Editing Geos:Fate-Fudge Rules:Characters:Skills (section)

=Skills=
Skills are restricted by the 'skill pyramid', i.e., every skill level N greater than 1 must have more skills of level N-1.   So if a character has 3 skills at level 2, that character must have at least 4 skills at level 1.

For simplicity, 'default' skill is 0.  Some skills may have no default for certain characters: no peasant would get a default in Humanities, though a baron might.  

==Variable Skills==
Variable skills are really families of thematically related skills with little or no overlap.  Profession (Brewer), for example, has very little in common with Profession (Shipwright).  Therefore, when selecting a variable skill, a subskill must be selected.  Subskills are treated as skills in their own right, and may have extensions and specializations.

==Specialties and Extensions==
A specialty is a chosen within a skill or subskill.  Spending one point on a specialty does not improve the main skill, bu adds 2 skill levels within that subdomain.  One can have a specialty in a skill without taking the base skill.

An extension is an area related to but not included in a skill or subskill.  For example, Alchemy, Chiurgy and Natural Science don't cover the study of poisons very well – they might help to create a poison, but wouldn't tell you about how to deliver one.  To have skill in poisons specifically, take one of these skills and spend a skill point for an extension.  (An extension always has the same value as the skill it's attached to, unless it is also a specialty.)

When evaluating the skill pyramid, look at the number of points spent on a skill, not its level.  In other words, extensions and specializations count.

==Familiarity==
A character doesn't necessarily know everything covered by their skills.  Someone with Profession (Brewer) may, for example, have never had experience with fermenting strawberries.  It only costs a Fate point to have familiarity with a minor subtopic within a skill, or the character could simply practice that subtopic for a while in play and acquire it for free.