Optional Skill Rules

Skill Costs Table

Skill level    Easy      Average        Hard      Very Hard
Base-4          --        --             --        0.5
Base-3          --        --             0.5       1
Base-2          --        0.5            1         2
Base-1          0.5       1              2         4
Base            1         2              4         8
Base+1          2         4              8        16
Base+2          4         8             12        24
Base+3          8        12             16        32
Base+4         12        16             20        40
Base+5         16        20             24        48
+ per level     4         4              4         8
This set of optional rules no longer incorporates a difference between Mental and Physical skills; all skills use the same table, give above.

SKILL BASES

Instead of basing skills directly on stats as in standard GURPS, base them on "skill bases" which are themselves figured from stats. There are 14 skill bases, listed below; when calculating skill bases, round down in all cases.

Aiming (AI): This serves as skill base for all ranged weapons skills. Skill Base: (min(Vision,Perception) + Dexterity + 20)/4.

Animal (AN): Used for skills which require interaction with nonsentient beings. Skill Base: (Intelligence + Will + 20)/4.

Artistic (AR): Used for "image" art skills. Skill Base: (Dexterity + Will + 20)/4. Effective skills are penalized if character has uncorrected bad vision, or is colour blind (in cases where colour matters).

Athletic (AT): Used for all skills which involve macroscopic body movements but are not "combat" skills. Skill Base: (Dexterity 10)/2. Penalized for uncorrected bad vision.

Combat (CO): Used for all skills involving actual melee combat (this will also include some "sport" martial arts skills). The difference between this and Athletic is that the use of Athletic skills rarely involves an opponent doing his best to kill or disable you. Skill Base: (Dexterity + 10)/2. Penalized for uncorrected bad vision.

Crafts (CR): Used for all skills which involve doing fine work with one's hands or otherwise hand/eye coordination. Skill Base: (Dexterity + Intelligence + 20)/4. Penalized by 1 if Vision and/or general Perception is below 10. Also penalized for uncorrected bad vision, but only by half the normal amount.

Interpersonal (IN): Used for skills which involve interacting with other persons (sentient beings, usually of one's own or a similar species). Skill Base: (Intelligence + 10)/2. Effective skills are also affected by Appearance and Voice modifiers where applicable.

Knowledge (KN): Used as base for pure knowledge skills. Skill Base: (Intelligence + 10)/2. The advantage which increases this skill base is Eidetic Memory.

Linguistic (LI): Used as base for all language and language- related skills. Skill Base: (Intelligence + 10)/2. The advantage which increases this skill base is Language Talent. Some skills (those relying on verbal communication) are also penalized by Deafness, Hard of Hearing, and/or Mute.

Magical (MA): Used as base for magical skills (spells, mostly). Skill Base: (Intelligence + 10)/2. This skill base is increased by the Magery advantage, and is also affected by Magic Resistance and Magic Susceptibility, and somewhat by Eidetic Memory.

Musical (MU): Used as base for musical skills. Skill Base: (Intelligence + Dexterity + 20)/4. This skill base is affected by the Musical Talent advantage. Also, penalize effective skills for uncorrected Hard of Hearing, and by 1 per level of Hearing under 10. Voice bonus applies for Singing skill.

Mystical (MY): Used as a base for 'mystical' skills -- that is, anything 'supernatural' that doesn't really fit magic or psi (mostly, but not exclusively, cinematic martial-arts abilities). Skill Base: (Intelligence + Will + 20)/4.

Psionic (PS): Used as base for psi skills. Skill Base: (Intelligence + 10)/2. The advantage Psionic Talent increases this skill base; also, it gets the same bonuses for Eidetic Memory as does Magical skill base.

Science (SC): Used as base for "hard science" skills which require a lot of mathematics. Skill Base: (Intelligence + 10)/2 Also, increase SB as described under Memory and Mathematical Ability.

SKILL LIST

This list simply states what skill base(s) each skill uses. To find out their difficulty and defaults, look in CI; those things work like in standard GURPS, except for the changed skill-cost table and that skills should now default from SB-N instead of from (stat)-N. In cases where more than one skill base is listed, the skill is based on the average of those skill bases (round down).
Skill Name              SB
===========================
Abacus			SC 
Accounting              SC
Acrobatics              AT
Acting                  IN
Administration          IN, KN
Agronomy                KN
Airshipman		AT, CR
Alchemy                 SC(*)
Animal Care		AN
Animal Handling         AN
Anthropology            IN, KN 
Appreciate Beauty	KN
Archaeology             KN
Architecture            SC 
Area Knowledge          KN
Armoury                 CR
Artificial Intelligence	SC
Artist                  AR
Astrogation             SC 
Astronomy               SC
Augury			MY
Autohypnosis		MY
Axe/Mace                CO
Axe Throwing            AI, CO 
Ball Game (v)	 	AT 
Bard                    IN, KN
Bardic Lore (v)		KN 
Bartender		IN, KN
Battlesuit              AT, CR 
Beam Weapons (v)	AI
Begging			IN
Beverage Making		CR, KN
Bicycling               AT, CR
Biochemistry            KN, SC
Blackjack               CO
Black Powder Weapons(v) AI, CR
Blacksmith              CR
Blind-Fighting          MY
Blinding Touch          MY
Blowpipe                AI
Board Games (v)	 	KN
Boating                 AT, CR
Body Control            MY 
Body Language (vis)     KN
Body Sense		AT
Boinger			CO, AI
Bolas                   AI, CO
Botany                  KN
Bow                     AI 
Boxing                  CO
Brawling                CO
Breaking Blow           MY
Breath Control          MY
Broadsword		CO
Buckler                 CO
Bun Fu (rabbits)	CO
Calligraphy             Artist-2, SB-5; PR:Literacy	AR / A
Camouflage              SB-4, Survival-2 		CR, KN / E
Captivate (rabbits)	None			 	IN / H
Carousing               SB-2		 		IN / A
Carpentry               SB-4		 		CR / E
Cartography		SB-5, Navigation-5 		KN, SC / A
Change Control		None				MY / H
Chemistry               SB-6		 		KN, SC / H
Ch'i Treatment		SB-6				MY / H
Climbing                SB-5		 		AT / A
Cloak                   SB-5, Buckler-4, Shield-4	CO / A
Computer Hacking        Comp.Prog-4.			SC / VH
Computer Operation      SB-4; Comp.Prog. 		KN / E
Computer Programming    Comp.Hack.	 		SC / H
Conspiracy Theory	History-4, Occultism-4		KN / H
Cooking                 SB-4		 		CR / E    
Courtesan		SavoirFaire-5			IN, KN / A
Criminology             SB-4		 		KN / A
Crossbow		SB-4				AI / E  
Cryptography		SB-6, Math-5			SC / H
Cyberaxe (v)		Same Instrument-4		MU / H
Cyberdeck Operation	SB-8, Comp.Op-6			KN, MY / VH
Cyphering		SB-2 				SC / E
Dancing                 SB-5		 		AT / A
Darts			SB-4, Thrown Wpn-2, Throwing	AI / E
Demolition              SB-5, Engineer-3 		CR, KN / A
Demonology		SB-6, Occultism-4		KN / H
Dentistry		Physician-5, Surgery-3,
			First Aid-7, SB-5. PR:DX 10	CR, KN / H
Detect Lies             SB-6, Psych.-4  		IN / H
Dexitroboping		PR:Metabolic Hyperextension	HT, MY / H
Diagnosis               SB-6, First Aid-8, Vet-5,
			Physician-4			CR, KN / H
Diplomacy               SB-6		 		IN / H
Disguise                SB-5		 		CR / A
Dislocating             PR:Escape 15			MY, CO / H
Distilling		SB-4				CR / A
Dreaming		SB-10				MY / VH
Dreamlands Lore		Dream Travel-5			KN / H
Driving (v)       	SB-5		         	CR / A
Drunken Fighting        None		 		MY, CO / H
Dyeing			SB-4				CR / A
Ecology                 SB-6, Naturalist-3 		KN / H
Economics               SB-6, Merchant-6 		SC / H
Electronics (v)  	(other)-4, same Photonics-4; 
			PR:Mathematics,Physics		SC / H
Electronics Op. (v)  	SB-5, Electronics-3		CR, KN / A
Emmfozing		SB-6. PR: Palainian. 		AT, IN / H
Engineer (v)      	Mechanic-6; PR: Varies        	SC / H
Enigmas			SB-6				KN / H
Equestrian Acrobatics	Acrobatics-3, Riding-3.
			PR:Riding.			AT / H
Erotic Art		Acrobatics-5;PR:Sex Appeal 13   AT, IN / H
Escape                  SB-6		 		AT / H
Exoskeleton          	SB-6, Battlesuit-2		AT, CR / A 
Falconry                SB-5		 		AN / A             
Fast-Draw (v)           None			     	CO, CR / E
Fast-Talk               SB-5, Acting-5	 		IN / A
Featherworking		SB-5		 		AR, CR / A
Fencing                 SB-5		 		CO / A
Fiber Crafts (rabbits)	SB-5			 	CR / H
Fire Eating		None				CR, MY / A
Fire-Siphon		SB-5		 		CO / A
Fire Walking		None				AT, MY / H
First Aid               SB-5, Vet-5, Physiology-5,
			Physician			CR, KN / E
Fishing                 SB-4		 		CR / E
Flail                   SB-6		 		CO / H
Flight			SB-4		 		AT / A
Flower Arranging	SB-4		 		AR / E
Flying Fists            PR:Karate 20.(Power Blow, Mental 
			Strength, and Meditation) 16	MY / VH
Flying Leap             PR:Power Blow, Jumping 		MY / H
Force Shield            SB-4		 		CO / E
Force Sword             SB-5, other sword-3		CO / A
Forensic Medicine       Physician-4; PR:Physician	CR, KN / H
Forensics               Criminology-4	 		KN / H
Forgery                 SB-7, Artist-5	 		CR / H
Fortune Telling		Fasttalk-4, SB-5		IN / A
Forward Observer	SB-5		 		KN / A
Free Fall               SB-5 				AT / A
Freight Handling	SB-5				CR, KN / A
Gambling                SB-5, Mathematics-5 		IN, SC / A
Gardening		SB-4		 		AR, CR / E
Garrote                 SB-5		 		CO / E 
Genetics                Biochem.-5, Physiology-5	KN / VH
Geology                 SB-6, Prospecting-4 		KN / H
Gesture (vis)           SB-4, Sign Language 		LI / E
Glassblowing		SB-6				CR / A
Gunner (v)         	SB-5, (other)-4			AI / A
Guns (v)           	SB-4, (other)-4			AI / E
Hand of Death           PR:Breaking Blow 20, Pressure
			Secrets 20, Power Blow 20	MY / VH
Hedgewise (rabbits)	SB-5				IN / A
Heraldry                SB-5, SavoirFaire-3 		KN / A
Herbalism		Botany-5, Physician(TL1-3)-3,
			Survival-5, SB-5.  PR:Botany 	KN / H (VH for bunnies)
Hidden Lore (v)		None				KN / A
Hiking			None				AT / A
History                 SB-6, Archaeology-6 		KN / H
Holdout                 SB-5, Sleight of Hand-3		CR / A
Horse-Archery		2 pts. per pen. removed		special
Hydrology		SB-8,(Meteorology or 
			Planetology)-4			SC / A
Hyperborean Baton	None		 		CO / H
Hyperspace Physics	PR:Mathematics 15,Physics 15,
			Nuclear Physics 15		SC / VH
Hypnotic Hands          PR: Hypnotism 15		MY / H
Hypnotism               None		 		IN / H
Illumination		SB-5, Artist-2			AR / A
Illusion Art		SB-6, Artist-3			AR / H
Immovable Stance        None		 		MY, CO / H
Inertialess Agility	None 				AT / H
Integrating Calc. Op	None				SC / A
Intelligence Analysis   SB-6		 		KN / H
Interrogation           SB-5		 		IN / A
Intimidation            SB-5, Acting-3	 		IN / A
Invisibility Art        PR: Hypnotism 16, Stealth 16	AT, MY / VH
Jeweler                 SB-6, Blacksmith-4 		CR / H
Jitte/Sai               SB-5, Shortsword-3 		CO / A
Judo                    None		 		CO / H
Juggling		Sleight of Hand-3 		CR / E
Jumping                 None		 		AT / E
Karate                  None		 		CO / H
Katana                  SB-5, Broadsword-2		CO / A
Keneenk			None				MY / H
Kiai                    None		 		CO, MY / H
Kite Flying		SB-4		 		CR / E
Knife                   SB-4, Main-Gauche 		CO / E
Knife Throwing          SB-4		 		AI, CO / E
Kosho			SB-3, Acrobatics-3 		AT / A
Kusari                  SB-5, Flail-2	 		CO / H
Lance                   SB-6, Spear-3; PR:Riding	CO / A
Language (hrg)          Varies		 		LI / A (mostly)
Languages!		None				LI / VH
Lasso                   None		 		AI, CO / A
Law                     SB-6		 		KN / H
Leadership              SB-5		 		IN / A
Leatherworking          SB-5		 		CR / E 
Light Walk              PR:Acrobatics 15, Stealth 15	MY / H
Linguistics             None		 		KN, LI / VH
Lip Reading             SB-10		 		LI / A
Literature              SB-6		 		KN / H
Lockpicking             SB-5		 		CR / A
Low-G Flight		SB-6, Piloting(Hang Glider)-5	AT / A
Low-Tech Physician	{Midwifery, Vet}-3, {First Aid, 
			L-T Surgery, Fast Talk, Occult,
			Theology, SB}-5			CR, KN / H 
Low-Tech Surgery	{Midwifery, Vet}-3, {First Aid,
			L-T Physician, SB}-5		CR, KN / H
Lucid Dreaming		SB-4				MY / E
Magic Breath		SB-2				CO / E
Magic Jet		SB-4				CO / E
Main-Gauche             SB-5 				CO / A
Masonry			SB-3				CR / E
Masquerade (vampire)	SB-4				AT / A
Mathematics             SB-6		 		SC / H
Mechanic                SB-5, Engineer-4, various	CR / A
Meditation              SB-5		 		MY / VH
Mental Strength         None 				MY / H
Merchant                SB-5		 		IN, KN / A
Metallurgy              Blacksmith-8, Jeweler-8,
			Armoury-8, Chemistry-5		KN, SC / H
Meteorology             SB-5		 		KN, SC / A
Midwifery		Physician, Vet-2, L-T Physician
			-4, {Herbalism, First Aid, Child
			Rearing, SB}-5			KN, CR / A
Mimic Non-Rabbit 	SB-6			 	MU / H
Mimicry			SB-5				MU / A	
Mind Block		SB-4		 		MY / A
Mortician		SB-5				CR, KN / A
Motorcycle              SB-5, Bicycling-5 		AT, CR / E
Muscle Reading		PR:Physiology,Psychology,
			Trained by a Master		KN, CR / VH
Musical Instrument (v)	Similar Instrument-3       	MU / H
Mythos Lore		Occultism-13			KN / VH
Naturalist              SB-6		 		KN / H
Navigation              Astronomy-5, Seamanship-5	SC / H
NBC Warfare		SB-5				KN / A
Needlecraft		SB-4				CR / A
Nei Tan			None 				MY / VH
Net                     None		 		CO / H
Netmaking		SB-6				CR / E
No-Landing Extraction	SB-6				KN / A
Nuclear Physics         None; PR:Physics 15, Math 15	SC / VH
Nursing			{Physician,Surgery}-2, Diagnosis
			-3, First Aid-4, SB-5		IN, KN / H
Occultism               SB-6		 		KN / A
Orienteering		SB-5				KN / A
Packing                 SB-6, Animal Handling-6;
			PR:Animal Handling. 		AN, CR / H         
Parachuting             SB-5		 		AT / E
Paraphysics		PR:Physics, Biochemistry	SC / VH
Parry Missile Weapons   None		 		CO / H
Performance             SB-5, Acting-2, Bard-2		IN, KN / A
Persuade (rabbits)	None		 		IN / A
Pharmacy		Physician-2, {Alchemy, Biochem,
			Surgery, Nursing}-3, {Diagnosis,
			Poisons}-4, {Herbalism, First
			Aid}-5, SB-6			KN / H
Philosophy              SB-6, (other philosophy or
			theology)-2 to -4 		KN / H
Photography (vis)       SB-5		 		AR / A
Photonics (v)		(other)-4, same Electronics-4.
			PR:Mathematics, Physics         SC / H
Physician               SB-7, First Aid-11, Vet-5	CR, KN / H
Physics                 SB-6		 		SC / H
Physiology              SB-7, any medical-5  		KN / VH
Pickpocket              SB-6, Sleight of Hand-4		CR / H
Picture-Writing (v)	(other)-3			CR / H
Piloting (v)		SB-6, (other)-various	 	CR / A (mostly)
Piloting (Hangglider)   SB-6, Piloting (Manned Kite)-1  CR, AT / A
Piloting (Manned Kite)  SB-6, Kite Flying-5,
			Piloting(Hangglider)-1 		CR, AT / A
Planetology (v)       	SB-5, Geology-4, 
			Meteorology-4, (other)-3	KN, SC / A
Poetry                  SB-5, Language-5 		LI / A
Poisons                 SB-6, Chem.-5, Physician-3	KN / H
Polearm                 SB-5		 		CO / A
Politics                SB-5, Diplomacy-5 		IN / A
Pottery                 SB-5		 		CR / A
Power Blow              None		 		MY / H
Powerboat               SB-5, Boating-3 		CR / A
Precognitive Parry      PR:(Danger Sense or ESP 3),
			Precognition 15, Weapon 20	MY, PS / H
Pressure Points         Yin-Yang Healing-4 		KN, MY / H
Pressure Secrets        PR:Pressure Points 18 		KN, MY / VH
Probability Physics	PR:Mathematics 15, Physics 15,
			Nuclear Physics 15		SC / VH
Prospecting             SB-5, Geology-4 		CR, KN / A
Psionic Skills (v)      None; PR: Psi power(v)   	PS / H (mostly)
Psychiatry 		Physician-5, Psychology-15,
			SB-5. PR: Psychology		IN, KN / H
Psychology              SB-6		 		IN, KN / H
Punning			Bard-3. PR:Language 13 		IN / A
Push                    None		 		CO, MY / H
Read Wathan		None				KN / VH
Research                SB-5, Writing-3 		KN / A
Riding                  SB-5, SB-3	 		AN, AT / A         
Ritual Magic (v)	(other)-various			MY / VH		
Running                 None				AT / H
Sacrifice Ritual	PR:Theology	 		KN / H
Savoir-Faire (v)   	SB-4				IN / E
Science!		PR: Research 13, 2 pts in each
			of 2 sciences. May not exceed
			(second-highest sci. skill)-2	SC / VH
Scrounging              SB-4		 		CR, KN / E
Scuba                   SB-5, Swimming-5		AT, KN / A
Sculpting               SB-5		 		AR / A
Seamanship              SB-4		 		AT, CR / E
Sensie Interface	Cyberdeck Op-3	 		AR, MY / H
Sensitivity		None				MY, CO / VH
Sex Appeal              SB-3		 		IN / A
Shadowing               SB-3, Stealth-4	 		AT / A
Shapeshifting		None				MY / H
Shield                  SB-4, Buckler-2 		CO / E
Shipbuilding            SB-6		 		CR, KN / H
Short Staff             SB-5, Staff-2		 	CO / H
Shortsword              SB-5, Broadsword-2, 
			Forcesword-3 			CO / A
Shuriken               	SB-6, Throwing-2  		AI, CO / H
Sign Language (v)       None		 		LI / A
Singing                 SB-4		 		MU / E
Skating			SB-6				AT / H
Skiing                  SB-6 				AT / H
Sleight of Hand         None		 		CR / H
Sling                   SB-6		  		AI / H
Snake Charming		Hypnotism-2, Animal Handling-4	AN / A
Sonar Imaging		PR:Sonar Vision(Active)		MY / A
Spear                   SB-5, Staff-2	 		CO / A
Spear Thrower           SB-4, Spear Throwing-4 		AI, CO / A
Spear Throwing          SB-4, Spear Thrower-4 		AI, CO / E
Speed-Load (v)     	None				CR / E
Speed-Reading		None		 		LI / A
Spells (v)              None			   	MA / (H/VH) 
Spell Throwing (v)	SB-3, (other)-2, Throwing.	AI / E
Sphere skills (v)	PR: Mage			MY / VH
Spin Operations         SB-5		 		AT / A
Sports (various)        SB-5, various		   	AT / A
Staff                   SB-5, Spear-2		 	CO / H
Stealth                 SB-5		 		AT / A
Strategy (v)            SB-6, Tactics-6, (other)-4	KN / H
Streetwise              SB-5		 		IN / A
Style Analysis		Body Language-6, Tactics(HtH)-6 KN, CR / H     
Suggest (rabbits)	None		 		IN / H
Sumo Wrestling          None		 		AT, CO / A
Surgery                 First Aid-12, Pysiology-8,
			Physician-5, Vet-5;
			PR: Physician, DX 12+ 		CR, KN / VH
Survival (v)            SB-5, Naturalist-3, (other)-3   CR, KN / A
Sway Emotions (rabbits) None				IN / A
Swimming                SB-5		 		AT / E
Tactics                 SB-6, Strategy-6 		KN / H
Talisman Creation	Prime skill-3. PR: Prime 3+	MY / VH
Tanning			SB-4				CR / A
Tattooing		SB-5, Artist-4			AR, CR / A
Tea Ceremony		SB-6, Meditation-2 		IN, AR / H
Teaching                SB-5		 		IN / A
Teamster                Animal Handling-4, Riding-2;
			PR:Animal Handling 		AN, CR / A
Telegraphy              None		 		LI, CR / E
Temporal Electronics	Temp.Op.-6, Electronics-5.
			PR: Temp.Phys.  		SC / H
Temporal Operation	Temp.Electronics-2		KN / A
Temporal Physics	Temp.Electronics-6, Physics-4.
			PR: Physics(TL9)		SC / VH
Thanatology		Diagnosis-5, Psychology-5,
			Sociology-5, Mortician-3	KN / H
Thaumatology		SB-6				SC, SP / VH
Theology                SB-6		 		KN / H
Throwing                None		 		AI, AT / H
Throwing Art            PR:Throwing 16	 		AI, MY / H
Thrown Weapon (v)       SB-4		 		AI, CO / E
Tonfa                   SB-6, Shortsword-3		CO / H
Tournament Law (v)      SB-6, (other)-3 		KN / E
Tracking 	        SB-5, Naturalist-5 		CR, KN / A
Traps                   SB-5, Lockpicking-3 		CR / A
Two-Handed Axe/Mace     SB-5, Axe/Mace-5	 	CO / A
Two-Handed Sword        SB-5, Forcesword-3, 
			Broadsword-5 			CO / A
Underwater Demolition   Demolition-2; PR: Scuba and
			Engineering or Demolition	CR, KN / A
Vacc Suit               SB-6; PR:Free Fall 		CR, KN / A
Ventriloquism           None		 		MY / H
Veterinary              Animal Handling-5,
			Any Medical-5	 		AN, CR / H
Vever Drawing		Ritual Magic(Voodoo)-4		MY / H
Video Production	None		 		KN, AR / A
Walker Operation	SB-6				AT, VE / E
Weaving			SB-4 				CR / E
Whip                    None		 		CO / A
Woodworking             SB-5, Carpentry-3 		CR / A
Wrestling               SB-5 				CO / A
Writing                 SB-5, Language-5 		LI / A
Xenobiology (v)        	None.		  		KN / A
Xenology                SB-6		 		KN / H
Yin-Yang Healing       	SB-6		 		KN / H
Zen Archery             PR:Bow 20		 	MY / VH
Zoology                 SB-6, Animal skill-6 		AN, KN / H

Notes
(*): May be replaced with MA, if alchemy is actually a magical
ability.
(vis): Penalized by bad vision.
(hrg): Penalized by bad hearing.

Beam Weapons, Black Powder Weapons, Guns, Gunner:  The
Intelligence bonus no longer applies (because the skill base
now takes Vision into account).

Combat/Weapon Art/Sport:  For every unarmed or armed melee
skill, there is a possible Art or Sport skill associated with
it.  This has the same difficulty and base, but is not intended
for direct use in real combat -- defaults go both ways at "only" -3.

Languages:  You get your native language for free at
Linguistics skill base level, and can increase your skill in
this language only for 1 point per level.  

Last modified: Fri Feb 28 21:12:56 MET 1997