the similar folk much easier, whatever your origins. Lower the difficulty of any social roll intended to gain acceptance or to impress a like-minded gathering by two.
Gossip (1-PT Merit)
You’re an incurable gossip, and other gossips recognize a kindred spirit in you. You’re more than happy to spend hours shooting the breeze with others, all the while discussing the minutiae of other people’s lives. Surprising how much information you can pick up that way, isn’t it? Lower the difficulty of any Interrogation rolls made in a social situation, without bullying or intimidation, by two.
Great Liar (2-PT Merit)
Lying comes naturally to you. Even the most involved deception sounds like God’s own truth when it comes tripping off your honeyed tongue. Gain two dice on any Social roll that involves lying to or deceiving another person.
Harmless (1-PT Merit)
Everyone in the city knows you, and knows that you're no threat to their plans. While that sort of estimation may seen insulting, it's also what's kept you from being killed. No one considers you worth the time to deal with, and that low opinion keeps you safe. If you start acting in a way that demonstrates that you are no longer harmless, others' reactions to you will likely change as a result.
Healthy Skepticism (1-PT Merit)
You’re good at separating truth from fiction, and someone has to be up pretty damn early to catch you off guard. You rarely take what people say at face value until you’re able to check the details yourself. This merit allows you to reduce the difficulty of any roll to perceive a lie by two. It should be role played as much as possible.
Huge Size (4-PT Merit)
You are abnormally large in size, at least 6'10" and 300 pounds in weight. Aside from making you extremely noticeable in public, this extra mass bestows an additional Bruised health level. Characters with this Merit may also gain bonuses to push objects, open barred doors, avoid being knocked down, etc.
Jack-Of-All-Trades (5-PT Merit)
You have a large pool of miscellaneous skills and knowledge obtained through your extensive travels, the jobs you've held, or just all-around know-how. You automatically have one dot in all Skill and Knowledge Dice Pools. This is an illusory level, used only to simulate a wide range of abilities. If the character trains or spends experience in the Skill or Knowledge, he must first buy one dot, then two, etc. as if he had no dot in it. When the character buys the first dot in any Skill or Knowledge, this merit does not stack (meaning – that it does not add an additional dot to the level of skill)
Mechanical Aptitude (1-PT Merit)
You are naturally adept with all kinds of mechanical devices (note that this aptitude does not extend to electronic devices such as computers). The difficulties of all dice rolls to understand, repair or operate any kind of mechanical device are two less. However, this Merit doesn't help you drive any sort of vehicle.
Media Junkie (1-PT Merit)
TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, films – you love them all and can’t get enough. You’re a voracious consumer of pop culture and are always up on the latest movies, music, and current affairs. Lower the difficulty of any Social or Research roll that involves pop culture by two.
Natural Leader (1-PT Merit)
You are gifted with a certain magnetism to which others naturally defer. You receive two extra dice when making Leadership rolls. You must have a Charisma rating of 3 or greater to purchase this Merit.
Natural Linguist (2-PT Merit)
You have a flair for languages. You may add three dice to any dice pool involving written or spoken languages.
Natural Politician (1-PT Merit)
You’re right at home among the devious minds of the political world. Whether it’s the cut and thrust of office jockeying or the showboating of regional politics, you know how to get what you want. You receive two extra dice on Manipulation rolls in social situations that involve an element of politics, such as an office meeting or gun-club gathering. You must have a Manipulation of 3 or more to have this Merit. Politics and Bureaucracy Abilities have no bearing on the application of this Merit because it represents raw talent, not the knowledge gained through long experience.
Natural Runner (1-PT Merit)
You’ve enjoyed running ever since you were a kid. Whereas most people wheeze and complain about exercising, running has always been an absolute pleasure for you. As a result, you can run like the wind when the situation demands this. Your Dexterity counts as one point higher than it actually is for purposes of determining Movement rates.
