Merits are special capabilities or knacks that add individuality to your character. They’re purchased during character creation or with experience points over the course of your chronicle.
The Merits in this chapter are organized alphabetically into three broad categories: Physical, Mental and Social. Some apply to your character’s basic traits to enhance them in particular situations. Some have prerequisites that must be met before they can be purchased. For example, a character with the Gunslinger Merit must have a Dexterity of 3 and Firearms of 3 or higher to be able to accurately fire two weapons at the same time. By the same token, some Merits apply drawbacks that balance out their inherent advantages. A character with the Fame Merit, for example, is treated like a star wherever he goes — but has a hard time blending into the crowd when he wants to.
Each Merit has a number of dots (•) associated with it. These dots represent the number of points that must be spent to purchase the Merit. Some Merits allow for a range of dots (say, • to •••). These allow you to purchase a low rating if it’s appropriate to your character concept, or you can start with a low level and increase it over time with experience points.
A character is born with some Merits or develops them early in life, while others can be acquired through trail and error, training and effort later in life.
The first kind can be acquired at character creation only and are labeled as such. The second kind can be acquired during play with experience points.
Merit dots must be purchased sequentially with experience points. You have to buy • and then •• before your character can have ••• or more.
Think back to your character’s childhood, her adolescence, her formative years. Did she grow up in a Syrian refugee camp on Cyprus, tiny hands clutching a long nail to ward off those who would steal her food? Was she born to privilege, raised in a glass tower like a fairytale princess, her only glimpse of the world outside the blur of headlights on the streets below? That’s her Origin. If she’s maintained ties to her past, she may be able to draw on people she knew then, or find allies among people like them.
• Survival Skills: The character learned more than a little growing up. How to find food, how to talk tough, maybe even how to shoot guns. She gains a free Specialty in one of her Origin’s Asset Skills.
•• Networking: The character understands people of a similar background, whether they’re from the same place she was or just live in similar conditions. Once per scene, when interacting with a person who shares her Origin, she can use any Social Skill as if she possesses a relevant Specialty.
••• Vouchsafe: With sufficient ties to a community, the character is treated as if she’s still one of them. If it so happens that corporate security or the secret police come nosing around, members of that community will try to protect her… as long as it doesn’t put them in too much danger. Characters who share the character’s Origin gain a +3 bonus on Subterfuge rolls to conceal information about her activities or whereabouts.
•••• Clean Record: As far as the datasphere’s concerned, the character still is who she used to be. She never joined that international terrorist group, or never diverted her father’s money into her own criminal enterprises. Clean Record penalizes any in-depth attempt to investigate the character’s history by the number of dots of Origin she possesses. Quick searches of public information or low-end intelligence databases automatically fail.
••••• Lifer: You can take the girl out of the glass tower, but you can’t take the tower out of the girl. The character gains the benefit of the 8-again rule on rolls involving her Asset Skills. If she does not already have Specialties in both of her Asset Skills, she gains a free Specialty in that Skill.
Origins follow this format:
Origin Name
Quote
Description: Examples of the Origin, suggesting where the character might be from, why she might have left, and how it might have influenced her.
Relationships: Types of characters she might still have ties to.
Asset Skills: Two Skills the character is likely to have learned from her upbringing. At one dot, she gains a free Specialty in one of these Skills.
What does your character bring to the group? Can she talk her way past security guards, or does she just turn off their cameras? Is she good at finding dirty secrets?
• I Know a Guy: The character’s made some useful acquaintances in the course of her work. A colleague, a lover, or just someone to trade favors with. The character receives one free dot of the Allies Merit (World of Darkness, p.115).
In addition, Plugins involving her Asset Skills cost only New Dots x 1. (If you’re not using Plugins, the character receives a free Skill Specialty, as with the first dot of Origin.)
•• Professional: The character is respected in her field. She’s killed or hacked a few high-profile targets, or perhaps turned up a secret that bloomed into a scandal. Once per scene, when interacting with someone in a related field, she may make a Social roll as if she possesses a relevant specialty. (Note that this is slightly broader than the Origin ability Networking or the Role ability Tough Rep, which require a shared Origin.)
••• Tough Rep: Not only is the character respected, she’s feared. Those in the same Role are reluctant to cross her. Once per session, she may choose to automatically succeed on an Intimidate roll against someone who shares her Role. This counts as one success.
•••• Virtuoso: The character’s paid her dues, and she’s almost at the top of her game. Literally or metaphorically, she knows how to make a shot count. When spending a point of Willpower on one of her Asset Skills, she also gains the benefit of the 8-again rule. This applies to all of the dice in the pool; if the Willpower point was spent in conjunction with a Plugin, 8-again applies to those dice, as well.
••••• Master: At the top of her game, the character knows how to leverage not only her Asset Skills, but other abilities that come in handy on the job. Once per session, she may choose to automatically succeed at a task related to her Role. This task does not have to involve one of her Asset Skills, but must be in the service of her Role. For example, a Hacker couldn’t choose to automatically succeed on a Strength + Athletics roll, unless this was somehow related to hacking. This counts as one success.
Roles follow this format:
Role Name
Quote
Description: Examples of how a character finds herself in this Role, and what she excels at.
Relationships: Types of characters she might have formed ties to.
Asset Skills: Two Skills the character uses in her work. Plugins involving these Skills cost only New Dots x 1.