I took the time to dig out all the knowledge skills from Street Legends and posted them here a while ago. This time, I updated it with the Supplemental PDF, and tried to organize them for ease of finding. I also noticed a few 'rules' regarding knowledges (or should I say lack of rules?) and how they're listed. Honestly, it seems damn near anything can be a knowledge - or a specialization of a knowledge. Anyway, here's the list.

[City]
Area Knowledge, Corporate Structure, Districts, Gossip, Politics, Personnel, Safe Houses, Roadways, Runner Hangouts, Sprawl, Street Gangs, Streets, Tech

Corporate / [Corporation]
History, Military, Politics, Procedures, Security, Surveillance Techniques (Corporation)

[Culture]
Art, History, Music

[Mafia]
Politics, Safe Houses, Traditions

[Metahuman]
Anatomy, Architecture, Culture, Customs, History, Laws, Magical Groups, Psychology

[Nation]
Cop Bars, Corporations, Criminal Law, Gangs, Governments, High Society, History, Law, Military, Music, Nobility, Politics, Smuggler Havens, Smuggler Routes, Sports Teams

[Religious Group]
Churches, History, Practices, Traditions

[Specific Sport]
History, Leagues, Rules, Stats, Teams

#th Century
History, Music, Science Fiction, Video Games

Ancient
Civilizations, Mythology, Texts

Art
Fences, Styles, History

Business (Type)
Practices

Classic(al)
Art, Literature, Music (Instrument), Rock

Computer
Hardware, History, Software, System Security Techniques, Theory

Criminal
Groups, Hideouts, Psychology, Syndicates

Dragon / Dracoforms
Etiquette, History, Society, (Type)

Firearm / Handgun
Design, History, Manufacturers

International
Business Law, Politics

Law Enforcement
Organizations, Procedures, Strategies

Magic(al)
Artifacts, Background, Groups, History, Knowledge, Phenomenon, Politics, Security, Theory, Threats, Trids

Matrix
Architecture, Chat Rooms, Data Havens, Design, Games, Groups, Hardware, Programs, Security Design, Security Procedures, Security Techniques

Mercenary
Groups, Haunts, Units, (Specific Group)

Military
History, Procedures, Psychological Operations, Tactics, Techniques, (Nation, Small Unit)

Runner
Groups, Hangouts, Hideouts, Lore, Networks

Security
Companies, Design, Procedures, Providers, Protocols, Systems, Theory, (Corporation. Group)

SOTA
Security Systems, Technology

Street
Drugs, Gangs, Knowledge, (Location)

World
Geography, History

Other Skills Which Did Not Group Neatly
Accounting
Anarchist Groups
Arcanoarchaeology
Archaeology
Architecture
Artificial Intelligences
Assassination Techniques
Astral Research
Banking
Beer
Biology (Race)
Biotech
Black Market Fences
Bluegrass Music
Bodyguarding
Border Patrol Tactics
Botany
Bug / Insect Spirits
Bully Tactics
Carpentry
Cartel Structure
Chemistry
Chess
Club Music
Comic Books
Conspiracy Theories (Focus)
Contemporary Literature
Cooking
Corrections Systems
Cults
Cybertechnology
Cyberware
Design (Focus, eg: Spell)
Diplomacy
Drug Cartels
Eco Groups
Economics
Engineering
Espionage
Espionage Tradecraft
Famous Hackers
Fashion
Fast Food
Finance
Financial Systems
Fine Cuisine (Type)
Fine Resturaunts
Fixers
Flatvid Movies
Forensics
Futurist Theories
Gang Identification
Gangster Rap
Gardening
Genetic Engineering
Geography
High Fashion
History
Image Crafting
Insect Spirits
Jungle Ecology
Languages: Egyptian Heiroglyphics
Linguistics
Literature
Manatech
Media
Megacorp Law
Metaphysics
Metaplanes
Motorcycle Manufacturers
Mystic Legends
Orc Underground
Origami
Painting
Parabotany
Parazoology (Focus, eg: HMHVV)
Pharmaceuticals
Philosophy (Era, Focus: eg Political)
Pirate Groups
Poetry
Poison Antidotes
Police Procedures
Political Communications (Focus)
Private Art Collectors
Pro-Meta Groups
Psychology (Focus: eg: Vampires)
Public Relations
Public Relations Techniques
Public Speaking
Punk Rock
Reagents
Safe Houses
Secret Matrix Hacker Chatrooms
Singularity Research
Small Squadron Tactics
Small Unit Tactics
Smuggling Routes
Sociology
Spells
Spirits
Stock Market
Street Docs
Theology
Toxic Hazards
Tradecraft
Trash Trid Shows
Underworld Politics
Universal Omnitech
Vampire Lore
Virology (Type)
Wanted Criminals
Weapons Manufacturers
Wines
Wuxia Action Trids
Yachting
Zen Meditation

Rules as Seen
General, Specific, and Specializations are all interchangeable, indicating the focus the character has. For example: Seattle Gossip 4 indicates that the character knows about gossip around Seattle, but can instead be Gossip (Seattle) 4 (6), meaning the character picks up gossip, but happens to specialize in Seattle’s gossip scene. I’ve seen things like UCAS Military Procedures 4 and Military Procedures (UCAS) 4 (6). I’ve also seen Small Unit Tactics (Military Group), and Military Tactics (Small Unit). It all really seems to depend on what you’re trying to do. Also note [ ] can represent its own skill, such as Ares Macrotechnology, rather than Ares Macrotechnnology Security or Security (Ares Macrotechnology).

Back in SR2(?) days we invented the concept of knowledge skills at our table and I had a character with Coffee Making rating 12 and Holographic Technology 9.

I think its' damn cool. This list is also cool.

Thanks for the ideas/inspiration.

- J.

"It's all in the grind, Sergeant. Can't be too fine, can't be too coarse."

Something like that. It was the character's highest skill that's for sure.

He'd go batshit at people who tried to make his coffee and if a meet involved a coffee shop or diner, he'd usually go off at the barista and pull them off the machine and show them how its done. He never touched soycaf either. Ever.

- J.

Nice list. You could do a group for Academic and put all the college course style items in it. (i.e. accounting, chemistry, theology, etc...)

Also, Forensics, border patrol tactics, corrections systems, megacorp law, police procedures and possible wanted criminals all belong in law enforcement.

You could toss Artificial Intelligence in the Matrix category (or possibly sota)

Universal omnitech belongs in Corporate, being a corp itself.


Those are just suggestions for grouping off the top of my head. Making 4 new groups, Street, Society, Tradecraft, and Hobby, should let you group a large portion of the others as well. Tradecraft could be used for everything from carpentry to espionage to assassination techniques... you know, the facts of a 'runner's trade.

Do people only pick Knowledge skills that DIRECTLY aid their character? Doesn't anyone ever pick skills just for "fluff" or because its fun?

E.g. 20th Century Gangster Films? Coffee Making? Etc.

- J.

Yes, yes I do. Then I try and find some way to use it in game as well. Never know when your in depth knowledge of 19th century poets will come in handy.

Absolutely Not. Got a Ninja with a Knowledge Skill: 100 Years of Ninja Sims/Movies. That Sho Kosugi was one bad dude.
I often take fluff Knowledge SKills. Literature (Sometimes by category), Cooking, Ancient Asian Art, The Crusades, etc. Adds a lot of character to the, well, Character.

And then the challenge is to bring that knowledge to the game in some way. Is a lot of fun. Does not hurt that I Like to research that kind of stuff anyways.

We have a pixie who's interest is in racist sit coms. She watches them with evil delight, mocking them incessantly.
My character Reiko has Japanese fusion cuisine as an interest.
... um. I think Cleric has classical music.

My decker has Chess (Openings) 5(7). Hasn't been useful yet.

But, they have acquired a base, and he's going to use a chess openings knowledge check as part of the admin log on process for the house node. Before you get a chance to fire up your stealth program and pretend to be me, you have to provide the next move of a standard opening, in 10 seconds (basically a logic + Chess (openings) test with a threshold of 2).

I like it.

As for the list of skills, thanks for compiling it; one of the more difficult things I've had getting across to my group of setting newbies is that knowledge skills are completely freeform. Heard at the table just this last Friday. "Okay, why doesn't your lawyer [player character] have Law as a knowledge skill?" "Because it wasn't on the list." "..."

I try to give all my characters, especially NPCs for public consumption, an array of Knowledge Skills that are more or less completely useless. Knowledge: Action Trids (Neil the Ork Barbarian), for instance, will be appearing on the character sheet of one NPC in an upcoming piece. I love that kind stuff.

Thanks for the list Tashiro! I'm going to be helping four new players make characters this weekend and this will help a lot!

Character I'm building now-huge fomori Physad guy(who at this point may be more fiction material) has a knowledge skill of Classical-Metal music(like heavy metal crossed with classical) and happens to play the cello. Yes, I had on Apocalyptica at the time. He also has a coffee knowledge skill. Glad to see there are fellow coffee fiends around.

Knowledge skills I've had come to mind(more Interest based-I do tend to take some professional or street ones too like gang turf, corp politics, safehouses, etc) included techno-metal music, Dwarven Made Lagers(he was an elf who liked to drink), card games, gambling, Fast Food Joints, French Cooking(which went on Dr. Stud, the ex heavy metal star turned street sam who happened to have a cybernetic...part), and Energy Drinks.

I do love knowledge skills. Figuring them out is one of my favorite parts of the numbers.

I'm really glad if people find a use for this list.
It would be cool to make a database of all Knowledge skills presented through the various sourcebooks, organized and cleaned up for ease of use. That's a bit beyond me however.

I try and give all my major NPCs at least one "hobby skill". I gave Kane, for example, Comic Book art and art history as both an active and knowledge skills. Kane, in my mind, is a sucker for classic superhero comics, and he used to draw comic caricatures of his squadron mates in his military days.

I gave one NPC three different Cooking knowledge skill variants once; as an academic skill (Haut Cuisine, French spec), as a professional skill (Hospitality, Cooking Spec), and as an Interest skill (Cooking, Exotic Cuisines). Said NPC was an extraction target: The poor chef had been extracted half-a-dozen times, a token of oneupsmanship among a group of execs...

Yes, We Do !
Knowledgeskills just for Fun/Fluff is 1/2 of the Fun of creating a Char

Hough !
Medicineman

You could always have "Academics" and "Sciences" as groups, and organize them according to type. It works well in nWoD, and since there's a lot of things that SR4 takes from it, it should work well enough too.

Knowledge Skill Groups? Interesting idea... hmm...

I know every character i build always has at least one fluff knowledge skill. My big one at least is chess still trying to make it useful in the game

I have a farmer/shepherd in the "The Sun Never Sets" campaign here in DS who has "Dog Agility Competition Course Design" as a Knowledge Skill.

Fits his background perfectly and current stats perfectly (he has a border collie to whom he is Attuned), but won't apply directly to anything in campaign I can foresee. I'm not counting the GM out, though, on throwing something at us that tests somebody's weird Knowledge Skill.