[Kobold]

The Troll Sam in my group recently saved his team a bunch of hassle with his Trog Rock (European) Knowledge Skill. The Technomancer of the group is spending his first Karma on a Psychology Knowledge Skill and the Artisan Active Skill for RP purposes.

I personally tend to spent a lot of points in silly Knowledge Skills, for some special characters a couple of points in an active skill at chargen.

[Phylos Fett]

Back in the SR3 days, I had a Face that had Psychology, Sociology, Philosophy, Economics and other Academic Skills because you never knew when they were going to come in handy as Complimentary Skills.

[kirk]

Admittedly, Active skills are pretty much all running-related.  That's why they're there.  Still, not every Active skill will be used in every run.

I was more interested in reactions to skills people have given their characters.

Artisan is running related? Arcana?

[Mason]

Artisan is running related in social infiltration scenarios, and it is handy as knowledge of the method to perform the arts.
Arcana is a handy skill if you need to decipher an ancient text that the Johnson needed, esp. if you think he is gonna double-cross you. It also helps in discussions with NPC mages about magic as ANOTHER social skill. Almost every skill in the game can have a social context.

Admittedly, these skills are only useful in high level international running groups, not with street thugs.

[kirk]

mmm. ok. Which means they're as useful as many knowledge skills:
local politics. local laws. psychology (spec: criminal psych). Forensic science.

[Mirikon]

Depends on the character, though I usually have at least one.

My former Tir Tairngir Ghost has TTPF Military Tactics. Not likely to come up in the shadows, even in Seattle, but there ya go. I've got a Technomancer who has Anime and Manga as a knowledge, being a full on otaku, in the older sense of the word. More things like that. I find knowledge skills a good way to help round out characters and make them more real.

[Seraph]

I like to think of a character like "he had a life before i start to play him" And because of that he´s going to need some other skills, probably non-runner skills. I know a bunch of military people, rangers, anti air officers, tank personel etc and all of them know rather many things beside their "runner" skills. Always make the chars feel alive, get the story, give them related skills to their life/work/hobby and get a picture of them.

Flavor is everything, specially in SR.

[Seraph]

Since I only have played one character in SR and he is a mage that had magical upbringing and lived together with his master for his last 10 years he only have magical skills. But he has knowledge about : Magical groups, spirits, spell design, Magical History, Dragons, Talismans and Focis.

He is an Interpretor as a living beside his running, so he can handle his gramatics in 10 different languages too.

Rather living char in my eyes.