There's an interesting article on Trail of Cthulhu about an alternate rule where you get a "cherry" for investing eight build points in one skill. Usually it pays to spread your points around like so much precious, precious peanut butter, but these are rather enticing.
Example (parentheses mine):
(Investing 8 Points in )Electrical Repair: (Gains you )Alien Insight
Your intuitive understanding of electricity and magnetism gives you an insight into devices far beyond the paltry technology of humanity. You may spend 4 Electrical Repair to activate an alien device, like a Mi-Go brain cylinder or Yithian lightning gun. You only guess at how to turn the thing on, not what it does or how to properly control it.
I don't really like the idea of *helping* players survive these games, but hey. To each his own. And to be fair, doing something like turning on a Mi-go brain cylinder is probably not a net gain, considering the likely stability loss.
These rules are intended for pulp games only.
Cthulhuloid Cherries on Pelgrane Press
