“Does the hero have some skill that charms women?”
– Villager A, Northern Plains
Intro to Skills
If you are lucky enough to be in a fantasy world with a built in skill and experience system then it will be much easier to determine the best way to maximize your efforts so you can become as strong as possible as quickly as possible. Strength and martial prowess is an important differentiator in a fantasy world. It can determine the rights you have as a citizen, the way you are treated by service staff, and ultimately, having sufficient strength can be the determining factor of whether you live or die. Desiring more strength and seeking more power is a cornerstone of any successful fantasy world survival strategy, and the key lies in how one gains experience and learns skills.
Most modern people learn how to ride a bike when they are young. It starts off with training wheels and eventually you take the leap of faith and give yourself fully to the experiment of balancing on two wheels. Learning to ride a bike is a painful and frustrating process for many, but ultimately, given enough time, anyone can learn to ride a bike and that skill sticks with you. Even without touching a bicycle for years, a person who had learned in the past will still be able to perform the logic defying act of two wheeled locomotion. That is in essence – a skill. The skills one can learn in a fantasy world work in much the same way with the same easy recall. Once learned, it is engraved into your very being and will never be forgotten – barring some extenuating circumstances.
Skills are as numerous as the tasks a human can perform and can be used in many creative ways. Basic archery is a skill to use a bow and fire an arrow. Commanding is a skill that gives one the ability to guide a large number of troops on the battlefield. Far sight is a skill that enhances vision like that of a hawk. Estimation is a useful skill for merchants to help them gauge the relative cost of goods.
Some skills are active in that they must be consciously invoked to have their effects shown. Boost is an active skill than can temporarily raise all physical attributes; it can be useful in overpowering opponents in a fight. The effect of active skills usually wear off past a certain point or when the user loses concentration. By contrast, passive skills are constantly in use and do not require conscious effort to maintain their effects. Basic poison resistance is a passive skill that is always in effect and can protect against low level poisons the user might come into contact with.
