GURPS - Compendium 1..

Hidden Lore (Mental/Average)
No default;
must specialize
You have acquired some secret or mystical knowledge not
commonly known by the public at large. Hidden Lore is much
like Area Knowledge in that you must specialize in this skill,
and in that different specialties do not default to one another.
Because it's by definition secret, starting characters will seldom
have any Hidden Lore skills. If they do, the GM should, at a
minimum, require them to account for their unusual knowledge
somewhere in their character story. He may also require an
Unusual Background from a starting character who wants to
know a Hidden Lore, or simply rule that certain Hidden Lore
skills are completely unavailable to starting characters, period.
Likewise, earned character points should only be spent on
Hidden Lore if the character has, through play, discovered some
reliable source of information on the relevant Hidden Lore. The
GM can also place an arbitrary cap on the amount of Hidden
Lore any given source can provide.
Example: An ancient manuscript might give any student up to
4 points to spend on Hidden Lore, and no more. The student
must earn and spend the points normally, but if he has 6 points
available, he can only spend 4 of them on Hidden Lore after
reading the tome.
It should be remembered that most Hidden Lore is secret
because somebody powerful wants it kept that way. Thus discussing
your Hidden Lore or revealing your knowledge in any
way can be extremely hazardous.
Some possible Hidden Lore specialities include:
City Secrets: You know many secrets about a single city.
These might include hidden or illicit refuges, social or economic
weaknesses, and various power struggles and alliances among
the city's rulers. This skill must be bought separately for each
city.
Demon Lore: You know secrets of the infernal hierarchies
and their goals and plans here on Earth.
Faerie Lore: You know about the faeries and their secret
kingdom.
Sewer Lore: Before he can take any level in this skill, a character
must first have Area Knowledge: Local Sewers-14 or bet ter.
This represents a acquaintance with the inhabitants of the city
sewers, their dwelling places, activities and alliances. As with
City Secrets, this skill must be bought separately for each city.
Spirit Lore: You know about ghosts and other spirit creatures.
Performance/Ritual (Mental/Average)
Defaults to IQ-5, Acting-2 or Bard-2
The ability to perform a specific religious ritual (holiday celebration,
wedding, funeral, etc.) before a congregation. It
includes precise knowledge of the appropriate trappings,
motions and prayers, etc., as well as the performance skill necessary
to capture and hold the attention of those participating. A
particular ritual may have a Theology specialization as a prerequisite.
Each ritual is a separate skill.
Rituals and Ceremonies (Mental/Hard) Defaults to
IQ-6
This is the TL0 version of Theology (see p. B62). It includes
complete knowledge of not only a tribe's religious beliefs, but
how to conduct its ceremonies as well. This skill is very useful
for shamans, even if they aren't the tribal religious leaders. This is
a Knowledge skill and not a Scientific skill - comparative
religion and religious debate are not TL0 concepts!
Ritual Magic (Mental/Very Hard)
See p. 144 under Esoteric Skills.
No default;
must specialize
Sacrifice (Mental/Hard)
No default
Prerequisite: Theology
This is the knowledge of the tools and methods to use when
sacrificing blood, objects, animals and people to the gods. Higher
Sacrifice skill levels allow the sacrifice of more valuable offerings. A
different skill is required for each religion, and one still needs
Theology to know the appropriate prayers, rituals and feast days
for a sacrifice. Depending on the society, a sacrifice may bring
good fortune, avert disaster or produce other magical effects.
Skaldic Lore (Mental/Hard) Defaults to IQ-6
A skald, or storyteller, has a broad base in Norse history,
sagas and mythology, which were a single body of knowledge. A
skald will know many sagas and poems, long and short, memorized
word for word. This skill is otherwise identical to the
Bardic Lore skill (146).
Note that a hall full of drunken warriors might not notice a
dozen mistakes, if the skald is loud and has a good, table-pounding
cadence. A fellow skald would be far more impressed by accuracy.
Symbol Drawing (Mental/Hard) Defaults to
appropriate Ritual Magic-4
This is the art of drawing the symbols used in magical rituals.
Such symbols are usually made with ceremonial powders,
paints, tiles, et cetera, on the ground, floor, wall or appropriate
scroll or parchment. This skill determines both the character's
knowledge of the symbols and his ability to draw them; people
with the appropriate Ritual Magic skill will know the symbols
for their tradition, but may find it hard to draw them properly.
Symbol Drawing is a separate skill for each magical tradition.
These symbols help in conducting rituals. For every 2 points
by which the celebrant makes his Symbol Drawing roll, add +1 to
the ritual conducted over it. A symbol must be redrawn each time
it is used for another ritual. Symbols can be drawn with
nontraditional powders or materials, but they are usually less
effective: the bonus becomes +1 for every 3 points of success.
Example: Vever Drawing, the skill of drawing the magical
symbols called vevers used in the Voodoo tradition, defaults to
Ritual Magic (Voodoo)-4. See GURPS Voodoo for details.
Tea Ceremony (Mental/Hard) Defaults to IQ-6 or
Meditation-2
This is the skill of making tea as a meditative art - a mark of
status and breeding in many Asian cultures. It requires pure
water, special powdered tea and a number of imp lements,
including a teacup.
Tournament Law (Mental/Easy) Defaults to IQ-6;
must specialize
This is the study of the history and rules of athletic competition.
A roll on Tournament Law might be required to detect a
subtle foul, for instance. This is also the skill to roll against
when the GM must test a character's knowledge of the history,
personalities, etc., of a given sport.
Users must specialize in one specific type of tournament;
rules can vary widely between different sports, so there is no
default between them, unless the GM determines otherwise.
However, a roll against Tournament Law-3 can be used in place of
a Savoir-Faire roll when dealing with any tournament judge in
his official capacity, regardless of the event.
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