[Basic] Advantage of the Week (#31): Cultural Familiarity, Cultural/Xeno-Adaptability

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Phantasm

I feel obliged to offer one of my own CF listings which is distinct from Kromm's in several areas:

My one big objection to this is the Aboriginal category, which unites people from at least four different continents (and Inuit and Siberian probably ought to be included as well, making it six). That's not in any meaningful sense a culture; it's a heap of small cultures that have essentially nothing in common. It's kind of like the way Carolus Linnaeus, the inventor of modern taxonomy, put segmented worms, parasitic worms, shellfish, and soft-bodied marine animals together as "Vermes"—animals that now make up maybe a couple of dozen phyla, the majority of all animal phyla. Knowing Inuit customs would tell you nothing useful about Australian or Amazonian customs. I think each culture area should have its own CF.

What all these cultures have in common is that they're a major focus of Anthropology skill. I think that Anthropology ought to let you roll to avoid cultural penalties, at least under certain circumstances. With a big, well-known culture, you might learn its customs directly; but for tiny, obscure cultures, few people would do so, and learning Anthropology would be more efficient.