[Basic] Skills of the week: Economics, Finance and Market Analysis

johndallman · 02-28-2015, 09:39 AM

None of these skills are TL-dependent, and they don't take Cultural Familiarity penalties, but there's a case to be made for familiarity penalties in societies significantly different from the ones you learned them in (IW, p.181-2). Innumeracy is crippling for all of them. They don't get a huge amount of attention, in most games, but even GURPS grognards don't play Papers & Paychecks very much.

Economics is the IQ/H theory of markets, financial systems and money in general. It has lots of defaults (IQ-6, Finance-3, Market Analysis-5 and Merchant-6), and Finance and Market Analysis, plus Geography (Political) have defaults to Economics. As well as being an academic subject, it is a useful supporting skill for high-level military planning (usually Strategy) and Intelligence Analysis, and thereby for ruling any kind of domain. Finally, you can try to predict the economic effects of events with a skill roll.

Economics is a somewhat common template skill for educated businessmen and social sciences types, but there's something of a lack of material about Economics skill in world-building in the GURPS PDFs I have, except for Space. PU3: Talents has three examples that include Economics, and Social Engineering has more uses for the skill. Optional specialisations, in the kind of economics endorsed by particular political systems, seem plausible, although people with such a specialisation may claim they're specialised in the parts of the subject that work, not a politically determined subset.

Finance is the IQ/H practical skill of managing money; it's the equivalent of Engineering if Economics was Physics (and Accounting is presumably the equivalent of Mechanic). Bankers and financiers use this to do things, and Accounting to keep track of the details. It defaults to Accounting-4, Economics-3 or Merchant-6, but has no IQ default. Accounting, Economics and Merchant have defaults to Finance. B474 has an example of using Finance with the invention rules, to get funding.

Like Economics, Finance appears on a reasonable number of templates, and is a core skill for businessmen and politicians at any TL with developed trade and tax systems. PU3: Talents and PU7: Wildcard Skills each have a couple of examples that include the skill. Social Engineering has a lot of uses for Finance. Specialisations in particular aspects of Finance seem sensible, although I can imagine quite strange ones in some settings.

Market Analysis is the IQ/H skill of understanding the short-term behaviour of stock, bond and currency markets. Long-term behaviour is probably a specialisation of Fortune-Telling. It seems like Electronics Operation: a highly specialised practical skill, that's based in the ideas of Economics (as Electronics Operation is based in Physics) but where most of the practical skill is in understanding the specific market (equipment) and the behaviour of the things connected to it. It defaults to IQ-6, Economics-5 or Merchant-4, and Economics and Merchant have defaults to it.

The presence of Market Analysis on the Merchant template in Banestorm suggests strongly that Market Analysis also applies to commodity markets, which makes sense. Apart from that, Market Analysis appears on several templates, and PU3 and PU7 have examples that include it. Powers gives +4 to skill for use of Precognition. Thaumatology: Urban Magics points out that in societies or subcultures where markets are very important, this skill can be used in place of Current Affairs (Business).

I don't think I've ever made significant use of these skills in a game. But I know several participants on these have studied Economics. What have you done with it?

02-28-2015, 09:39 AM	#1
johndallman Night Watchman Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Cambridge, UK	[Basic] Skills of the week: Economics, Finance and Market Analysis None of these skills are TL-dependent, and they don't take Cultural Familiarity penalties, but there's a case to be made for familiarity penalties in societies significantly different from the ones you learned them in (IW, p.181-2). Innumeracy is crippling for all of them. They don't get a huge amount of attention, in most games, but even GURPS grognards don't play *Papers & Paychecks* very much. Economics is the IQ/H theory of markets, financial systems and money in general. It has lots of defaults (IQ-6, Finance-3, Market Analysis-5 and Merchant-6), and Finance and Market Analysis, plus Geography (Political) have defaults to Economics. As well as being an academic subject, it is a useful supporting skill for high-level military planning (usually Strategy) and Intelligence Analysis, and thereby for ruling any kind of domain. Finally, you can try to predict the economic effects of events with a skill roll. Economics is a somewhat common template skill for educated businessmen and social sciences types, but there's something of a lack of material about Economics skill in world-building in the GURPS PDFs I have, except for *Space. PU3: Talents* has three examples that include Economics, and *Social Engineering* has more uses for the skill. Optional specialisations, in the kind of economics endorsed by particular political systems, seem plausible, although people with such a specialisation may claim they're specialised in the parts of the subject that work, not a politically determined subset. Finance is the IQ/H practical skill of managing money; it's the equivalent of Engineering if Economics was Physics (and Accounting is presumably the equivalent of Mechanic). Bankers and financiers use this to do things, and Accounting to keep track of the details. It defaults to Accounting-4, Economics-3 or Merchant-6, but has no IQ default. Accounting, Economics and Merchant have defaults to Finance. B474 has an example of using Finance with the invention rules, to get funding. Like Economics, Finance appears on a reasonable number of templates, and is a core skill for businessmen and politicians at any TL with developed trade and tax systems. *PU3: Talents* and *PU7: Wildcard Skills* each have a couple of examples that include the skill. *Social Engineering* has a lot of uses for Finance. Specialisations in particular aspects of Finance seem sensible, although I can imagine quite strange ones in some settings. Market Analysis is the IQ/H skill of understanding the short-term behaviour of stock, bond and currency markets. Long-term behaviour is probably a specialisation of Fortune-Telling. It seems like Electronics Operation: a highly specialised practical skill, that's based in the ideas of Economics (as Electronics Operation is based in Physics) but where most of the practical skill is in understanding the specific market (equipment) and the behaviour of the things connected to it. It defaults to IQ-6, Economics-5 or Merchant-4, and Economics and Merchant have defaults to it. The presence of Market Analysis on the Merchant template in *Banestorm* suggests strongly that Market Analysis also applies to commodity markets, which makes sense. Apart from that, Market Analysis appears on several templates, and *PU3* and *PU7* have examples that include it. Powers gives +4 to skill for use of Precognition. *Thaumatology: Urban Magics* points out that in societies or subcultures where markets are very important, this skill can be used in place of Current Affairs (Business). I don't think I've ever made significant use of these skills in a game. But I know several participants on these have studied Economics. What have you done with it?