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Old 05-03-2015, 07:43 PM   #11
Tinman
 
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Join Date: Feb 2007
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Default Re: [Basic] Skill of the week: Expert Skill

There is also ES (psionics).
It can cancel the loss of powers from a crit fail.
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Old 05-04-2015, 12:03 AM   #12
scc
 
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Default Re: [Basic] Skill of the week: Expert Skill

Quote:
Originally Posted by johndallman View Post
Expert Skill is a category of IQ/H skills, providing expertise in a cross-disciplinary field covered by several standard skills. Within the field of an Expert Skill, you can use it in place of any IQ-based roll against a skill that has a default. This doesn't exempt you from language or Cultural Familiarity requirements, and never allows you to do practical tasks, only to know or deduce things. For example, Expert Skill (Egyptology) means you know a lot about Ancient Egypt, and can realise (substituting for Archaeology) that a claim that an artefact was found at a particular site is implausible, but it doesn't allow you to carry out a dig (a practical task), or to read Ancient Egyptian (a language). Expert Skills do not have defaults, at all.

The Basic Set provides a lot of examples, many of which were setting- or genre-specific conventional skills in 3e, but explicitly allows players to make up their own Expert Skills, with GM approval. Additionally, Expert Skill is the placeholder for Hard skills that need to be added in future and those don't need to follow the rules for Expert Skills, although quite a few of them probably will.

By far the most common Expert Skills on templates are (Military Science), (Natural Philosophy) and (Epidemology), and various Expert Skills are added by 4e books after the Basic Set. Dragons has (Dracontology). Fantasy has (Bardic Lore). Horror makes a lot of use of Expert Skills and adds (Cryptozology), (Demonology), (Pneumatology), (Ufology), (Vampirology) and (Xenology), plus some discussion of appropriate relationships between those skills, Occultism and Hidden Lore. Madness Dossier has (Memetics), Infinite Worlds has (Cliodynamics) and Britannica-6 has (Scientific Theorizing). Martial Arts has (Hoplology), Supers has (Bio-Powers), and Reign of Steel: Will to Live has (Robotics). SEALS in Vietnam has (Oceanography), and Thaumatology has (Mind-Magic). PU3 and PU7 have examples that include Expert Skills, mostly by specialisation, although the Sage talent and Encyclopedist! wildcard include all Expert Skills.

I've used Expert Skill (Epidemiology) in a combat situation, to realise how to use a city sewage system to escape a gas attack, but I don't think I've used any of the others.

What have you done with Expert Skill?
I have a bit of problem with the "never allows you to do practical tasks" bit, the two bolded are probably the worst offenders. Military Science is an understanding of why armies are organized the way they are, it's probably THE go to skill if you're putting together an army. And Epidemology, well there's a template built around it in Bio-Tech, I don't think I need to explain more
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