GURPS - Basic Set 3r..

Few Hundred Acres: Knowledge of farmers or tribesmen, trails,streams, hiding places, ambush sites, flora and fauna.Hamlet, Village, or Small Town: All important citizens and businessesand most unimportant ones; all public buildings and mosthouses.City: All important businesses, streets, citizens, leaders, etc.Barony, County, Duchy, or Small Nation: General nature of itssettlements and towns, political allegiances, leaders, and most citizensof Status 5 and up.Large Nation: Location of its major cities and important sites;awareness of its major customs, races, and languages (but not necessarilyexpertise); names of folk of Status 6+, and a general understandingof the economic and political situation.Planet: As for a large nation, but more general; knowledge ofpeople of Status 7+ only.Interplanetary State: Location of major planets; awareness ofmajor races (though not necessarily expertise); knowledge of peopleof Status 7+; general understanding of economic and politicalsituation.SOCIAL SKILLSon all reaction rolls where you're allowed to talk! The GM mayrequire the player to give details of the story he is using, rather thanjust letting him say "I'm using Fast-Talk."Fast-Talk is not the same as Acting. In general, Fast-Talk is used toget someone to make a snap decision in your favor. Acting is usedfor long-term dissimulation. But there are many situations in whichthe GM could allow a roll on either skill.In any situation where a reaction roll is called for, you may substitutea Fast-Talk roll instead; all normal reaction modifiers apply tothe Fast-Talk roll. A successful roll gives you a "Good" reaction. Afailed roll gives you a "Bad" reaction.When knowledge is needed about a place distant from the"home base" area, the GM should assess a penalty. For instance, ifthe home base is a small town, facts about the neighboring farmsmight be rolled at -1. The next town (a mile away) would be at -2;the big city 50 miles away would be at -5. The capital of a neighboringstate or nation would be at -7, and a faraway country wouldbe at -10. The long-distance modifiers in the sidebar on p. 151 can beused if specific rules are needed.Bard (Mental/Average)See Artistic Skills., p. 47Carousing (Physical/Average)Buy this skill based on your HT, not DX. This is the skill ofsocializing, partying, etc. A successful Carousing roll, made underthe right circumstances, will give you a +2 bonus on a request foraid or information, or just on a general reaction. A failed roll meansyou made a fool of yourself in some way; you get a -2 penalty onany reaction roll made by those you caroused with. If you do yourcarousing in the wrong places, a failed roll can have other dangers!Modifiers: GM's discretion, but up to a +3 for buying drinks orother entertainment for your fellow carousers.Diplomacy (Mental/Hard)Defaults to IQ-6This is the skill of negotiating, compromising and getting alongwith others. A Diplomacy roll may be substituted for any reactionroll in a non-combat situation (see Influence Rolls, p. 93). A successfulroll will also allow you to predict the possible outcome of acourse of action when you are negotiating, or to choose the bestapproach to take. If you have the Diplomacy skill at an expert level(20 or better), you get a +2 bonus on all reaction rolls! Modifier: +2 ifyou have the Voice advantage.Unlike other influence skills, Diplomacy will never give you aworse result than if you had tried an ordinary reaction roll. A failure ofFast-Talk or Sex Appeal will alienate the subject, but Diplomacy isalways safe.Fast-Talk (Mental/Average) Defaults to IQ-5or Acting-5This is the skill of talking others into doing things against theirbetter judgment. It is not taught (intentionally, that is) in school;you study it by working as a salesman, confidence man, lawyer, etc. Ifyou have Fast-Talk at an expert level (20 or better), you get a +2Defaults to HT-4Gambling (Mental/Average) Defaults to IQ-5or Mathematics-5This is skill at playing games of chance. A successful Gamblingroll can (among other things) tell you if a game is rigged; identify afellow gambler in a group of strangers; or "estimate the odds" inany tricky situation. When you gamble against the house, just makeyour own roll (with a modifier if the GM says the odds are poor).When you gamble against someone else, you both make yourGambling rolls (see Contes ts of Skill, p. 87) until one of you wins.Modifiers: +1 to +5 for familiarity with the game being played; -1 to-5 if the game is rigged against the players. The Sleight of Hand skill(p. 67) can be helpful if you want to cheat!To spot a cheater, roll a Contest of Skills; your Gambling roll(or just your Vision roll) vs. the opponent's Sleight of Hand for cardor dice tricks, or IQ for other kinds of cheating.Leadership (Mental/Average)Defaults to ST-5This is the ability to coordinate a group in a dangerous or stressfulsituation. Some level of Leadership is required to hold rank in amilitary or paramilitary group. A successful Leadership roll isrequired to lead NPCs into a dangerous situation (player characterscan decide for themselves if they will follow you!). Modifiers:Charisma (if you have it); -5 if the NPCs have never been in actionwith you; -5 if you are sending them into danger but not goingyourself; +5 if their loyalty to you is "Good"; +10 if their loyalty is"Very Good." If their loyalty is "Excellent," no roll is necessary!(Defaults to ST because in a random group, if nobody has leadershiptraining, the strongest usually leads.)