Grim Perk Lab

The Grim Perk Lab is a twisted workshop where Perks are dissected, tormented, and stitched back together into entirely new lifeforms.

In short: this is a major rework and expansion of the perk system.

Not a polite one. More of a “somebody left the perk table alone with a scalpel, a crate of ammo, and an unhealthy amount of confidence” kind of rework.

• Every merc’s Signature Perk has been reworked and now includes a unique Combat Action.
• Skills now have their own perk lines.
• Many vanilla perks have been renamed, rebalanced, moved, reworked, or politely dragged behind the shed.
• Several new Tactical Perks have been added.
• Tactical Perks are now part of the perk table and can be unlocked.
• IMP creation has been expanded with more perk and quirk options.
• Quirks have been reworked into risk/reward traits that may shine, misfire, or become somebody else’s problem.
• Starting perks have been adjusted for many mercs.
• Many perks now grant active Combat Actions, toggles, reactions, cones, tactical orders, or other battlefield crimes.
• Combat Actions are grouped into Standard, Stat, Skill, and Quirk menus, because even in a deranged lab, samples must be stored, labeled, and kept away from the coffee machine.
• The mod includes options for perk points on level-up and requirements for unlocking Silver and Gold tiers.

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Oh, I speak to myself now. Intriguing. Whatever!

I wanted to mod perks, and then I met — kidnapped? borrowed? professionally admired? — the beautiful Vanilla Perks Expanded by Sir Ni.

Vanilla perks had problems. Some were obvious picks, some were sad little participation trophies, and some looked like they had been abandoned in a hot car. I wanted specialists to have more identity: Mechanics, Explosives experts, Medics, Leaders, suspicious knife people, and mercs who solve problems by running directly into them.

So I drew code and inspiration from many mods, tweaked many things, invented several ill-advised ideas of my own, and stitched everything together.

And voilà!

Please do not ask what is moving under the table.

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The perk table has been reorganized so Attributes and Skills matter more clearly. Strength, Agility, Dexterity, Health, Wisdom, Leadership, Marksmanship, Mechanical, Explosives, and Medical each receive expanded perk support.

Many vanilla perks have new names, icons, effects, requirements, and/or positions. Weak or awkward perks have been reworked into more interesting choices. Silver and Gold tier progression, as well as level-up perk point gains, can be adjusted through mod options.

This is where the lab door should probably have stayed locked.

Many perks now unlock custom Combat Actions instead of just adding a quiet bonus to a spreadsheet. These actions create new tactical situations: shotgun space-making, pistol routines, melee counters, battlefield orders, panic moves, cover drills, tactical scans, grenade tricks, suppression tools, and other procedures banned by at least three respectable armies.

To keep the action bar from collapsing under the weight of all this extremely controlled science, Combat Actions are organized into menus: Standard, Stat, Skill, and Quirk. Like labeled jars in the lab. Some are harmless. Some are humming. One of them is definitely looking back.

Expect actions for melee brutality, pistol and dual-wield styles, shotgun and overwatch control, sniper precision, explosive enthusiasm, Leadership orders, medical support, mechanical tricks, hacking, scavenging, and field utility. In short: more buttons, more choices, more tactical accidents.

AIM mercs are no longer stuck with tiny passive stickers on their character sheet.

Every merc’s Signature Perk has been revisited and turned into something more personal, usually with a unique Combat Action. Some mercs now dance, bait, mark, counter, inspire, threaten, patch, improvise, cheat, overcommit, or otherwise demonstrate why MERC HR keeps a bottle in the desk drawer.

The goal is simple: a Signature Perk should feel like that merc, not like a coupon for +5% competence.

Mechanics gain gunsmithing, repair, field stripping, vehicle utility, and mechanical tricks.
Explosives experts gain more grenade and blast options.
Medics receive expanded support, healing, stimulant, and survival tools.
Hackers, locksmiths, scavengers, herbalists, and mine sweepers get more meaningful exploration and resource interactions.
Leadership becomes a real command style instead of just “the stat that makes militia paperwork less terrible.”

IMP creation now supports additional perk and quirk choices, so your custom merc can begin life as a carefully planned tactical asset or as a fascinating liability with a gun.

Several Tactical Perks have been added to support more battlefield roles.
Quirks have also been reworked: they are not cute personality stickers anymore. They can bring rewards in the right situation, risks in the wrong one, and stories in both. A good quirk helps define a merc. A bad quirk defines the after-action report.

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This mod is currently in beta.

Use it at your own risk, with fresh saves, a calm heart, and the emotional maturity to accept that sometimes Lua bites back. It is strongly recommended to use Grim Perks in a new campaign, not in the middle of an existing one where fifty mercs already have opinions, trauma, and cached perk states.

This mod changes a lot and may conflict with other perk overhauls, major combat-action mods, or anything that also believes it is the main character.

Because many perks and Combat Actions are stronger, smarter, or at least more enthusiastic than vanilla, the campaign may become a little easier. Consider raising the difficulty before the lab specimens start feeling too confident.

Important: to use the Car Mechanic perk properly, you need my other mod: Borrowed Wheels – Grand Chien Vehicle Directory. Without it, the mechanic may look at the vehicle, nod wisely, and accomplish very little.

Use with caution. Test your mod list. Keep saves. Read error logs. Do not feed the Lua after midnight.

If you enjoy the mod and want to support further experiments, you may help keep the lightning rods polished, the stitched-together perks breathing, and the suspicious green fluid topped up.

No pressure, of course. The creature only becomes restless when ignored.

• Buy Grim a beaker of coffee on Ko-fi[ko-fi.com]
• Contribute to the lab’s real-life vehicle repairs on PayPal[www.paypal.com]

Thanks from the bottom of my heart — mine, or one of my subjects’, hard to say — to the JA3 modding community for their efforts, discoveries, and ability to make me return to the game until I finally started modding it myself.

Special thanks to:

• Sir Ni, for Vanilla Perks Expanded, which helped inspire this whole beautiful crime scene.
• Silencer aka Cockadoodledoo, for help on Discord and phenomenal mods and campaigns.
• Baja Resident, the best GI JOE out there, still publishing high-quality content regularly and helping on Discord.
• Virpy, for Field Experience Unchained, and
• Farbeimer3, for XP gain distribution fixed — changes inspired by / included in this mod.

Retroman once compared this approach to throwing “nuclear teenage mutant hero turtle goo” on the perk tree and watching it mutate.

He was right.

Naturally, I chose the goo.

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Version: 1.00-4810