Expert Skill (Pneumatology) and Hidden Lore (Spirits)

[Lord Carnifex]

Originally Posted by demonsbane

According to this, we could have things like these portrayed in a suitable way:

• Esotericism (Pythagoreanism)
• Esotericism (Ancient Freemasonry)
  
  or
  
  
• Esoteric Doctrine (Pythagoreanism)
• Esoteric Doctrine (Ancient Freemasonry)
  
  along with
  
  
• Esoteric Doctrine (Buddhism)
• Esoteric Doctrine (Jewish Kabbalah)
• Esoteric Doctrine (Islamic tassawuf)
• Theology (Roman Catholic)
• Theology (Islam)
• Philosophy (Stoicism)
• Philosophy (Aristotelian)
• Philosophy (Marxism)

etc.

Sounds good to me, in theory. Although I'm perhaps too much grounded in Western exoteric history to buy "Ancient Freemasonry" before the 17th century. I could go with Esoteric Doctrine (Mystery Cults), Esoteric Doctrine (Gnosticism), Philosophy (Neo-Platonism), and Theology (Zoroastrianism).

Sure, there is no GURPS police, but there are real, practical advantages when a rule or detail is "official", like support and continuity. And this subject is objective, like the famous GURPS "armor weights" addressed in Low-Tech. Moreover, if the rule system officially distinguishes between skills like —for putting a small example between many others— Biology (Basic Set, p.180) and Chemistry (Basic Set, p.183), for the shake of coherence it should also officially distinguish between Theology (or Philosophy) and Esotericism / Esoteric Doctrine, since the differences here are even greater than the ones existing between Biology and Chemistry.

Bit above my pay grade, I'm afraid.

[demonsbane]

Originally Posted by Lord Carnifex

Sounds good to me, in theory. Although I'm perhaps too much grounded in Western exoteric history to buy "Ancient Freemasonry" before the 17th century.

Yes, I understand what you mean: according to what I personally know, the denial of Ancient Freemasonry and the placement of its origins in recent centuries (XVII-XVIII) is a historic prejudice, and it's certainly possible to enter into more detail about it; however, I believe that the point we are talking about isn't actually to discuss about particular esoteric paths. (If you want to do it, however, let me know it here or by PM.)

Originally Posted by Lord Carnifex

I could go with Esoteric Doctrine (Mystery Cults), Esoteric Doctrine (Gnosticism), Philosophy (Neo-Platonism), and Theology (Zoroastrianism).

Esoteric Doctrine (Mystery Cults) sounds good too, but it could be a bit too broad (1). In theory, no problem to my mind if someone wants to handle it in that way, though. I think that the same happens with Esoteric Doctrine (Gnosticism), since all kinds of esotericism are "gnostic" (2). OK, too, regarding Philosophy (Neo-Platonism) and Theology (Zoroastrianism).

-

(1) Albeit on the other hand, many esoteric doctrines share a good deal of common traits, more than enough in a number of cases for justifying a broad scope if the understanding is enough deep.

(2) Maybe you are making a reference to the particular but diverse variations of Christian Gnosticism that entered in conflict with the Christianity understood in a religious, exoteric way, in the first centuries of Christianity.

[Lord Carnifex]

Originally Posted by demonsbane

(1) Albeit on the other hand, many esoteric doctrines share a good deal of common traits, more than enough in a number of cases for justifying a broad scope if the understanding is enough deep.

Exactly. My feel is that, during the Hellenistic and Roman periods, groups as diverse as the Orphic Mysteries, the Egyptian Cults of Osiris, and the Near Eastern cults of Serapis and Magna Mater (and perhaps even the Essenes of Judea) decided they were all talking about different versions of the same thing.

(2) Maybe you are making a reference to the particular but diverse variations of Christian Gnosticism that entered in conflict with the Christianity understood in a religious, exoteric way, in the first centuries of Christianity.

Bang on. Especially since all we really know about some of these groups is what their enemies accused them of doing and the few artifacts they left behind. Plus, I don't think GURPS needs to break out the hundereds of different permutations seen over the years. This skill would cover Simonism, Manicheanism, the Albigensians, and Cathars in general, to name a few. One thing these groups had in common was the adoption of the revelations of Christianity to already existing Alexandrian and Hellenistic synecretic traditions, along with a leavening of mystical Judaism, Zoroastrianism, and Neo-Platonism.

[demonsbane]

There is room for more considerations, but I mostly agree with what you are saying here.