Topic: What is the difference between these two skills?

[dutch206]

What is the difference between:

Lore*General:  Culture Lore (x)

and

Sci/Analy:  Anthropology(x)

 

[markc]

 IMO, the lore general is things that a person would know if thet lived in the location, best fishing holes, place to get a beer etc. Sci/Analy Anthropology tells how a population evolved besed on thier economic, religous and social belief's as well as how outside influences affected thier culture. The first has mundain facts about the area and the second is a scientific examination of the culture.

MDC

[Grinnen Baeritt]

As above.

Except I would classify the Lore skill as being stuff that people of that Culture would know about CURRENT customs, manners, religious, trade and social heirarchy. i.e. how to behave in that culture.

Anthropolgy would compare (and contrast) and anaylise the differences and evolution of various related cultures.

[Arioch]

The SoHK says that Anthropology studies extinct cultures/people, while Culture Lore deals with living cultures. The Anthropology skill should be used to identify a given culture by archeological remains.
It also says that the PC is familiar with one race for each rank he has in Anthropology.

[dutch206]

Thank you.  In other words, forget anthropology unless I take the archaeologist TP.

[markc]

Thank you.  In other words, forget anthropology unless I take the archaeologist TP.

 Or ask your GM which would be more relavent in his game.
MDC

[Dark Schneider]

I think anthropology is equal to culture lore for ALL humanoid races, so if you want to develop many of them, maybe anthropology is cheaper.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropology

Reading that description, I think it can be used in many ways, so for any question about humanoid beings, anthropology could be used to roll as the propper LORE skill.

If used in that way, it seems to be an efficient skill for 'wise' characters (those who have the lore skills).

[Urbannen]

Well, technically Anthropology is the study of humans.  Therefore elves, halflings, dwarves, and orcs would not be covered by this field of study.  It could be expanded to include them, I suppose.

Anthropology is a very academic field.  It's emphasis has historically been living, non-Western, non-modern(ized) cultures.  The Lore skills would be much more appropriate for a fantasy game, in my opinion.

     

[Fidoric]

Anthropology is better defined as a scientific apporach than by its object. It can apply equally well to human or elves or troll or whatever race you may want. It is a way to study cultures beginning with small details to achieve a "big picture", trying to explain a whole culture. It that, it is the opposite of sociology where you start by a general study to end explaining small details.

In our world, it's a heritage of 19th century philosophy (positivism ?) so IMO quite out of scope in your average medieval campaign.
That is if I remeber correctly my distant lessons in anthropology at university. But years have passed by since then.

I think that culture lore is far more apporpriate as it translates a collection of common knowledge about cultures, like things that are well known about the elven way of life... I can hardly imagine people seating long hours in classroom studying the way elven wedding ceremonies are done, why they are so and how does all of this bring us light about the elven society as a whole (that would be anthropology or elvology). I think it more credible that an individual may have gathered knowledge about elven ceremonies but without a scientific will to explain a part of the world, rather out of curiosity.