[Madness Dossier] Skill of the Week: Esmology

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

"So I want to play a Pyschohistorian in your Foundation game." "Okay, you want the Esmology skill, which is what I'm calling 'pyschohistory', for like .... no reason."

It isn't as if there were a good reason to call it psychohistory, either. Asimov just made the name up. "Predictive sociology" would have been better, or "sociodynamics."

Actually, it seems to me that the GURPS logic would be to say, "The GURPS name for this skill is X" (where X goes into something generic). "X is an essential skill of the weird science style of psychohistory." Then to be a psychohistorian you would learn Mathematics (Applied), Mathematics (Statistics), Sociodynamics/Memetics/Esmology/whatever you call it, and a couple of other skills. . . .

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by whswhs

It isn't as if there were a good reason to call it psychohistory, either. Asimov just made the name up. "Predictive sociology" would have been better, or "sociodynamics."

Actually, it seems to me that the GURPS logic would be to say, "The GURPS name for this skill is X" (where X goes into something generic). "X is an essential skill of the weird science style of psychohistory." Then to be a psychohistorian you would learn Mathematics (Applied), Mathematics (Statistics), Sociodynamics/Memetics/Esmology/whatever you call it, and a couple of other skills. . . .

Yes, but that suggests either a) giving it a more generic name (and possibly changes to the mechanics), or b) giving a setting specific name in the other setting (possibly with changes to the mechanics), not c) using the setting specific name from a different setting.

[evileeyore]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

If I saw it in another setting I'd be waiting for Irruptors the entire campaign.

i don't pull bait and switch on my Players. If I allowed Esmology for some reason (say a Player said "Hey, can I get this skill"), then I've merely allowed a skill.

If I'm running a Madness Dossier game, then the Players know going in... even if the setting begins as something else and will morph after a few sessions.

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

It was chosen in the setting because of the regimented nature of the human hive in History B. "

If so, probably incorrectly. Typing it into the Perseus corpus (use e(smo/s for the accents to do it yourself) it looks to me like only one of those hits is esmos of bees, three of them (the Aeschylus and Aristophanes) are of *women*. And from the dictionaries there I sort of get the impression the meaning might be almost chaotic rather than regimented, with the stream or flow meaning as important as the swarm or flock one.