Perks are special abilities that your character develops over time as they survive in the post-apocalyptic wasteland. The perks you choose will shape your character and how you play the game. This chapter contains the general perks that are available to all characters. As you gain XP, you can spend that XP to select one of these perks. Perks are organized in the following groups primarily by their tag, then alphabetically.
General Perk Entries
Each perk entry is listed in a standardized format. Perks start with the name at the top in bold, and is followed by some flavor text in italic. The flavor text is just an example of how the perk can be used, or a way to think about the intention of the perk. If you want to change the flavor of how a perk works, you are free to do so, as the flavor text has no mechanical effect in game. After the flavor text you can find the tag associated with the perk, the effect of the perk, the synergies of the perk (if any) and finally the cost of the perk in XP.
TAGGED SCORES, PASSIVE BONUSES AND SYNERGIES
As you purchase perks, your character will gain more abilities based on the text of the perk. However, in addition each perk has an associated tag. These tags are an accumulation of power in a specific statistic or category. As you adventure around you may come across challenges or requirements in plot events that require that you have a certain number of a specific tag in order to complete that challenge or participate in that plot event. Any of the tags are possible requirements for challenges (see chapter 10).
As your tag score increases, you will gain passive bonuses. You can find a table describing each tag's passive bonuses in the tags descriptive text below. Permanent increases to your tag scores, such as those from species perks or cyberware, grant these bonuses as well. Temporary tag score boosts such as buffs and the effects of chems grant these bonuses only for the same duration as the effects that granted them. When you are granted an increase to max health or max limit, your maximum increases but the current number of equipped flags does not change.
Perks that list synergies are perks that gain in power as you gain more of the associated tag. If you meet the requirements listed in the synergy of a perk you possess, you gain that ability immediately.