Skill House Rules

None of the unarmed combat techniques (Boxing, Brawling, Judo, Karate) offer a damage bonus proportional to skill.

Body Language (mental/hard). This skill is much altered; A Quick contest of Body Language versus Weapon skill or Tactics (whichever is better) of the opponent is required to predict his actions and gain a defense bonus. Remember to adjust for cover (including shields) and other penalties to Vision. Similarily, non-combat uses require a Quick Contest of Body Language-3 versus the other characters Acting, Fast-Talk or other relevant skill.

Bow is considered an Average skill. Having Bow at DX+1 level provides a +1 bo

Judo uses 2/3 skill for a normal Judo Parry, but only 1/2 skill for a Judo Parry used to set up the opponent for a lock or throw. An armed fighter may use Weapon Skill instead of "DX, Judo or Wrestling" to resist the Arm Lock maneuver.

Main-Gauche skill is banned. Main-gauche knives still exist

Mental Skills

Artistic

Bard can be used rhetorically, and be used instead of a reaction roll, like other Influence skills.

Knowledge

Performance/Ritual is considered a Social skill rather than a Knowledge skill. See below.

Sacrifice (CI147) is subsumed under the skills of Performance/Ritual (below) and Ritual Magic in Ymirea. It may be improved beyond the default as a Hard technique.

Scientific

Theology is a field drawing its knowledge from communion with daimons, as well as oral and scriptual tradition.

Social

Acting is a very important skill for any intrigant or other professional liar.

Area Knowledge follows the specializations given on B63. However, in addition to these mandatory specializations, I permit optional specializations for certain kinds of knowledge of the area. Examples would be mercantile, military, political, natural, rural, sorcerous, underworld, upper-class or urban.

A person having Area Knowledge of a large area, may improve his knowledge of subsidary areas as an Easy method. For instance, a person might have Area Knowledge of a kingdom, and improve his knowledge of a particular duchy or city as a method.

Religious Ritual (defaults to Ritual Magic -6 or Theology -4)

The performer is interacting with real, present spirits, and while their preferences may seem arbitrary, there are certain commonalities. One may specialize in performing rituals for one particular specie of daimon, or rituals for the host of daimons serving one deity. Particular rituals may be improved as methods (see box).

Savoir-Faire (default adjusted by positive Status) is used for both Savoir-Faire (court), and Savoir-Faire (Military), as noble conduct and proper military conduct is generally intermixed. Savoir Faire (Dwarfish, Elfin or Gnomic) are separate skills rarely known to members of other races. Savoir-Faire of different human cultures (Cargan, Fraeging, Frankish, Haramesh, Morath) default to each other at various penalties. Savoir-Faire (Servant) is a separate skill from upper-class savoir-faire, they default at -3 within cultures.

Tactics is an immensely important skill for all combatants, given the campaigns use of Engagement, Exchanges and Lulls in ordinary combat, and the importance of Battle skill in Mass Combat.

Methods (mental maneuvers)

Methods are maneuvers for mental skills. They have a different cost progression in keeping with the comparatively lower costs of high mental skills compared to physical ones.

Costs to improve methods from default
	Character point cost
Difficulty	Easy	Average	Hard
+1	0.5	1	2
+2	1	2	4
+3	2	3	6
+4	3	4	8
Per extra +1	+1 cp		+2

Generally speaking, the difficulty of methods for easy skills will be easy to learn, methods for average or hard skills will be of average difficulty, and methods for very hard skills may be average or hard (otherwise it would be more cost-effective to raise the skill instead of the method).

Typical methods are recipes for alchemical potions (average difficulty, mostly), and specific spells learned by sorcerers.