The material presented here is my original creation, intended for use with the GURPS system from Steve Jackson Games. This material is not official and is not endorsed by Steve Jackson Games. if you repost them, please list the original source.
Books are used as missiles mainly by academics, specifically those who study law. A book is thrown at a -3 for its unwieldliness as a missile, -1 if strapped or clasped shut. Ranges and damage as per CI11.
Natural Philosophy is the study of the names (numina), natures and purposes (teleologies) of inanimate things. A natural philosopher can predict with some accuracy how a known object will behave and what its ultimate purpose(s) is/are. Ymirean natural philosophy generally a non-experimental science, making heavy use of the Research and Meditation skills. Mathematics is of compartively little use in natural philosophy, as it is a qualitative rather than quantitative science.
This skill replaces most theoretical "hard science" skills - Biology, Chemistry, Geography (physical), Geology and Physics. If a skill defaults to any of these, it defaults to Natural Philosophy at an additional -2.
Philosophy (Mental/Hard) - Defaults to IQ-6
See p. B213. As well as a body of knowledge, philosophy gives skill at logic and inductive and deductive reasoning. In Ymirea, Philosophy is the mother of all sciences in a very literal way - All other sciences (except Alchemy) default to Philosophy-6 (unless a better default is given).
Gossip (Mental/Easy)
- Defaults to to IQ-3, Area Knowledge (appropriate area)-3 or Intrigue.
This is the skill of gathering and passing on gossip. Successful gossiping gives access to information which is circulated and believed, but not necessarily true.. Note that while gossiping is often associated with women, this skill refers to any informal exchange of social information and rumours, and is also much engaged in by men. Gossips tend to be liked by other gossips, and disliked by those who do not gossip.
Intrigue (Mental/Hard) - Defaults to IQ-6, Politics-4 or Gossip-6
This is the skill of finding out the secrets and schemes existing in a social environment. It involves gathering information, evaluating it, synthesizing it into a whole, and finding reasonable courses of action. A successful intrigant will keep his own investigations and actions obscure. This skill is different from gossip in that it is more discrete, and more of an applied skill.
A successful use of the Intrigue skill prior to the use of Politics, Diplomacy or Fast-Talk will give a bonus equal to 1/8 the Intrigue skill (rounded down), doubled for a critical success. A failure gives a -1 and a critical failure gives -4. The Intrigue need not be performed by the same person engaging in the benefiting skill, as long as they have ample opportunity to share information. A successful use of Intrigue may, at the GM's discretion, give information regarding personality traits, strength and weaknesses of a character.
Use of the intrigue skill may give a negative reputation, both from success (Machiavellian, schemer) and failure (bumbling schemer).