Editing GURPS (section)

===Skills===
''GURPS'' has a wide variety of [[skill (role-playing)|skill]]s intended to enable it to support any conceivable genre (such as [[Acrobatics]] and Vehicle Piloting). Each skill is tied to at least one attribute, and the characters' abilities in that skill is a function of their base attributes + or - a certain amount.

The availability of skills depends on the particular genre in which the ''GURPS'' game is played. For instance, in a generic [[medieval]] [[fantasy]] setting, skills for operating a [[computer]] or flying a [[Fighter aircraft|fighter jet]] would not normally be available. Skills are rated by level, and the more levels purchased with character points, the better the characters are at that particular skill relative to their base attribute.

Skills are categorized by difficulty: Easy, Average, Hard, and Very Hard. Easy skills cost few points to purchase levels in, and the cost per skill level increases with each level of difficulty. Game mechanics allow that eventually it may be less expensive to raise the level of the base attribute the skills depend on as opposed to purchasing higher levels of skills. Players can generally purchase a skill for their characters at any level they can afford. The lower a player chooses, the fewer points it costs to buy the skill, while higher levels cost more points. Some skills have default levels, which indicate the level rating a character has when using that skill untrained (i.e. not purchased). For example, a character with a Dexterity of 12, is using the Climbing skill untrained. Climbing has a default of DX-5 or ST-5, which means that using the skill untrained gives him a Climbing skill level of 7 (12–5) if he tied it to the Dexterity stat. If the character had a higher Strength stat, he could have a better chance of success if he tied the Climbing skill there instead.

Some skills also have a Tech Level (TL) rating attached to them, to differentiate between Skills that concern similar concepts, but whose tasks are accomplished in different ways when used with differing levels of technology. This helps during time traveling scenarios, or when characters are forced to deal with particularly outdated or advanced equipment. For instance, a modern boat builder's skills will be of less use if he is stuck on a desert island and forced to work with primitive tools and techniques. Thus, the skills he uses are different when in his shop (Shipbuilding/TL8) and when he is on the island (Shipbuilding/TL0).