Skill adaptation perk (none combat skills)

[Maz]

Can you use the Skill adaptation perk to for instance allow "pick pocket" or "filch" attempts using Sleight of hand skill? Or pick an electronic lock with Lockpicking skill instead of Electronic Operation (security)? and stuff like that?

[Erling]

Sure, that's why this perk exists.

Or pick an electronic lock with Lockpicking skill instead of Electronic Operation (security)?

Actually, according to Ultra-Tech and Action 2: Exploits you always use Lockpicking for picking electronic locks.

[Kromm]

Skill Adaptation was created because GURPS is more than a little guilty of having a proliferation of Melee Weapon skills. While there are defaults between closely related skills, many gamers feel those don't go far enough. Some people even want Melee Weapon to be a single skill (perhaps with specialties: One-Handed and Two-Handed, Bladed and Flexible, etc.). The perk allows an expert with one weapon to transfer tactics, footwork, and so on to a fairly similar weapon without having to invest hundreds or thousands of hours.

It would make sense to extend this perk to any other set of skills the GM feels suffers from a proliferation problem. This would necessarily vary by campaign. In a game where, say, Counterfeiting and Forgery are merely background skills for action-hero cops, I could see it working as a way to cover both cheaply; in a crime drama where counterfeiters work with plates and special inks and papers, while forgers are conmen who are good with a pen and an X-Acto knife, I'd avoid it. To flip things around, there would probably be cause to distinguish lab geeks with Forensics from detectives with Criminology in that police campaign, but the two could be just a perk apart in the crime story.

[Maz]

Thanks you, that's exactly he interpretation I had of it as well. :)

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by Maz

Can you use the Skill adaptation perk to for instance allow "pick pocket" or "filch" attempts using Sleight of hand skill? Or pick an electronic lock with Lockpicking skill instead of Electronic Operation (security)? and stuff like that?

I had to think about this one a moment, because we've been using Skill Adaptation almost exclusively for non-combat skills for so long I'd forgotten it's official definition is that poorly phrased mess about borrowing techniques from other combat skills.

It may help to ignore all the game mechanical stuff about techniques and defaults and think of it as "learn to do something that is only sometimes taught with this skill." or "I took an elective class when learning this skill". The technique stuff is there to give you an idea of scope - if it's narrow enough for a single technique (or for that matter a One Task Wonder perk), allowing it as a Skill Adaptation from any plausible sounding skill should be OK. If it's more general than that, it might still be OK, but you should think about it more carefully.

I'd hesitate a little on the first two - those are after all the core functionality of other skills, and already have good defaults. But in the end I might allow it if you had a good character story reason. Extending Lockpicking to electronic locks, sure, that's fine.

Some non-combat things I've allowed under the name Skill Adaptation include:

Acrobatic Stand and Breakfall default to, well, all kinds of stuff. Jumping certainly.

Archaic Training TLn (ignore TL penalties for a specific other TL for this skill)

[sense] Concealment, extending Stealth or Camouflage to fooling some other sense like Radar or Infrared or Discriminatory Smell

Cooperage, extending Carpentry to the metalworking necessary to make and shrink on barrel hoops without needing a Smith skill.

Evade defaults to [any movement skill], while using that skill

Field Surgery, First Aid allows surgical rolls to remove fragments, stop bleeding, or perform trauma maintenance (pB423) or stabilize mortal wounds (pB424).

Influence Extension - you can use the skill to make an Influence roll in more marginal cases than would otherwise allow - examples I've permitted include Broadsword Art to turn a sword dance performance into an attempt to seduce a particular member of the audience, and Accounting to Intimidate someone whose books you have just audited.

Lecturing. You can roll against the skill, usually an academic one, to replace Public Speaking to compose or deliver a public lecture on the topic it covers.

Shopkeeping. Extends a craft skill to running a small business that deals in that particular thing - allowing you to keep minimal books, comply with local regulations and buy and sell necessary supplies and products with an (IQ based) roll against the craft instead of Accounting, Administration, Law (commercial) or Merchant.

Teaching. You can roll against the skill instead of Teaching to teach it.