Skills
Here is a list of all skills available. Directly below is a list of skills by name, further down is a list of skills with brief blurbs describing each one. Please click the individual links for the skill write up, where it exists.
Certain unwritten crafting skills are not contained in the listed chart below, but information on them can be found under 'Crafting Skills' on the chart, detailing which unwritten craft skills are available to learn. There's also information on these unwritten skills in the comprehensive list of skills below the chart, which includes their scope.
Please ensure you read the Skills Primer.
Skills Update 2021
We have updated our skill list, trimming away some of the older skills and merging skills which largely duplicated each other. A full guide is here.
Skills List (Names Only)
Skills List (With Brief Blurb)
| Skill Name | Information |
|---|---|
| Acting | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. The art and skill of being a thespian. This skill considers the techniques used in acting / performance and the technical skills of stage direction, etc. This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. |
| Alchemy | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. A mixture of magic and science which fundamentally takes the essence of one thing and transfers it onto another. This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. |
| Animal Husbandry | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. The skill of caring for animals. This skill allows you to tend to sick animals and also covers the specific knowledge of what each type of animal needs. This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. |
| Animal Training | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. The skill of training animals to behave in certain ways. A variety of techniques can be used to teach behaviours and this skill does just that. This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. |
| Appraisal | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. Determining the worth of something is the remit of Appraisal. It allows for the individual to appraise (asses) the quality of items, identifying flaws or strengths, historical or monetary significance. This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. |
| Art | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. Creating art via drawing or painting. This skill is for artists who work to create pieces of art on canvas or paper (although they might also paint walls, for example). It includes portraiture, still life, sketching, etc.This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. |
| Athletics | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. Physical fitness and flexibility are the remit of this skill. Acrobatic moves, flexibility, running and general fitness are all aspects of this skill. This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. |
| Basket Weaving | This Skill has no Write-Up Currently A crafting skill where one uses various kinds of long fibers or wire and weave them into useable objects, usually baskets. |
| Bookbinding | This Skill has no Write-Up Currently A crafting skill that relates to the creation of physical books. Using binding, pages, and various kinds of writing stationery to create a full book. |
| Brewing | This Skill has a Write-Up contained in the Crafting Skills link A crafting skill where one may use various ingredients to create brewed beverages that are both tasty and nutritious. It also governs the creation and curation of alcohol. |
| Business Management | This Skill has no Write-Up Currently A skill that governs the various aspects of doing business, everything from handling and managing money, to running an operation for profit, to dealing with patrons and customers. |
| Caregiving | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. With this skill, the PC is able to care for other people. Whether this is looking after children or the sick or elderly, it is the art of meeting others' needs. |
| Cartography | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. This is map-making. While anyone can give directions or draw a line between two points, this is the art of making detailed, clear, scaled maps of land or sea. |
| Combat | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. The art of combat involves two things. Hitting and avoiding being hit. Yet, within that, there are a lot of ways to hit, things to hit with, and means of avoiding getting hit. Combat skill here (including unarmed). |
| Cooking | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. This skill measures how adept the PC is at cooking. This includes sweet and savoury, baked goods and stove-top cooking and it also encompasses preparation and portioning, etc. |
| Cosmetology | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. This skill governs the art of make up and dressing. Obviously, anyone can dress themselves, but this is about knowing what colour goes with your skin tones, what cut suits you, how to do your hair in that beautiful style and how to apply make up to its maximum effect. Basically, the skill and art of looking good! |
| Crafting Skills | This is a category of skill. More info is available in the link. Not a skill write up in its own right, this is a list of all the "Craft Skills" which have been approved but which have no write up. In order to get a skill on this list (and thus, make it a skill which can be progressed), a proposal must be put forward to the PSF. As this is a list of not-yet-written skills, it is subject to change. |
| Cryptography | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. Puzzle-solving, code-breaking, cipher-reading - these are the remit of the cryptography skill, which also covers the creation of these puzzles, codes and ciphers. |
| Dancing | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. A skill that governs the artful, graceful, and rhythmic movement of one's own body for the purposes of entertainment and enjoyment. |
| Deception | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. A skill that governs the ability to deceive people with intent to conceal or obfuscate the truth. The art of disguising one's identity falls under this skill's remit, as does impersonation. |
| Detection | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. A skill that governs the five senses (Hearing, olfactory, taste, sight, and touch) that a person possesses in order to notice features, people, properties, and creatures existing in one's environment that may go unnoticed by those less skilled. |
| Discipline | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. A skill that governs one's ability to resist temptation, fear, and attempts to manipulate. It may also contribute to certain forms of resistance to supernatural abilities, meant to undermine one's will. |
| Dreamwalking | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. A skill that relates to the ability to dreamwalk through Emea, going beyond the Veil to explore the world of dreams. (Currently subject to a rework) |
| Endurance | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. The physical ability to endure pain and fatigue. The endurance skill infers the body's trained ability to push oneself and to continue on despite physical difficulties. |
| Engineering | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. Building things, designing things, constructing things; from widgets to gizmos, from whirligigs to flying ships - they are feats of engineering. Building houses, hovels, castles and manor houses require engineering to make sure they don't fall down. |
| Ensorcelling | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. The art of utilising wells via a semi-magical process. Once a well has been "refined" it can be used to ensorcel items. |
| Etiquette | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. Knowing what to say and do in any given situation, this skill deals with understanding the expectations on a pc because of the social cues and norms. From knowing which knife to use in which course during a banquet to understanding when it is appropriate to speak, or not, in a tense negotiation between two cultures, this skill allows the PC to know what is expected of them. |
| Field Craft | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. Fieldcraft is a broadly defined skill that relates to one's ability to survive in various wilderness environments. Avoiding dangers, finding water, shelter, food, and tools, and making them out of what you have in the wilds is the remit of this skill. |
| Flying | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. This skill relates to one's ability to fly, if one has the capability to fly. Whether one is able to turn into a being that is capable of flight, or using some form of magic to fly, this is the skill that allows one to do it well. Taking off, cruising on the wing, flight speed, gliding, and landing are all part of this skill. |
| Gambling | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. Those skilled in Gambling are more capable of playing games and running odds for various forms of competition. Betting, determining the odds, and playing games of chance are all part of this skill. |
| Gardening | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. A skill that allows one to care for and cultivate various forms of plantlife. Choosing a growth medium, knowing what a particular plant needs to survive in a cultivated situation, and even changing the way a plant develops by selective breeding are the province of this skill. |
| Glassblowing | This Skill has no Write-Up Currently A crafting skill where one works with glass and the materials that can be used to make glass. Knowing the three furnaces furnaces of this craft, smelting and mixing sand with the necessary ingredients are important parts of glassblowing. Also included in this skill are the knowhow to color glass, and forming all manner of glass items, from window panes, to dinnerware, to glass sculptures. |
| Hunting | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. Tracking down prey and catching them, either in a trap or with a rod and line or a bow and arrow, etc. This is tracking and capturing animals (including fishing), often for meat but not always. The tracking aspect of this includes the identification of tracks, understanding of habitat, etc. |
| Intelligence | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. The skill of intelligence gathering. Intelligence is about gathering information (often from a network) on people, places, movement of goods etc. It is about knowing what's happening and can be used to predict behaviour (knowing that a merchant always buys cockles at the docks at 6am, for example), or to identify issues (knowing that there are unusual troop movements). Knowledge is power, so they say, and this is the skill of gathering knowledge about people and their movements. |
| Intimidation | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. Being intimidating is the remit of this skill. Whether that is physically intimidating or just being scary by virtue of your behaviour, this skill allows the PC to focus on being intimidating to others. It combines an understanding of what makes people afraid with spotting individual weaknesses. |
| Investigation | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. Investigation is the skill of investigating events which have occurred. While this is usually / often crimes, this skill can be used to ascertain what happened in any number of scenarios and can be used broadly. It might be investigating an abandoned building or the scene of a murder. |
| Jewelry Crafting | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. This is a crafting skill that focuses on the creation of beautiful accessories and adornments, whatever material they happen to be crafted from, from ivory, bone, to metal or gems. Gem-cutting, stone polishing, and maintenance of these items are also within the remit of this skill. |
| Larceny | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. Sleight-of-hand, pick-pocketing, all things nefarious are covered by the Larceny Skill which also includes lock picking and general thievery. Please note that this skill does not cover Stealth - as that is a separate skill. |
| Leadership | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. Leadership is, basically, getting people to do what you want them to do. Whether you want them to work together in a team or storm a castle, leaders get people to follow them by a variety of means. From charismatic leaders to those who lead through fear, this is all the remit of Leadership. |
| Leatherworking | This Skill has no Write-Up Currently Leatherworking is a craft concerned with the tanning of hides, for use in various crafts as leather, furs, or other animal-sourced skins. This also governs the creation of such items for use as clothing, tools, furniture, shelter, parchment or any other item that leather may be used to create, which are many. |
| Linguistics | This Skill has no Write-Up Currently Understanding language and the art of speaking languages. This skill allows the PC to understand broader linguistic theory, as well as helping them to apply theory from one language to another and thus, learn multiple languages. |
| Logistics | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. Logistics is the art of planning and implementing the movement and use of resources. From the head butler who plans out the requirements of a large manor house to the leader of a global faction moving resources between branches, to the head of a spy network who has to assign people to jobs, this is the skill which oversees efficient use of resources. |
| Mathematics | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. Mathematics concerns the formulation and understanding of high-level mathematical concepts, and understanding the patterns that arrive from mathematics. Basic arithmatic can be presumed to be understood by most people in Idalos, but Mathematics skill concerns higher theories and concepts of mathematics such as pattern recognition in numbers, and complex formulae. |
| Medicine | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. A broad skill that encompasses understanding of anatomy, how substances (such as poisons, medicines, and drugs) may affect a mortal body, and the ability to do surgery of varying complexity. It also concerns the creation of effective poisons, medicines, and drugs. |
| Meditation | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. A skill that relates to the way one can maintain control over one's own thoughts, and general awareness of their own thought processes. Remaining calm in the face of stress or chaotic situations is within the remit of Meditation. Certain supernatural abilities may be mitigated by Meditation, abilities that have a potential to influence thought. |
| Mining | This Skill has no Write-Up Currently The skill that concerns the proper, efficient, and safe removal of stone, ore, and other earthly materials from mines or the earth. Panning for precious metals is also part of this skill, as is finding or sourcing various kinds of stones or metal in the field. |
| Mount | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. A skill that govern's one's ability to ride upon an animal or other form of personal conveyance. This skill's specializations are split into flying mounts, ground mounts, and aquatic mounts. It also affects one's capability to drive a wagon or any mode of conveyance that is driven and not a ship (for that, see Seafaring). |
| Musical Instrument | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. The skill that governs the use of a specific type of musical instrument. With this skill, one can ensure that their performance and use of the instrument is pleasing to the ear. It also governs the ability to write line music. |
| Navigation | This Skill has no Write-Up Currently This is the skill of plotting courses by land, sea or air, and doing so to maximum efficiency. It is also the ability to find one's way around places, like cities or open spaces. Reading maps, plotting courses and making changes as a journey continues all make up this skill. |
| Needlecraft | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. A craft skill which allows the individual to produce items with sewing, knitting and crochet. Usually made with yarn or fabric, these items are often household things such as blankets or items of clothing from fine lace dresses to wooly hats. |
| Politics | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. Understanding the reality of politics in Idalos is the remit of this skill. From shifting alliances to being clear on the consequences of siding with one person over another, or the ramifications of a policy decision, this is the art of understanding the underlying politics of a situation. |
| Pottery | This Skill has no Write-Up Currently Pottery is a craft skill that concerns the shaping and firing of clay into various decorative and functional forms. Skilled potters can also create and formulate fine porcelain. |
| Psychology | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. This skill considers what it is that makes individuals "tick". Those with a high psychology skill can be very insightful and understand nuance of tricky situation. Those who work as therapists also utilise this skill. |
| Research | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. This skill governs the ability to find and curate information (usually from academic sources, but may also involve empirical/field research). High level researchers will often have a great memory for facts, and be high academic performers. They're not only well capable of finding out information that they need but also information that is accurate. |
| Resistance | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. This skill governs the ability to resist various environmental and ingested substances that can be deleterious to one's health. A person with high resistance will find they are able to resist greater doses of various toxic materials, as well as disease and other environmental hazards such as temperature extremes. |
| Science | This Skill has no Write-Up Currently The academic study of scientific theories and principles, this is the science of Idalos. Physics, chemistry, biology - these are all parts of this skill. From great inventions to stain removal, these can be applied to the world of Idalos, but many find this knowledge in the tomes of great libraries. |
| Sculpting | This Skill has no Write-Up Currently The mason's art, the shaping of stone into a variety of shapes, which can range from bricks to full life-sized and giant-sized sculptures and stonework. Anyone who works with stone ought to also have some knowledge of Sculpting. It also concerns to a lesser degree the shaping of stone weapons, through the art of knapping the appropriate material, whether it be flint, obsidian, or even granite. |
| Seafaring | This Skill has no Write-Up Currently The art of sailing a ship; from a canoe to a barge, from the largest vessel on the oceans to the individual craft, this is knowing how to steer, to sail, to work with the wind and waves and - perhaps most importantly - how to stop. |
| Seduction | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. This skill is all about making people feel the need to give in to temptation. Often related to seducing an individual to have sex, it can also be used to seduce someone in more subtle and nuanced ways. It's all about making them want something! |
| Singing | This Skill has no Write-Up Currently While anyone might have a pleasant singing voice, this is about training your voice to be able to sing for a crowd / group. It includes techniques for breathing and breath control, as well as how to project and the understanding of musical theory as it relates to singing. |
| Smithing | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. Working in a forge, melting metal and shaping it is the work of a smith. This craft skill covers the creation of items from metal including (but not limited to) swords, armour, household goods, etc. |
| Socialization | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. This skill is the art of being in social situations with acquaintances or completely unknown people, and being able to interact and build relationships. It is a broad skill which measures the sociability of a pc. |
| Stealth | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. The art of moving (or staying still) quietly! Stealth is a skill which helps with hiding, with moving quietly and with moving through crowds without being noticed. |
| Storytelling | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. Telling a story in an engaging and well-paced manner, the art of the storyteller is one of keeping the attention of an audience and ensuring that the story is compelling. |
| Strength | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. This skill is about the building of physical strength. Feats of strength and how to build and apply strength without damaging yourself are the remit of this skill. |
| Swimming | This Skill has no Write-Up Currently The ability to swim! Be it in a professional competition, diving into the water or swimming in the ocean - this is how to swim, how to do so effectively and with minimum effort for maximum gain. |
| Tactics | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. The skill to form an effective strategy against an opposing force in any form of conflict. From single combat, to large scale battles, to parlor games. If there's a competitive endeavor that requires skillful planning and good decision making in order to deal with, Tactics skill can help one to succeed at it. |
| Teaching | This Skill has no Write-Up Currently Teaching concerns passing on knowledge to another person through whatever means they have available. Whether by example, by personal guidance, or instruction, a good teacher can ensure that more knowledge is passed effectively to their students. |
| Textile Production | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. Textile Production is used for the creation of various fabrics through the weaving of fibers. The operation of a loom and spinning of string or yarn are within the remit of this skill. A good Weaver can create strong and sturdy fabrics that stand the test of time. They can also create elaborate carpets and tapestries. |
| Torture | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. Torture is both the knowledge and practice of causing pain to another person or creature. Usually focused on the physical aspects of pain, psychological torture is also a technique that a torturer can all upon. Usually utilized to prompt a subject to divulge secrets or otherwise coerce them, Torture can be done for its own sake. And at any rate, one skilled in torture knows best how to cause pain to others. |
| Woodworking | This skill is written up and has more detail in the link. Woodworking concerns the creation and carving of items that are made from wood or other, solid, usually rigid plant matter. This includes the creation of ships, wooden structures, and also wooden weapons such as bows, arrows, and so on. A good Woodworker can shape almost anything from wood and other rigid plant matter. |
| Writing | This Skill has no Write-Up Currently Writing concerns the effective, informative, and sometimes entertaining conveyance of a story subject or message in the written form. While anyone in Idalos who is not illiterate may know how to write, having good skill in Writing will ensure that it is received in the spirit that it is written. Writing skill governs the effective and clear formation of thoughts or speech to paper, in a way that is easily understood and at the same time pleasant to look at. |
Subcategories
This category has the following 68 subcategories, out of 68 total.
0
A
B
- ► Brewing
C
- ► Caregiving
- ► Cartography
- ► Combat
- ► Cooking
- ► Cosmetology
- ► Crafting
- ► Cryptography
D
- ► Dancing
- ► Deception
- ► Detection
- ► Discipline
- ► Dreamwalking
E
- ► Endurance
- ► Engineering
- ► Ensorcelling
- ► Etiquette
F
- ► Field Craft
- ► Flying
G
- ► Gambling
- ► Gardening
- ► Ghost Skills
H
- ► Hunting
I
- ► Intelligence
- ► Intimidation
J
L
- ► Larceny
- ► Leadership
- ► Linguistics
- ► Logistics
M
- ► Mathematics
- ► Medicine
- ► Meditation
- ► Mining
- ► Mount
N
- ► Needlecraft
P
- ► Politics
- ► Psychology
R
- ► Research
- ► Resistance
S
T
W
- ► Woodworking
- ► Writing
Pages in category "Skills"
The following 2 pages are in this category, out of 2 total.