Shelter Edges & Hindrances
Edges
Gun Nut (1-5) - Your Waster loves the smell of gun powder in the morning and can tell a Sig-Sauer P-220 from a P-230 at twenty paces. Guns go way beyond a hobby for her - its more like a religion. A character with this edge has an uncanny, almost eidetic memory for conventional firearms. For each point in the edge a character has, she gets a +1 to all knowledge rolls to identify firearms (make, model, ammo, the whole enchilada) by sight or by sound. She also gets +1 to all knowledge rolls pertaining to the maintenance and repair of conventional firearms (this edge covers pistols, rifles, shotguns, SMGs and HMGs only).
Smooth Operator (2) - Your Waster is one slick chick. When she walks into a room, her presence is immediately noticed. She makes the dustiest rags look good, carries herself with an almost unnatural, carefree ease and when she talks, people and animals alike stop and listen. A character with this edge gains +2 to all mein rolls.
Bar Time (5) - Back before the war, bars used to set their clocks about ten minutes ahead. This was meant to be a service to their customers to give them some advance notice in the form of "free time" with which to get home (or wherever) more slowly and safely after tying one on. Forget the clock - your Waster's mind seems to operate on this "bar time"; always a step ahead of the present, with an odd, precognitive sense of impending events (vague premonitions/ feelings of things that will be occurring in the next few minutes). A character with this edge has flashes of insight represented by the following effects: 1.) The character is never surprised (she's never quite sure exactly what's going to happen - only that something will). 2.) By spending a blue chip after drawing action cards, the character may discard her lowest card and redraw until she gets a card higher than her original discard (because she's always on her toes, she often gets the drop on opponents in initiative situations). The only exception to discarding is if she draws the black joker which she must take. Only one blue chip may be spent in this way per round.
Brawny 2.0 (3) - This edge is designed as a replacement to the existing Brawny edge. The description still stands, but the requirements and effects are changed somewhat. To have this edge, your waster has to have a minimum of 2d10 in Strength and gains a +2 on all Strength related rolls. Her Size still goes up 1, but it should be noted in her description that this reflects an increase in body mass and not height. As before, one can't be both a Big 'Un and take Brawny 2.0.
Tall Drink O' Water (3) - Perhaps you played professional basketball before the Apocalypse. Regardless, scavs are always asking you "How's the weather up there ?". Your waster is a bit taller than average. Increase her Size by 1. Note that in her description this refers to her height, and does not reflect an increase in body mass (like Brawny).
Marshal Note: A waster can take both Brawny 2.0 and be a Tall Drink O' Water (potential for size 8, increasing both your height and body mass), but be warned...even if you're not a mutant, folks are going to treat you like one. You are freakishly large. It's also going to be hard to find gear that will work for you; trigger guards weren't made for such massive fingers and you can't exactly trade for clothing "off the rack".
Play By Ear (1) by Robert Miller, Jr. -
Some musically inclined folks don't need sheet music to pick up a tune...your Waster has this natural aptitude. Every time she hears a new piece of music, make an Easy (TN 5) Cog roll. If successful, not only can she remember it, she can also sing it or play it on her instrument.
Touch of the Maestro (2) by Robert Miller, Jr. -
A rare few individuals have an almost supernatural knack for being able to pick up and play whatever musical instrument they come across. Your brainer has this musical blessing. She only needs to pay half the required Bounty (rounded up) when improving musical skills. Also, after examining and "messing around" with a new instrument for at least 1 hour, she may spend 1 Bounty to gain the ability to successfully play the instrument at level 1.
Lifetap 2.0 (3) - Any character with an Arcane Background that uses Strain may take this Edge. With Lifetap, your Waster is able to draw upon her own internal energies in addition to Strain in summoning up her powers. This means that she can usually make her Strain stretch a bit farther than other Arcane folks by optionally spending wind to help pay for higher costing powers. In paying Strain requirements for powers, half the cost (rounded up) must be paid from Strain with the remainder paid optionally in Wind. A character with Lifetap is still able to pay for powers purely with Strain. For clarification, check the following table regarding regular strain requirements vs. strain/wind requirements if you have Lifetap.
Strain Cost - Cost Using Lifetap
1 Strain - 1 Strain
2 Strain - 1 Strain + 1 Wind
3 Strain - 2 Strain + 1 Wind
4 Strain - 2 Strain + 2 Wind
5 Strain - 3 Strain + 2 Wind
Shoulder to Cry On (2) by Matthew Weaver-Uzelac -
As if you don't have enough problems, everyone like to give you theirs. If you have this edge, you have the natural ability to make people feel comfortable enough to talk to you, and to offer good advice. While this is great for helping people with trouble, it can also be used to get information out of others. With an Onerous (7) friendly Persuasion roll your brainer can get a person to talk about a subject. How much they talk, and what they say is up to the Marshal.
Well Read (2) by Matthew Weaver-Uzelac -
You have the knowledge base of Alex Trebek! You have a good head for facts and trivia. You find recall of information easier. All Knowledge based skills that require you to use what you have learned are at +2. This bonus does not apply to Blastin'.
Mr. Happy-Go-Lucky (1-3) by Matthew Weaver-Uzelac -
Nothing seems to get you down. Everything is great and you are happy and well adjusted. Even the spooky things don't effect you as bad as they do other people. Whenever you roll on the Scart table, you may subtract the level of this edge from your result the Marshal has rolled.
"Wow it's..." (1-2) by Matthew Weaver-Uzelac -
Perhaps you had your own TV show, or maybe you invented a better mousetrap and were in all the papers. In your former life before the war you were at least noteworthy. That gets you noticed by the brainer on the street, but it doesn't do much else for you. For a one-point edge, you did something, but it wasn't so significant that you will be remembered forever. In other words you had your 15 minutes of fame. Many conversations with strangers start out with "Weren't you the one who..." Think of your reaction to meeting Arnold from Different Strokes. For two points, you had major media exposure. You were a rock star, media darling or maybe a war hero. People want autographs and might buy you a beer. Think about your reaction to meeting Arnold from Kindergarten Cop.
Hindrances
Ennui (2) - Your Waster has been all over the West and back again...twice. He figures he's seen and done everything there is to do and see. Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt. As a result he suffers from an extreme case of the doldrums and finds it hard to even get motivated enough to get out of the bedroll in the morning. A character with this hindrance suffers a -2 to all Cog and initiative rolls. This doesn't reflect a lack of cognition or quickness, but rather a sense of apathy as to what's going on about him. On the upside, the character is pretty jaded from his travels and harder to impress than most - he gets +2 to all guts rolls.
Bloodlust (3) - Your Waster prefers violence to more hospitable forms of social intercourse, and once the blood starts flowing, he finds it difficult to stop. At the start of each combat round, a character with this hindrance must make a Fair (TN 5) smarts roll or be overcome by his bloodlust. This means that for the duration of the combat (not just the round), he will actively engage the enemy by any means (usually the most violent) at his disposal, without regard to his (or his posse's) safety. The character cannot dodge or vamoose. The TN for the smarts roll goes up a step each round the combat continues. On the upside, while under the influence of the bloodlust, the character gains the Nerves o' Steel edge.
Cold Fish (2) - Your Waster is far from hospitable - he's an ice cube. He's his own best friend, a loner, and discourages attempts at friendship. Personality-wise, referring to him as "detatched" would be polite. He's not wild about people in general, and social interaction is last on his list of priorities. He usually tries his best to be non-descript and go unnoticed, loathing attention of any kind. A character with this hindrance receives -2 to all mein rolls, excluding overawe, and will refrain from forming close relationships with other characters and NPCs.
Young 'Un (5) - This hindrance assumes that the Kid hindrance only covers the ages of 12-15. If you're a Young 'Un, your character is a wee knee-biter somewhere between the ages of 8-11 and are taken even less seriously than a Kid. Truely a new product of the changed world you find yourself in, you may not take Veteran. Reduce you Size by 2, and reduce both you Strength and your Knowledge by a step (maximum d6 for both - cannot be bought up); you're not that big, not that strong and frankly haven't been around long enough to learn much about what's going on. On the up side, increase your Pace by 1 and your Nimbleness by a step (yes, this means your Pace goes up a total of 3 - you have to be quick to have lived for as long as you have). You must buy off 3 points of this hindrance by the time you reach 12 years of age - you'll be a Kid by then...if you live that long (Marshal Note: The character regains the reduced step they lost initially at this point and increases in Size by 2. Keep the Nimbleness and pace boost - consider it a gift for living so long. Strength and Knowledge can then be bought up to the "Kid" max of d10 and d8 respectively as normal. Sure, it's kind of an extreme "growth spurt", but its neccessary. Besides, I don't think we want to deal with year-to-year growth charts do we?).
Dwarf (5) - Whether through the fate of natural genetics or the assistance of irradiated ghost rock mutation, your waster is, well...a dwarf. Well below average in body mass and height, your base Size is 3 and your Pace is reduced by 2. While you might be a little harder to hit, a bullet is going to do quite a bit more damage to your small frame than usual, and it's a bit harder for you to keep up with other "normal sized" folks. It's probably going to be a bit tricky to find gear in your size as well.
Short Stuff (3) - Well, not everyone can be tall. Your Waster is what some people call "vertically challenged" and is a bit shorter than average. Reduce his Size by 1. Note that in his description this refers to his height, and does not reflect a decreasse in body mass (like Scrawny).
Trustin' (1/3) by Jay Kyle -
Do you remember the expression "There's a sucker born every minute"? You're it. Your waster is either the most gullible or just the plain stupidest brainer to ever wander the Wasted West. Whether you're from a small survivor settlement and just never got out much, or was just raised in a monastary, he believes pretty much everything anyone tells him. For one point, your character is at -2 for scrutinize attempts. For three points, all scrutinize attempts are made at -4.
Jerk (2) by Matthew Weaver-Uzelac -
People turn and walk the other way when they see you coming. Maybe you just have a means streak in you, or perhaps you have the social skills of a tornado, but you always manage to insult and alienate people. You have a -2 to all Mein rolls. The bright side is role-playing this hindrance and getting everyone to hate you.
Weird (1) by Matthew Weaver-Uzelac -
Maybe it's the mermaid costume you always wear to the pool, or maybe it's you obsession with cheese, but people walk away from you shaking their heads mumbling "that boy ain't right." You're quirky to the point of people not really being sure how to take you. If you make friendly persuasion and ridicule rolls with people who know you (i.e. not casual strangers) you will make them at -2.
Scary (2) by Matthew Weaver-Uzelac -
You are the nightmare your momma warned you about. There is something about your presence that just unnerves people. It's not that you're ugly, but the look in your eyes, the manner of your walk just tells other people "stay away." You have an automatic -4 to all friendly Persuasion rolls, but you have a +2 to Overawe rolls.
Teflon Brain (2) by Matthew Weaver-Uzelac -
You hate "Book learning." Formulas, facts, information escape you. You suffer a -2 modifier when attempting Knowledge based skill checks.
Pray all your tests are open book.
"Something to Prove" (1) by Matthew Weaver-Uzelac -
Maybe you're a little short, or maybe you just got picked on a lot in school, but you're itching to be the first, best and greatest there is. If someone questions your bravery or ability, you take any challenge they give you.
Adrenaline Junky (3) by Matthew Wever-Uzelac -
You love danger, and you will take any risk, no matter how stupid it may seem to the real world, to get your thrill fix. You will tackle anything dangerous (Bungee Jumping, parasailing, truck stop food) as long as you can get a rush out of it. If that means leaping between the speeding cars of a caravan just to get a beer, then you'll gladly do it. Of course this need for danger puts you in harm's way. It also drives your mother crazy just thinking about some of the things you will do.
Easy Bleeder (3) by Jesse Van Valkenburg -
Your waster's blood is thinner than normal, and so your character will begin to bleed when he takes two wounds at once. He'll lose 1 wind with 2 wounds, 2 wind with 3 wounds and so on. While he bruises easily, this effect is not caused by blunt trauma; only melee, firearms and the like that would cause a cut or puncture.
Hemophiliac (5) by Jesse Van Valkenburg -
Your waster is a sieve - when he bleeds he really bleeds. Your character bleeds when he takes one wound. He'll lose 1 wind with 1 wound, 2 wind with 2 wounds and so on. While he bruises if someone blows on him hard, this effect is not caused by blunt trauma; only melee, firearms and the like that would cause a cut or puncture.