[Basic] Skill of the week: Physics

[Sunspark]

The idea that people wouldn't recognize that things drop in a curved path seems very odd to me until I realize that most people don't have a physics teacher for a father. Growing up with The Mechanical Universe on VHS is a bit out of the ordinary.

That's the kind of thing that goes into a talent, I'd imagine.

[vicky_molokh]

People who have a default still know some stuff that people without one don't. I didn't have physicist parents, in fact my parents were sports trainers/teachers. And yet as a child I knew that heating objects works best when you place the source of heat below, while cooling works the other way around. That a candle can be used to rotate a very thin paper 'windmill'. That boiled and non-boiled eggs behave slightly differently when rotating. That spinning objects have a better time keeping balance. That some materials seem to repel water. That if you throw a burning piece of paper into a glass, turn the glass upside down and push it into water, it'll first expel and then suck in the water.

These are everyday things that don't require formal one-point training to know. In fact they don't even require waiting for school physics to start (which would be much later).

[Tallor]

Originally Posted by johndallman

...
Physics is an option on many templates for generic scientists, and is often required for using scientific equipment. The weirdness of game setting leads to situations where Physics starts to overlap with magic, such as dealing with the Chronochaotic spiders of Creatures of the Night, or Pneumatology in Horror. Meltdown and Fallout has more on (Nuclear), while Infinite Worlds has plenty of uses for (Parachronic), with excursions into (Acoustics) and (Temporal) and Monster Hunters uses (Paraphysics). Power-Ups volumes 2, 3, 6 and 7 have examples for this skill. Powers has abilities that can be improved with Physics, Enhanced Senses has abilities that help with the skill and The Weird has lots of powers with Physics specialisations as prerequisites. The Psi series has several uses for (Paraphysics), and Supers uses the skill to analyse superpowers that have Physics-flavoured explanations. Tales of the Solar Patrol has penalties for cross-world travellers' understanding of the rather individual local physics. Thaumatology has this skill as an alternative core for ritual magic and Alchemical Baroque, Magical Styles and Ritual Path Magic all have further uses. And you can make electric Zombies with it...
...

I like the thoroughness of this paragraph, but this really hurts my brain. Do you mind if I post this in bullet-points? That may help others like me to read each book as its own entry.

[Tallor]

Johndallman's Physics Beautified v1.1
Alphabetized as well!

• Creatures of the Night — Magio-Physics; Chronochaotic spiders
  
• Disasters: Meltdown and Fallout — More (Nuclear)!
  
• Horror — (Pneumatology)
  
• Infinite Worlds (Parachronic), (Acoustics), (Temporal)
  
• Monster Hunters — (Paraphysics)
  
• Power-Ups 2, 3, 6, and 7 — Examples of Use!
  
• Powers — abilities that can be improved with Physics
  —Enhanced Senses — abilities that help with the Physics
  —The Weird — lots of powers with Physics specializations as prerequisites.
  
• Psi — several uses for (Paraphysics)
  
• Supers — uses Physics to analyse superpowers that have Physics-flavoured explanations
  
• Tales of the Solar Patrol — penalties for cross-world travellers' understanding of the rather individual local physics.
  
• Thaumatology — has Physics as an alternative core for ritual magic.
  —Alchemical Baroque — More uses!
  —Magical Styles — More uses!
  —Ritual Path Magic — More uses!
  —You can make electric Zombies with it!

[scc]

Originally Posted by johndallman

The only default is IQ-6, there is a prerequisite of Mathematics (Applied) at TL5+, and that skill also defaults to Physics.

I'm having trouble with the bolded bit, if I need to have Mathematics (Applied) to have Physics, how can Mathematics (Applied) default to Physics?

[Sunspark]

Originally Posted by scc

I'm having trouble with the bolded bit, if I need to have Mathematics (Applied) to have Physics, how can Mathematics (Applied) default to Physics?

If you only spend 1 point on Mathematics (Applied), and spend at least 28 points on your Physics skill, your default from Physics to Mathematics will be high enough that it applies.

I.E. IQ 10 character spends 1 point on Mathematics(Applied) and has a skill of 8. Then he spends 28 points on Physics for a skill of 15. His default from Physics to Mathematics is now 9, higher than the skill he purchased. (The one character point isn't enough to push it up to 10, but if you spent 1 more point, it would go to 10.)

WHY you would do that I have no idea, but I'm pretty sure that's how the rules work.

[RogerBW]

Originally Posted by scc

I'm having trouble with the bolded bit, if I need to have Mathematics (Applied) to have Physics, how can Mathematics (Applied) default to Physics?

If you have one point in Mathematics (Applied), you know it at IQ-2.

If you have 24 points in Physics (or 20 points in a Physics speciality), you know it at IQ+4, so your Mathematics (Applied) default is IQ-1.

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Tallor

Do you mind if I post this in bullet-points? That may help others like me to read each book as its own entry.

I don't mind at all, but I don't really expect people to read those paragraphs. They're mostly there for text searches to find.

[Tallor]

Originally Posted by johndallman

I don't mind at all, but I don't really expect people to read those paragraphs. They're mostly there for text searches to find.

Did you like the beautified version? :D

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Tallor

Did you like the beautified version? :D

Actually, I'm afraid I didn't. It doesn't have complete sentences, so it takes more work for me to figure out what it's saying about each GURPS book.