What else can we define as a 'style'?

[Mgellis]

Not trying to rain on anyone's parade, but I think we want to watch out for "style creep." Nothing has to be a style. A style should offer something above and beyond what the skills already offer.

Musical Instrument (Guitar) would let you play jazz guitar without any trouble. A Jazz Guitar technique or three would let you specialize above your base skill level. I'm not sure there are "secret techniques" for jazz guitar that would be impossible to learn if you were not "one of the initiated." So what does Style Familiarity (Jazz Guitar) give you?

Even if the only thing offered by the perk are social benefits--you know a few people, the fact that you know people can open other doors for you at times, etc.--that's reasonable, but there should be a reason why someone needs a style instead of simply needing a skill.

Having said that, almost any skill or activity might be connected with a style. This would certainly be true of guilds or special schools, where there might well be secret techniques of some kind. The social benefits would be worth something, although the perk might be called something else if the social benefits are the only benefits ("Clique"--you know several people, not as well as a perk-based Friend, but well enough to get some benefit from knowing them--maybe?). I'm sure you could build styles for Piloting, Surgery, Writing, anything you wanted, really.

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by Mgellis

Even if the only thing offered by the perk are social benefits--you know a few people, the fact that you know people can open other doors for you at times, etc.--that's reasonable, but there should be a reason why someone needs a style instead of simply needing a skill.

This social angle is the real-world focus of what GURPS calls "styles." A "style" represents the minimum training expected and often tested for by some group that's in a position to make sure you don't get work, or at least very good work, unless you do things their way. Most such "styles" could swap the Style Familiarity perk for a Courtesy Title, License, Office, or Permit perk. In essence, the right skills – and possibly certain techniques and perks – would become prerequisites to earning the qualification. Upon attaining the qualification, doors would open socially, and in many cases you would be cleared to receive "advanced training" that teaches other techniques and perks that are nominal secrets: stage-magic tricks, commercial trade secrets, military tactics, crypto schemes, etc.

[Lord Carnifex]

Originally Posted by Kromm

This social angle is the real-world focus of what GURPS calls "styles." A "style" represents the minimum training expected and often tested for by some group that's in a position to make sure you don't get work, or at least very good work, unless you do things their way. Most such "styles" could swap the Style Familiarity perk for a Courtesy Title, License, Office, or Permit perk. In essence, the right skills – and possibly certain techniques and perks – would become prerequisites to earning the qualification. Upon attaining the qualification, doors would open socially, and in many cases you would be cleared to receive "advanced training" that teaches other techniques and perks that are nominal secrets: stage-magic tricks, commercial trade secrets, military tactics, crypto schemes, etc.

I'm guessing then that it wouldn't be inappropriate to divide up Euro-American medical practice into styles, then. After all, there are certain things one is able to do as an MD that one cannot do as a paramedic or RN, no matter how much skill the RN or medic might have. And each sector of the field has it's own techniques and tricks that they teach their people that they won't or can't learn elsewhere.

[dcarson]

Not just training. A MD can write prescriptions, a paramedic no matter how skilled can't.

[Sam Baughn]

Originally Posted by Mgellis

Not trying to rain on anyone's parade, but I think we want to watch out for "style creep." Nothing has to be a style.

Why do we need to avoid 'style creep'? As far as I can tell, there's no real downside to statting any damn thing as a style.

The existance of a vast number of martial arts styles hasn't led to anyone feeling the need for every martial artist character to have them. There are plenty of official templates published since Martial Arts came out which include extensive hand-to-hand skills without buying a martial arts style.

There doesn't seem to be much of an issue mixing characters with styles with those without. I don't even see a problem mixing the two approaches for a single character (for instance, I might make a US Marine character with the MCMAP style, but just use normal skills for his firearms training).