GURPS 4 Babylon 5
Character Creation: Important Skills
Character creation options that you'll need
These are the skills that are likely to be useful in the campaign. Those not bulleted as primary cost half.
Academic Skills
| Ref | Name | Level | Primary | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HR4.19 | Biology+/TL | IQ/H | ||
| HR4.19 | Chemistry+/TL | IQ/H | • | |
| HR4.19 | Earth Sciences+/TL | IQ/H | ||
| B193 | Expert Skill (Computer Security, Conspiracy Theory, Military Science, Political Science, Psionics, Xenology) | IQ/H | • | |
| B193 | Expert Skill (Epidemiology) | IQ/H | ||
| HR4.19 | Mathematics+/TL | IQ/H | ||
| HR4.19 | Physics+/TL | IQ/H | ||
| HR4.19 | Social Sciences+ | IQ/H | • | |
| B222 | Speed-Reading | IQ/A | • | |
| B228 | Weird Science | IQ/VH |
Artistic Skills
| Ref | Name | Level | Primary | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B176 | Architecture/TL | IQ/A | ||
| B185 | Cooking | IQ/A | • | |
| HR4.7 | Dancing | DX/A | ||
| B210 | Musical Composition | IQ/H | ||
| B211 | Musical Instrument† | IQ/H | • | |
| B212 | Performance | IQ/A | • | This would normally be background but this make good defaults for Acting and Public Speaking. |
| B214 | Poetry | IQ/A | • | |
| B220 | Singing | HT/E | • | |
| B228 | Ventriloquism | IQ/H | ||
| B228 | Writing | IQ/A |
Athletic Skills
| Ref | Name | Level | Primary | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B174 | Acrobatics | DX/H | • | |
| B183 | Climbing | DX/A | • | |
| B192 | Escape | DX/H | • | |
| B205 | Lifting | HT/A | ||
| B218 | Running | HT/A | • |
Business and Wealth Skills
| Ref | Name | Level | Primary | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B174 | Accounting | IQ/A | • | |
| B174 | Administration | IQ/A | • | |
| B195 | Finance | IQ/H | Can be used to raise capital but you're primarily investigators. | |
| B207 | Market Analysis | IQ/H | • | |
| B209 | Merchant | IQ/A | • |
Combat Skills
| Ref | Name | Level | Primary | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HR4.19 | Artillery+/TL | IQ/A | ||
| HR4.5 | Beam Weapons/TL (Automatic, Long Arm or Pistol) | DX/E | • | |
| HR4.19 | Blades+ | DX/A | • | |
| HR4.19 | Bludgeoning+ | DX/A | • | |
| HR4.19 | Bows+ | DX/A | ||
| B182 | Boxing | DX/A | • | |
| B182 | Brawling | DX/E | • | |
| HR4.19 | Explosives+/TL | IQ/A | ||
| B194 | Fast-Draw (Ammo, Long Arm or Pistol) | DX/E | • | |
| HR4.19 | Fast-Draw+ (Blades) | DX/E | • | |
| HR4.19 | Gunnar+/TL | DX/E | ||
| HR4.5 | Guns/TL (Long Arm) | DX/E | • | Used for grenade launchers. |
| HR4.5 | Guns/TL (Automatic or Pistol) | DX/E | Mostly obsolete. | |
| B203 | Judo | DX/H | • | |
| B203 | Karate | DX/H | • | |
| HR4.19 | Liquid Projector+/TL | DX/E | ||
| HR4.19 | Nets+ | DX/A | ||
| HR4.19 | Polearms+ | DX/A | • | |
| HR4.19 | Shield+ | DX/E | ||
| HR4.19 | Soldier+/TL | IQ/A | ||
| B223 | Sumo Wrestling | DX/A | • | |
| B223 | Tactics | IQ/H | • | |
| HR4.19 | Throw Weapon+ | DX/E | • | |
| HR4.19 | Whips+ | DX/A | ||
| B228 | Wrestling | DX/A | • |
Cultural and Geographic Skills
| Ref | Name | Level | Primary | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B176 | Area Knowledge (Babylon 5) | IQ/E | • | Counts as City level. |
| B176 | Area Knowledge (Blue, Brown, Green, Grey, Red Sector) | IQ/E | • | Each counts as Town level. |
| B185 | Connoisseur (Cars, Clothes, Food, Literature, Music or Wine) | IQ/A | These can impress people. | |
| B186 | Current Affairs/TL (Business, Headline News or Politics) | IQ/E | • | If you have this skill, you will receive clues about conspiracies in the news. |
| B186 | Current Affairs/TL (High Culture, People, Popular Culture, Science and Technology, Sports or Travel) | IQ/E | These provide few clues but might impress someone. | |
| HR4.19 | Geopolitics+ (Centauri, Human, Minbari or Narn) | IQ/A | • | |
| HR4.19 | Geopolitics+ (Abbai, Brakiri, Drazi, Gaim, Pak'ma'ra or Vree) | IQ/A | ||
| B199 | Heraldry (Coat of Arms, Corporate Logos or Graffiti Tags) | IQ/A | ||
| HR4.19 | Humanities+ (Centauri, Human, Minbari or Narn) | IQ/H | • | |
| HR4.19 | Humanities+ (Abbai, Brakiri, Drazi, Gaim, Pak'ma'ra or Vree) | IQ/H | ||
| B204 | Law (International) | IQ/H | • | |
| HR4.19 | Law+ (Centauri, Human, Minbari or Narn) | IQ/H | • | |
| HR4.19 | Law+ (Abbai, Brakiri, Drazi, Gaim, Pak'ma'ra or Vree) | IQ/H |
Exploration and Vehicle Skills
| Ref | Name | Level | Primary | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B183 | Camouflage | IQ/E | ||
| B188 | Driving (Automobile or Motorcycle) | DX/A | • | |
| B197 | Free Fall | DX/A | • | |
| B211 | Navigation/TL (Hyperspace or Space) | IQ/A | • | |
| B211 | Navigation/TL (Air, Land or Sea) | IQ/A | ||
| B212 | Parachuting/TL | DX/E | ||
| HR4.15 | Pilot (Aerospace or High-Performace Spacecraft) | DX/A | • | |
| HR4.15 | Pilot (Autogyro, Glider, Helicopter, Jump Jet, Light Airplane, Ultrahigh-Performance Spacecraft, Ultralight or Vertol) | DX/A | ||
| B219 | Scuba/TL | IQ/A | ||
| B222 | Spacer | IQ/E | • | |
| B222 | Strategy (Space) | IQ/H | ||
| B223 | Survival+ (Aquatic or Land) | Per/A | Only the Abbai can take the Aquatic version. | |
| B226 | Tracking | Per/A | • | |
| B192 | Vacc Suit/TL | DX/A | • |
Investigative and Criminal Skills
| Ref | Name | Level | Primary | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B174 | Acting | IQ/A | • | |
| B181 | Body Language | Per/A | • | |
| B186 | Criminology/TL | IQ/A | • | |
| B187 | Detect Lies | Per/H | • | |
| B187 | Disguise/TL† | IQ/A | • | |
| B195 | Filch | DX/A | • | |
| B196 | Forensics/TL | IQ/H | • | |
| HR4.9 | Forgery/TL | IQ/H | • | |
| B197 | Garrote | DX/E | • | |
| B200 | Holdout | IQ/A | • | |
| B201 | Intelligence Analysis/TL | IQ/H | • | |
| B202 | Interrogation | IQ/A | • | |
| B205 | Lip Reading | Per/A | • | |
| HR4.12 | Lockpicking/TL | IQ/A | • | |
| B206 | Makeup/TL | IQ/E | • | |
| B211 | Observation | Per/A | • | |
| B213 | Pickpocket | DX/H | • | |
| B217 | Research/TL | IQ/A | • | |
| B219 | Search | Per/A | • | |
| B219 | Shadowing | IQ/A | • | |
| B221 | Sleight of Hand | DX/H | • | |
| B221 | Smuggling | IQ/A | • | |
| B222 | Stealth | DX/A | • | |
| B223 | Streetwise | IQ/A | • | |
| B226 | Traps/TL | IQ/A | • |
Medical Skills
| Ref | Name | Level | Primary | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B187 | Diagnosis/TL | IQ/H | • | Can provide forensic clues. |
| B195 | First Aid/TL | IQ/E | • | |
| B201 | Hypnotism | IQ/H | • | |
| B213 | Physician/TL | IQ/H | • | |
| B223 | Surgery/TL | IQ/VH | • | |
| B228 | Veterinary/TL | IQ/H |
Miscellaneous Skills
| Ref | Name | Level | Primary | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HR4.4 | Autohypnosis | Will/H | • | |
| B180 | Bicycling | DX/E | ||
| B196 | Forced Entry | DX/E | • | |
| B197 | Gambling | IQ/A | • | |
| B198 | Gesture | IQ/E | • | |
| B200 | Hobby Skill | DX/E or IQ/E | ||
| B200 | Housekeeping | IQ/E | • | |
| B203 | Knot-Tying | DX/E | ||
| HR4.13 | Meditation | Will/H | • | |
| B210 | Mimicry (Speech) | IQ/H | • | |
| B210 | Mimicry (Animal Sounds or Bird Calls) | IQ/H | ||
| B210 | Mind Block | Will/A | • | |
| B213 | Photography/TL | IQ/A | • | |
| B218 | Scrounging | Per/E | ||
| B219 | Sewing/TL | DX/E | ||
| B228 | Typing | DX/E | ||
| B228 | Urban Survival | Per/A | • |
Social Skills
| Ref | Name | Level | Primary | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B183 | Carousing | HT/E | • | |
| HR4.8 | Diplomacy | IQ/H | • | |
| B195 | Fast-Talk | IQ/A | • | |
| B202 | Intimidation | Will/A | • | |
| B204 | Leadership | IQ/A | • | |
| B216 | Propaganda/TL | IQ/A | • | |
| B216 | Public Speaking | IQ/A | • | |
| B218 | Savoir-Faire (High Society, Mafia, Military or Police) | IQ/E | • | |
| B219 | Sex Appeal | HT/A | Suffers -4 penalty with members of other species. | |
| B223 | Teaching | IQ/A |
Technical Skills
| Ref | Name | Level | Primary | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HR4.19 | Armoury+/TL | IQ/A | • | |
| HR4.19 | Bioengineering+/TL | IQ/H | • | |
| B184 | Computer Operation/TL | IQ/E | • | |
| B186 | Cryptography/TL | IQ/E | • | |
| B189 | Electronics Operation/TL (Communications, Electronic Warfare, Media, Medical, Scientific, Security, Sensors or Surveillance) | IQ/A | • | |
| B189 | Electronics Operation/TL (Psychotronics) | IQ/A | ||
| HR4.19 | Electronics Repair+/TL (IT or Sensors) | IQ/A | • | |
| HR4.19 | Electronics Repair+/TL (Superscience) | IQ/A | ||
| HR4.19 | Engineer+/TL (Electronic) | IQ/H | • | |
| HR4.19 | Engineer+/TL (Construction or Mechnical) | IQ/H | ||
| HR4.19 | Hazardous Materials+/TL | IQ/A | ||
| B206 | Machinist/TL | IQ/A | ||
| HR4.19 | Mechanic+/TL (Aerospace Vehicles, Ground Vehicles or Machinery) | IQ/A | • |