TranzFuzion

Kit Version 5.0 ©
The Fuzion Group, 1997

No matter what level of Fuzion you will be using, you will encounter the following definitions and terms:

Action Value [AV]: The total of a Characteristic and a Skill. Also known as an Attack Value.
Action Total [AT]: The total of your Action Value plus a die roll. Also known as an Attack Total.
Attack Roll: Rolling dice and adding them to your Attack (or Action) Value to determine whether or not you succeeded.
Characteristic: (aka Stat) A number that shows your character's ability in an area, compared to everybody else. Characteristics determine how strong, smart or agile the character naturally is. The higher the number, the more powerful the characteristic.
Example: Strength is a Characteristic; Strength 8 is stronger than Strength 3.
Characteristic Points [CP]: These are used to buy the basic Characteristics of the character.
Campaign Options: These are Skills, Talents, Traits, or Equipment with which characters can fight, protect themselves and generally adventure. These may also include Powers and abilities beyond those of mortal men.
Complications: Situations, Campaign Elements, or personal limitations that enhance the roleplaying aspect of the character, generated as part of the Lifepath process (below). Some problems are external; enemies or physical liabilities; others are internal qualities of the character; these can be good, bad or mixed.
Dice: Throughout Fuzion, three standard six-sided die (plural: dice) is used as the default. As an option, the GM can decide to use a 10-sided die for task Resolution rolls (instead of the 3 6-sided dice), but 6-sided dice are always used for damage.
Difficulty Value [DV]: The number you need to meet or beat in order to succeed at a task. Also known as a Defense Value when comprised of a Characteristic plusa Skill.
Energy Defense [ED]: Your ability to shrug off energy-based attacks, measured as an "armor" that reduces this kind of Stun damage.
Gamemaster [GM]: The person who runs the Fuzion game, playing the parts of all characters not taken by the Players.
Hits: An arbitrary measure of "life energy". When you have lost all your Hits, you are dying.
Killing Defense [KD]: Armor. Also the ability to shrug off all types of Killing damage. Usually subtracted from the amount done.
Kills: A larger scale of damage used when attacking military (or huge) vehicles and structures. Things that do damage in Hits or SDP cannot damage things with Kills.
Killing Damage: Physical, deadly wounds, subtracted from your Hits.
NPC: A Non-Player Character portrayed by the GM.
Option Points [OP]: These are points used to buy the "stuff" the character owns, knows or can do, such as Skills, Talents, Perks, or Powers.
Perk: A useful privilege or contact a character has special access to.
Power: An innate, superhuman ability that cannot usually be learned or taught, usually quite powerful. An example might be the ability to fly or fire bolts of energy. Purchased from a separate pool of Power Points.
Skill: An ability that can be learned or taught, such as playing an instrument or using a weapon.
Structural Damage Points [SDP]: Damage to structures and vehicles
Stun Points: A measure of consciousness or awareness. When your Stun Points are at 0, you are unconscious.
Stun Damage: Shocks to your consciousness, subtracted from Stun.
Stun Defense [SD]: Your ability to shrug off shocks to your consciousness, measured as an "armor" that reduces Stun damage.
Talent: An innate ability, (but not necessarily superhuman) that can't be learned or taught; i.e., a bump of direction or ability to see in the dark.
Task: A thing that you do, such as picking a lock or firing a gun. Any use of a Skill or any Attack is a Task. See Task Resolution.
Task Resolution: The way you figure out whether or not you succeed at a task you attempt, in Fuzion

This is the first step of creating a character; getting a concept and history established. Lifepath is a special flowchart of events, personality quirks and plot complications, which are used to give a character roleplaying depth and complexity. In effect, the Lifepath is your character's "origin story," telling where he came from, what he's done and what he's like. To use the Lifepath, simply follow the instructions in each box of the chart, rolling a die or making a choice as instructed.

As part of the Lifepath process, you may also elect to take a few Complications: Situations, problems or personal limitations that enhance the roleplaying aspect of the character, and (coincidentally), generate extra Option Points to be used in the creation of the character later.

Note: Complications are not just window dressing; a big part of getting more Option Points is roleplaying your complications.

Along the Lifepath you'll see certain events marked with symbols. They are a signal that this particular event is a good place to link up to a possible Complication. For example, Parents Murdered would be a great place to take on a Responsibility, such as a Dependent (your baby sister), a Vow (to fight Evil) or a Code of Honor (Never Harm an Innocent).

START LIFEPATH

Now move on to Early Background and
Childhood Events (Roll for all of these):

What was your early upbringing like, economics wise?
Note: this has no effect on your current situation

Roll 2D6 and find out...

Characteristics (also called Stats) are NUMBERS that describe your character's ability as compared to everyone else in the universe. All people and creatures can be described (or written up) using Characteristics; this lets you compare one person to another, which is often important in the game. For instance, a person with a Strength Characteristic of 5 is stronger than a person with a Strength Characteristic of 4, but not as strong as a person with a Strength Characteristic of 6.

WHAT THE NUMBERS MEAN

Characteristics define the basic structure of a character, and the numbers show how good a Characteristic is relative to other people. But before we can go on to actually constructing that character, we'll need to know something about the type of character it will be. Is he an everyman who finds himself suddenly catapulted into a life of adventure? Is he a seasoned veteran who is trained to face danger without flinching? Is he an idealistic crimefighter granted strange superhuman abilities that have allowed him to fight against Evil? And what numbers best represent a character?
Here's a handy set of descriptions that can be applied to numbers for each Characteristic. We've also included descriptions for Skills as well, to give a total perspective of character scale.

CAMPAIGN REALITY LEVELS

One of the advantages of Fuzion's various Dials, Switches and Plug-ins is that it allows Referees to "custom tailor" the reality level of their campaigns.
One way to do this is to place implicit maximum levels on character Characteristics. Another way is to use a Dial to alter the "reality level" of majority of the campaign; for instance, in a Superheroic setting, it may be common for people to lift a ton and dodge machinegun bullets, but in Everyday life, you'd better dial that Strength way down and the accuracy of Uzis way up.

Heres' a few examples of campaign reality levels:

PRIMARY vs. DERIVED CHARACTERISTICS

There are two kinds of Characteristics in Fuzion. Primary Characteristics are "bought", using a pool of points which we'll discuss below. A good example of a Primary Characteristic would be a character's BODY characteristic, used to judge how tough he is. Derived Characteristics are created by applying a simple mathematical formula to a specific Characteristic. A good example of a Derived Characteristic would be a character's STUN, which is figured by multiplying his BODY by 5.
Both Primary and Derived Characteristics will vary from campaign to campaign, so for right now, we'll just discuss the basic method of buying characteristics in all cases.

CHARACTERISTIC POINTS: The Power to Buy
The power to buy your Primary Characteristics comes from a pool of points called Characteristic Points (CP), given to you by the GM when you make your character.
But how do you determine that value? The best option is for the GM to multiply the number of Primary Characteristics by the average value the GM wants the characters to have; this will give you the starting Characteristic Points for the campaign.
Example: In a Fuzion campaign with 10 Primary Characteristics, the GM wants to have Heroic characters; he gives them (10 x 5 = 50) Points.
Referees should consider this simple guideline to determine the number of Characteristic Points to give beginning characters:
Campaign Style Pts. per Characteristic

Buying Characteristics
Primary Characteristics are purchased at a ratio of 1 Characteristic Point [CP] for one level of ability. Example: I want to have a Strength of 5. I pay 5 CP. You must put at least one Characteristic Points in each Characteristic; the maximum level you can buy in any one Characteristic is normally 7-8 for a normal human; however, if you are creating a Superhuman (or your GM allows it), you can put as many points into a single Characteristic you want.. The GM may also set his own limits on the value of any or all Characteristics.

PRIMARY CHARACTERISTICS
Now that you have an idea of what the Characteristic and Skill ranges are for different kinds of characters, it's time to actually construct one. Total Fuzion's flexible structure allows you to build a character with lots of depth and fine tuning, as well as giving you the ability to add new Characteristics or remove them as a campaign demands.
Typical Primary Characteristics

In a typical Total Fuzion campaign, characters will have 10 Primary Characteristics, arranged into four groups:
Mental Group

• Intelligence (INT): How generally bright you are. As a rule, this is more than sheer intelligence, but also cleverness, awareness, perception, and ability to learn; mental deficiencies don't become apparent until you hit 1.
  
• Willpower (WILL): Your determination and ability to face danger and/or stress. This Characteristic represents your courage and cool.
  
• Presence (PRE): Your ability to impress and influence people through your character and charisma; how well you get along with others; how you interact in social situations.
  Combat Group
  
• Technique (TECH): Your ability to manipulate tools or instruments. This is not the same as reflexes, inasmuch as this covers the knack of using tools. One character might have a high Technique, but might not be able to fence or juggle. On the other hand, another might have high Reflexes, but only a fair level of Technique.
  
• Reflexes (REF): Your response time and coordination, as used in aiming, throwing, juggling. A stage magician, for example, would have a high Reflex Characteristic. Most importantly, this is the Characteristic that shows your chance to hit things.
  
• Dexterity (DEX): Your overall physical competence, as pertains to balancing, leaping, jumping, combat and other athletic activities. A gymnast would have a high Dexterity. Most importantly, this Characteristic is used to avoid being hit.
  Physical Group
  
• Constitution (CON): How healthy you are. How resistant to shock effects, poisons and disease. You can be a really big, tough, strong guy and still get floored by a head cold!
  
• Strength (STR): Your muscle mass and how effective it is for exerting force. The higher your strength, the more you can lift, drag, etc., and the more powerful the blows from your fists and other body parts.
  
• Body (BODY): Your size, toughness, and ability to stay alive and conscious due to physical mass, sheer bloody-mindedness and structure or other qualities. How much damage you can take is derived from this.
  Movement Group
  
• Movement (MOVE): Your speed of movement; running, leaping, swimming, etc. There is only one Primary Characteristic in this group; the rest are Derived (pg. 115)

To create a Fuzion character, you'll need some CHARACTERISTIC POINTS (pg. 113 sec). Primary Characteristics are purchased at a ratio of 1 Characteristic Points [CP] for one level of ability in the Characteristic. You must put at least one Point in each Characteristic. In general, the maximum amount you can put in any one Characteristic will be 8 for humans; however, if you are creating an alien or other superhuman (or your GM allows it), you can put as many points into a Characteristic as you want.

Key Idea: Adding/Removing Characteristics
Fuzion's design allows Referees to change, add, or remove Characteristics for your individual campaigns. All you have to do is create the new Characteristic, assign it to one of the four groups and grant the player points for it based on the average level for Characteristics in the game. Example: in a Heroic campaign, the average pt. range is 5-6 points per Characteristic. To add a new Characteristic, you'll give your players 5-6 extra points and allow them to re-arrange them as desired throughout the whole group.
Referees should always emphasize the importance of all Characteristics in their Campaigns (since the cost will be the same anyway). Don't let your players get away with just having good combat abilities; make them deal with problems too!

DERIVED CHARACTERISTICS
Derived Characteristics are characteristics that are created by performing some kind of simple mathematical operation on a character's already existing Primary Characteristics.
The following Derived Characteristics are common to most Fuzion campaigns. If your character does not have the exact Primary Characteristic the Derived Characteristic comes from, you can either use the Characteristic's group value or a one determined by the GM of your campaign:

• Stun [BODYx 5]: How much stunning/brawling damage you can take before you are battered into unconsciousness, calculated as points. Important: At the start, you may elect to move points from Stun into Hits or vice versa, as long as the total moved is limited to 1/2 of the starting Stun Value. Example: with 35 Stun and 35 Hits, I could move up to 17 points from Stun into my Hits or up to 17 points from Hits into my Stun.
  
• Hits [BODY x 5]: How much killing damage you can take before you are dying. Any Armor you have may be subtracted from any Killing damage you take. You may move Hit points into Stun and vice versa (see above).
  
• Stun Defense (aka SD) [CON x 2]: How resistant you are to Stun damage; your SD is subtracted from any Stun damage you take.
  
• Recovery (REC) [STR+CON]: This Characteristic determines how fast the character recovers from damage. You get back this many Stun points each turn when you rest, and this many Hits back for each day of medical attention.
  
• Run (aka Combat Move) [MOVE x 2m ], Sprint (aka Non-combat Move) [Move x 3m], Swim [MOVE x 1m], Leap [MOVE x 1m]: How far the character runs (at a rate allowing dodges and evasions), sprints (in a flat-out run), swims, and leaps in 3 seconds.

OPTIONAL DERIVED CHARACTERISTICS
Optional Derived Characteristics are Characteristics that may not be present in every Fuzion campaign. In an Old West campaign, for example, you may not ever need to have a Derived Characteristic for defense against lasers. But because these are derived from Primary Characteristics, you can always generate an Optional Derived Characteristic when you need one, allowing you to transfer characters between genres. Although these will vary from campaign to campaign, a few typical Optional Derived Characteristics are:

• Luck [INT+REF]: Fate acting on your behalf. Each game session you may take points from this Derived Characteristic and use them in other places; to add to important die rolls or subtract from damage. When you have used up all of these points, they are gone until the next game session. You've "run out of Luck."
• Endurance (END) [CON x 10]: This Characteristic represents how long the character can expend energy, whether in physical endurance or in the use of a special ability (like a superpower or talent). It is spent in the same way as Hits or Stun points. When it runs out, you are exhausted and cannot do anything more except rest and recover. Generally, 1-2 points of effect, 1 minute or hour of time (or 1 point of "power" used) spends 1 END point. END returns whenever you take a Recover Action (pg. 154), which restores as much END as your REC (see above).
• Energy Defense (ED) [CON x 2]: How resistant you are to damage from lasers, electricity. force beams, and other "energy-based" threats. Calculated as points that are subtracted from "energy" damage only. ED is calculated from the same Primary Characteristic as SD; you can elect to move points from one to the other when you create the character (not afterwards!). The amount you can move may not be greater than one half the starting value. Example: With a CON of 6, I have 12 Energy Defense and 12 Stun Defense. I decide to beef up my SD at the cost of my ED, moving up to a max of 6 points from from one to the other.
• Speed (SPD) [1/2 of REF]: This Characteristic is used to measure a character's reactions. Speed can be used to determine either when you move during the course of action, or how many things you can do in a specific time period (especially when using an optional Speed table such as the one used in Champions, 4th edition).
• Resistance (RES) [WILLx3]: Your ability to resist mental or psychological attacks or stress; basically your mental "Hits".
• Humanity (HUM) [PRE x10]: Your basic morality and humanity. Used often in games where the character faces dehumanization, extreme horror or the unearthly. This Derived Characteristic loses points by receiving "humanity" damage; seeing horrible events, removing body parts and replacing them with other objects, gaining unearthly powers that separate him from the rest of mankind, etc. For every 10 points lost from this Derived Characteristic, a corresponding one point is lost from your Presence Characteristic; when it is reduced to 0, the character becomes technically insane and his actions are taken over by the GM to reflect this.
  Deriving allows Referees to create new Characteristics on the fly, leaving their original Characteristics unchanged. This means as you move characters between Fuzion campaigns, you'll find it easy to both create and generate new Derived Characteristics, even if you didn't have them to begin with.

Buying Up Derived Stats:

It is possible to increase the value of a Derived Stat beyond its starting value. The chart shows what you get for each 5 Option Points spent. Of course, you can also use Character Points to buy up Derived Stats as well. In general, however, you'd be better served just to increase the Primary Stat from which the Derived Stat is figured, unless there is some reason why you can't (or shouldn't.)

Note that normal humans have stat maximums for Derived Stats, much as they have Stat maximums for Primary Stats. In the case of Derived Stats, these maximums are figured from the maximum value of the Primary Stat(s) involved. For example, the maximum stat for a normal human in the Champions: New Millennium campaign is 7. The maximum Derived Stats for that normal human would be SD & ED of 14, SPD of 4, RES of 14, REC of 14, END of 70, STUN of 35, and HITS of 35. A character may buy his Derived Stats up beyond this maximum, but he must have some kind of reason (super-powers, magic, etc.) to exceed those numbers.

For 5 Option Points or 1 Character Point, you can increase your Derived Stats by choosing one of the following:

• +2 SD & ED
• +1/2 SPD (Requires 2 CP or 10 OP to increase by +1)
• +1 REC
• +10 END
• +3 Resistance
• +5 STUN
• +5 HITS

Increasing or Decreasing Characteristics (Primary or Derived)
Characteristics generally may not be increased or decreased directly. However, certain Talents or Powers that may or may not be available in your campaign setting may allow you to increase a Characteristic, either temporarily or permanently. Certain Complications may also decrease a Characteristic. Or, as last resort, you may attempt to convince your GM to allow you to use Option Points in increase a Characteristic at a ratio of five OP for every point of Characteristic increase.

CAMPAIGN OPTIONS
In any campaign, characters will need to get the basic Skills, Talents, & Perks and Equipment with which to fight, protect themselves, and generally adventure. These Campaign Options are usually specific to a style or genre of game; what works in a science fiction adventure from the far future would be mind-bendingly out of place in a medieval fantasy setting. The precise list of campaign options available in a particular campaign will always vary according to each GM's decisions. But as a general rule, they all break down into Skills, Talents, & Perks, Equipment, and Powers; all of which are purchased using Campaign Option Points [OP].

OPTION POINTS
When starting a new character; everything he/she owns or knows is purchased with Option Points (OP). Why is this? The main reason is that it allows players to accurately scale characters; everything costs Option Points, and you know what you're getting in relation to something else. This also makes it harder for players to create characters who are unfair or unbalanced in relationship to other characters; as long as you have similar levels of Option Points, you know that any two characters will be relatively similar in terms of what they have, know or can do. Option Points are given to Players by the GM at the start of character creation (still more points will come from Complications and experience awards).
The following point values are merely guidelines based on the style of the campaign. Individual campaigns may have very different numbers.
After character creation, all remaining Option Pointscan be converted to money units on a 100 money units to 1 OP basis (whether gold, credits eurobucks, yen, zolotnies, whatever).

Trading Option Points for Characteristic Points (Primary or Derived)
Option Points are not normally interchangeable with Characteristic Points (which are used only to buy Characteristics) However, in certain situations (such as superheroic games or where a character has undergone some sweeping or fundamental change), you can use Option Points to raise a Characteristic at a ratio of five Option Points to one Characteristic Point. These improvements must be granted by the GM of the particular game you are in.

Inherent Options, Gadgets, & Bought Options
Inherent options are things that are part of the character; they are as much a part of him as his Characteristics. They cannot be taken from him (under most circumstances), but they also cannot be used by anyone else. Inherent items usually include Skills, Talents, Perks and (where applicable) Powers, and are always purchased with Option Points.
In contrast , a Gadget (sometimes called a Focus) is something that is bought with Option Points just like a Power or Skill, but is a distinct, separate thing from the person that created it. This allows it to be used by others, but also means it can be destroyed or otherwise taken away. When this happens, the points used to construct the Gadget are not lost per se, but the Gadget must be then re-acquired or rebuilt via roleplaying. (A quest for a lost Gadget is a gold mine for any enterprising GM!). Good examples of Gadgets are magical items, special weapons, or superpowered equipment that is integral to the character (like a utility belt, armor suit or power source).
Bought Options are things that can be constructed and paid for in money. Bought items most often include vehicles and equipment. Unlike Inherent options, bought options can be used by others. They can also be destroyed or taken away from a character and must be replaced by using money or new Option Points gained through Experience.

Buying Powers with Power Points (PP)
Because Powers can inherently unbalance most games, you should provide players in superheroic or magical settings with a separate pool of Points just for buying initial Powers. This not only gives the GM a better handle on controlling the effects of Powers on his game, but also makes it easier to improve these Powers by adding new points to this separate pool.

Important: If allowing players to put extra Option Points into this separate point group, remember that 5 OP= 1 Power Point.

Can't Find the Power You Want?
Maybe you're looking in the wrong place. Many superheroic Powers are actually superhuman Characteristics instead. If you really want to build a guy with a STR of 25, get your GM's permission to exchange some of your Power or Option Points for Characteristic Points. Power points interchange with Characteristics on a 1 to 1 basis; Option Points on a 5 to 1 basis.
Not Enough Power Points?
With the permission of the GM, you can add Option Points to your Power pool at a ratio of five Option Points to one Power Point.
Buying Complex Things with Power Points
While Option Points can be translated into money with which to buy equipment, complex things (like vehicles) can also be rated in points independent of their monetary value. After all, a tractor might cost $50,000.ºº, but how useful would it be to your character? It's not worth 500 OP, that's for sure!
For this reason, most vehicles, mecha and large weapons in FUZION will have a Power Point value listed separate from their monetary cost, based on the same 5 to 1 ratio used to buy Powers So if a GM wants his players to buy their own Big Hardware, he should make sure to give them an extra 100~150 OP to play with!

COMPLICATIONS
One way to get more Option Points when creating a character is to take on a few Complications-social, mental, physical, or emotional situations/problems that define and enhance your character; they can also be linked to various Lifepath events to add to a character's background. Complications will vary depending on the campaign. The Value of a Complication is based on its Frequency, Intensity and Importance:

Frequency
Just how often does your problem impact your life? The answer is the problem's Frequency; how often the GM can inflict it upon you as part of the trade for those extra OP. This table works for all complications:

Intensity
Intensity reflects how hard it is to overcome the complication, or just how much it affects you. Each Complication has its own Intensity rating written in parenthesis ( ) right after it, but we also provide you with a handy table of general roleplaying guidelines:

Example: Stubborn: Risk incarceration, bodily harm or financial/ social ruin [10] means the Intensity of this Complication will get you 10 points.

Importance
Importance rates how important the Complication is to the character and the Campaign. For example, taking Foreigner in a place where everyone is from another place is pretty valueless, but in a xenophobic environment, it takes on major importance. Another measure of Importance is its effect on your character's survival; if it can kill you, it's generally more important than something that may complicate your roleplaying.The final application is up to the GM.

To Determine a COMPLICATION'S Value
To determine the value of a Complication, add together the Frequency Value, the Intensity Value, and multiply the resulting total by the Importance. Example: I take Responsibility as a Complication. I decide that this affects me Frequently (10), and I decide I'm responsible for the care of my aged Aunt Meg. Since she is very old, she's considered to be Challenged (Intensity 10), but since I'm not in any danger and my skills aren't affected (divide by 5), taking care of my aged aunt is worth (10+10)/5 = 4 Points. But if Aunt Meg was constantly exposed to extreme danger that I had to rescue her from, I could milk the situation for up to 20 points! Good ol' Aunt Meg!

The first thing most characters will want to buy with their Option Points are Skills. Skills are things the character knows or can do; they represent his or her level of knowledge and accomplishment. Skills are normally rated from one to ten, and are used in game play by adding the level of the Skill to the level of the most applicable Characteristic the skill is related to.
The good news is, every character gets a free starting group of skills to begin with, so that he won't be totally helpless in his new environment: Everyman Skills.

EVERYMAN SKILLS
Everyman skills are things generally known by everyone in all specific cultures or time periods: Perception, Concentration, Education, Persuasion, Athletics, Teacher, Local Expert (Knowledge of your area), Hand-to-Hand, and Hand-to-Hand Evade. These are given free to all characters by the GM, and have an automatic starting level of 2; about what the average person would know about his world. Each can be improved by adding Skill levels on an individual basis. An individual GM may wish to add or remove skills from the Everyman category to suit his particular game; in a far future setting, for example, everyone may use computers, but only special people may have any athletic skills. The Everyman skill category gives you the flexibility to tailor the level of your culture as desired.

GENERAL SKILLS
Unlike Everyman Skills, General Skills are purchased at the cost of one Option Point for every level of skill; for example, to have 4 levels in Firearms would cost 4 OP.
Buying a skill generally gets you the ability to do pretty much everything described by that skill. However, some campaign settings may require that you specify how a skill will be used (for example, picking what kind of Scientist (Physicist, Chemist, etc.) you intend to be. In these cases, you may need to take additional "specializations" of that skill to be able to use it in other ways (for example, Scientist [Physicist] and Scientist [Chemist].
The list of possible skills one could encounter in a Fuzion game is as wide as the possible campaign settings.
What's compiled on the next page are typical skills applicable to many superheroic settings or modern action genres. Feel free to use these as a guideline for your adventures as each Fuzion campaign will usually have its own list.

TALENTS

Talents are an innate ability, (but not necessarily superhuman) that cannot normally be learned or taught, such as a bump of direction or the ability to see in the dark. The list of Talents below is a general one; which ones are available depends on each GM's decisions about the campaign setting. Each one of these Talents costs 3 points each. If levels (indicated by a :) can be taken in the Talent, each additional level will cost another 3OP:

PERKS & PRIVILEGES

Perks are useful items, privileges, or contacts a character has access to in a campaign. Perks can be special licenses or symbols of authority, friends, favors or fringe benefits accruing from a profession. They are purchased with Option Points just like any Skill, and function as a value gauge of how powerful the Perk is (1 being lowest, 10 being best-the GM is the final arbiter of a Perk's worth on the 1~10 scale); level 8 or 9 should really mean something!
Perks are extremely campaign dependent and should be created for each campaign individually. Many Perks have mixed benefits, both good or bad, and game play should reflect this. Think about it: A "Mafia Godfather" Contact might require a favor of you someday too!
Once the GM has established the level of the Perk, he must decide just how much impact that perk has on the world; for example, in a superheroic game, being the head of a huge corporation would be a character affectation; in a cyberpunk campaign, that same status would have serious impact. The impact is matched to the chart below and the basic cost for the Perk (listed below) is multiplied by the value indicated. This will be the final cost.

Campaign Style Multiply Perk By

Money in Fuzion

Generally, players with wealthy characters are discouraged from keeping track of their money directly-it's a lot of tedious bookkeeping. However, there may be times when you'll absolutely need to know if you can buy that Caribbean island. In this case, you might use the following rule: At Wealth 1, the player has a disposable income of $1,000 per week; this value doubles for each additional level of Wealth-this means at Wealth 10, you could spend over 2 million dollars a year! Referees should be really careful letting this rules cat out of the bag!

GEAR & EQUIPMENT
Gear is just one more thing your character will need to adventure. The list below is a sample of types of personal hardware used in the Champions setting; it is by no means exhaustive. Note: The values given here are in Option Points; to derive money costs, multiply the OP cost by 100 monetary units. Also note some costs are in 10th points.

IMPROVING YOURSELF
Sooner or later, you will want to improve your Skills, Characteristics or Powers from the levels at which you purchased them at. There are several ways in which to do this:

Study & Practice:
You get a how-to book and start reading/practicing. Study is the hardest method, you have no idea of where to begin and no one to correct your mistakes. In general, it takes about 1 month of study to gain 1 point. The biggest limit to this method is that you can only improve your skill to a level of 3.
Being Taught:
Superior to book learning. The teacher must have a higher level of skill than the student and must have the time to teach (how long this takes is up to the GM). But even the most knowledgeable teachers may not be any good at transferring their knowledge; that's where the skill of Teaching comes in. The teacher averages his skill in the subject to be taught with his Teaching skill; he may then teach the student up to that level of skill. How long this takes is up to the GM, who can award points over the passage of time (usually 1-2 points per month).
Experience:
Still the best teacher. Whenever you do something really well, the GM may award you with 1-2 Option Points right on the spot. The problem is that these points are applied to the skill you were using to get the award. Therefore, if you want to get better in a skill you should use it very chance you get.
Another way to improve Characteristics, Skills and other Campaign Options comes into play AFTER character creation; winning Option Points through adventuring with the character. There are two major ways to gain these points:
Roleplaying:
While it isn't exactly part of the game reality, Referees should always reward their players for how well they play the character; after all, that's why we're doing this. Here are a few suggestions:

-Roleplaying Award-
Player was clever, inventive, or roleplayed well 1, 2 pts.
Player solved a mystery or major point of plot 1 pt.
Adventure was resounding success 2,3 pts.
Base points for being in scenario 1, 2 pts.

Assigning Points:
The GM can also give out points for specific skills or attributes, or even assign those points to a particular Skill, Power or Perk as a bonus over and above the regular points for a session. We like to call this the "Radiation Accident Gives Player New Powers Rule," because it is best employed whenever a player undergoes a particularly meaningful adventure that may well change his life

Buying Stuff with Your Points
So the GM just dumped a whole load of points on you-great! But how do you use them? Much like real currency, all Option Points need to be cashed in to buy or improve Skills, Powers and Gear (even Characteristics with your GM's agreement)

• To buy up Skills: ONE point for each LEVEL of the new skill . Example: To buy a skill from 3 to 4 would require 4 Option Points.
• To buy up Characteristics: FIVE points for every one point of Characteristic improvement, plus the permission of the GM. Example: to improve your REF from 5 to 6 would require 5 Option Points and your GM's agreement.
• To buy up Powers (if applicable): FIVE points for every one point of Power improvement, plus the permission of the GM. Example: to improve your Energy Blast from DC3 to DC4 would require 5 Option Points and your Ref's agreement.
• To generate Cash: 1 Option Point equals 100 dollars (or other money unit, plus the GM's permission. Example: to gain $500.ºº would require 5 OP and your Ref's OK.
  

It's Christmas Time!
Experience is one of the most problematic parts of running a campaign. Too little, and your players become frustrated at not accomplishing anything; too much, and they become jaded because everything is too easy.
One trick to maintaining both balance and excitement is to use the "Christmas" theory of experience; keep the awards relatively small from game to game, with a large award at the end of an entire adventure arc. The award should be in a discreet "Christmas Present"-a coveted vehicle (or points which can only be used to create a vehicle), "Special training" (where Skill points must go to a specific Skill area), or a "Radiation Accident" that provides points that create or improve specific powers.

THE RULE OF X

This is a very important option for Referees who want more control over their campaign's growth. The Rule of X is a simple way to set the overall power of the campaign, and to keep it at that level.
Simply, the Rule of X limits how powerful characters can start off at in a campaign. (Well, the GM can of course break this rule for the Non-Player Characters, but the players must stick to it.) Here's how it works.
The value of X depends on the power level you want for the campaign. For instance, a superhero campaign might start with the Rule of 20. A character with a STR of 12, and a Reflex of 6, could have no more than a Skill of 2 with his hand-to-hand attacks (12 + 6 + 2 = 20). A martial artist with 40 Hits and a Dexterity of 7 could have no more than a 5 Skill with his martial attacks ([40/5] + 7 + 5 = 20). Some suggested values for the Rule of X are.