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Old 06-21-2014, 06:57 AM   #1
johndallman
Night Watchman
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Cambridge, UK
Default [Basic] Skill of the week: Architecture

The skill of designing buildings, and of deducing things about them: the implications of design for function and vice-versa.

Often used to answer the question "How can I blow this place up?" or "Where's the weak point to crash through?" as exemplified in Action's Demolition Man template. The Infiltrator also has this as an option: it's handy for finding your way through strange buildings without taking the time for methodical dungeon-style exploration. Action also uses it for planning missions into buildings, and it helps when searching them.

For the constructive side of architecture, Low-Tech Companion 3 has a certain amount of detail and a template for a professional architect. Basic has Architecture as a possible skill for finding secret doors, but Dungeon Fantasy doesn't mention that AFAICS (I only have volumes 1-4). Magic requires Architecture skill to construct a building with magic that will stay up.

Mysteries has a Fire Marshal template which reasonably enough has Architecture as a required skill. Supers mentions Architecture as a skill for some archetypes, and for concealment of secret bases.

Architecture has an IQ default, and a default of Engineer (Civil)-4. Engineer (Civil) defaults to Architecture-6, which is reasonable: Engineer is a harder skill. However, this is somewhat culturally dependent: in some countries professional architects are always civil engineers, responsible for structural design, whereas in others architects are primarily artists and employ engineers to ensure the building won't collapse.

What have you done with this skill that was entertaining or significant?
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