%%%% Fighting Fighting skill increases your accuracy and damage in hand-to-hand combat, and also increases your maximum health. %%%% Short Blades Short Blades are more effective than any other weapon type at stabbing helpless foes. Being skilled with Short Blades will allow you to attack more quickly with all weapons of this type, as well as increasing your accuracy and damage with them. Being skilled with Short Blades increases your effectiveness with Long Blades, and vice versa. %%%% Long Blades Being skilled with Long Blades will allow you to attack more quickly with all weapons of this type, as well as increasing your accuracy and damage with them. Being skilled with Long Blades increases your effectiveness with Short Blades, and vice versa. %%%% Axes Axes cleave through multiple enemies with a single swing, hitting foes in an arc around the wielder. Being skilled with Axes will allow you to attack more quickly with all weapons of this type, as well as increasing your accuracy and damage with them. Being skilled with Axes increases your effectiveness with Maces & Flails and Polearms, and vice versa. %%%% Maces & Flails Being skilled with Maces & Flails will allow you to attack more quickly with all weapons of this type, as well as increasing your accuracy and damage with them. Being skilled with Maces & Flails increases your effectiveness with Axes and Staves, and vice versa. %%%% Polearms Polearms can be evoked with ‘v’ to attack enemies from two spaces away. Being skilled with Polearms will allow you to attack more quickly with all weapons of this type, as well as increasing your accuracy and damage with them. Being skilled with Polearms increases your effectiveness with Axes and Staves, and vice versa. %%%% Staves Staves require a relatively low amount of skill to be used most effectively, although they lack the high damage potential of some other weapon classes. Being skilled with Staves will allow you to attack more quickly with all weapons of this type, as well as increasing your accuracy and damage with them. Being skilled with Staves increases your effectiveness with Maces & Flails and Polearms, and vice versa. %%%% Slings Being skilled with Slings will let you deal more damage when using the appropriate launcher and ammunition. Being skilled with Slings increases your effectiveness in Throwing, and vice versa. %%%% Bows Being skilled with Bows will let you deal more damage when using the appropriate launcher and ammunition. %%%% Crossbows Being skilled with Crossbows will let you deal more damage when using the appropriate launcher and ammunition. %%%% Throwing Training Throwing will make thrown weapons (such as javelins) and blowguns more effective. In particular, it makes weapons of returning more likely to return to their thrower, and makes certain magical needles more likely to have an effect when fired from a blowgun. Being skilled in Throwing increases your effectiveness with Slings, and vice versa. %%%% Armour Armour skill increases the AC gained by wearing heavy armour, and it also helps lessen the hindrance of heavy armour on melee combat and spellcasting. %%%% Dodging The Dodging skill will affect your chance of dodging an attack, be it melee, ranged or magical. Certain types of attack cannot be dodged, however, such as enchantments (which must be resisted) and explosions. %%%% Stealth By training Stealth, you can make it less likely that monsters will notice you if they are asleep or otherwise unalert, and increase your chances of monsters losing track of you after you leave their vision. Note that monsters become more suspicious and observant as you descend. Stealth skill, along with the weapon skill for your equipped weapon, also governs the likelihood of doing a great amount of damage when attacking a distracted or helpless creature, as well as the amount of extra damage dealt. %%%% # TAG_MAJOR_VERSION == 34 Stabbing Stabbing is the skill that governs the likeliness of doing a great amount of damage when attacking a distracted or helpless creature (usually with a short blade), as well as the amount of extra damage dealt. Some gods may disapprove of this. %%%% Shields A high Shields skill helps you block melee attacks or projectiles (both magical and non-magical) with your equipped (or a magical) shield. Some attacks, such as penetrating bolts, cannot be blocked at all. %%%% # TAG_MAJOR_VERSION == 34 Traps A character trained in Traps will be more observant to his or her surroundings and be quicker in noticing traps, as well as more able to disarm them. %%%% Unarmed Combat Being skilled in Unarmed Combat increases your accuracy, damage and attack speed in melee combat when barehanded. It also allows you to occasionally punch with your off hand as an additional melee attack, provided your hand is free to do so. %%%% Spellcasting Being skilled in Spellcasting slightly increases the success rate and spell power of all spells, along with increasing your magical reserves and reducing the effects of spell hunger. Training Spellcasting also gives you more spell slots to spend on new spells. %%%% Conjurations Conjurations are battle oriented spells, which often work by conjuring up a chunk of short-lived matter and propelling it towards the victim to deal direct damage. Being skilled in Conjurations usually increases the damage and accuracy of such spells, and sometimes affects their range or the size of the area affected. Being skilled in Conjurations increases the success rate and spell power of spells in this school. Many spells belong to a combination of several schools, in which case spellcasting success and power will depend on the average skill in these schools. %%%% Hexes Hexes try to bestow various enchantments on nearby things. While none do direct damage, being ensorcelled can effectively take an opponent out of combat, although they often require overcoming an opponent's resistance to hostile enchantments to have an effect. Being skilled in Hexes will help overcome this resistance. Being skilled in Hexes increases the success rate and spell power of spells in this school. Many spells belong to a combination of several schools, in which case spellcasting success and power will depend on the average skill in these schools. %%%% Charms Charms provide you with a number of self-enhancing auras. Training Charms skill will often increase the duration or effectiveness of these auras. Being skilled in Charms increases the success rate and spell power of spells in this school. Many spells belong to a combination of several schools, in which case spellcasting success and power will depend on the average skill in these schools. %%%% Summonings Summonings deals with summoning creatures from another plane of reality to join your army or distract your foes. Increasing Summonings skill may have a number of effects depending on the spell, such as longer duration, more powerful allies, or lower chances of creating hostile creatures. Note that summoned beings don't leave corpses and don't give experience when killed, and their equipment is as ephemeral as they are. Being skilled in Summonings increases the success rate and spell power of spells in this school. Many spells belong to a combination of several schools, in which case spellcasting success and power will depend on the average skill in these schools. %%%% Necromancy Necromancy is the art of draining and gaining life, although most often associated with zombies and other undead. As such, Necromancy spells have a wide range of effects, ranging from spells to create or control the undead to spells granting unholy healing in various forms. Being skilled in Necromancy increases the success rate and spell power of spells in this school. Many spells belong to a combination of several schools, in which case spellcasting success and power will depend on the average skill in these schools. %%%% Translocations Translocations focus on the spatial movement of beings or objects, including useful spells to translocate yourself over short distances quickly or to transport your enemies away from you. Being skilled in Translocations increases the success rate and spell power of spells in this school. Many spells belong to a combination of several schools, in which case spellcasting success and power will depend on the average skill in these schools. %%%% Transmutations Transmutations deal with changing shapes. Many Transmutations involve changing your own form, but the school also contains spells to cause changes in your enemies, or to transform objects around you. Being skilled in Transmutations increases the success rate and spell power of spells in this school. Many spells belong to a combination of several schools, in which case spellcasting success and power will depend on the average skill in these schools. %%%% Fire Magic Fire Magic focuses mainly on dealing fire damage over long distances, with many effective Conjurations. Being skilled in Fire Magic increases the success rate and spell power of spells in this school. Many spells belong to a combination of several schools, in which case spellcasting success and power will depend on the average skill in these schools. %%%% Ice Magic Ice Magic contains a range of direct damage spells, as well as some defensive effects such as spells to craft temporary shields and armour from ice. Being skilled in Ice Magic increases the success rate and spell power of spells in this school. Many spells belong to a combination of several schools, in which case spellcasting success and power will depend on the average skill in these schools. %%%% Air Magic Air Magic provides spells to deal damage directly with the wind, as well as noisy but powerful lightning Conjurations. It also provides some utility spells, such as Charms to call the wind to assist your movement or protect you from projectile attacks. Being skilled in Air Magic increases the success rate and spell power of spells in this school. Many spells belong to a combination of several schools, in which case spellcasting success and power will depend on the average skill in these schools. %%%% Earth Magic Earth Magic contains spells able to deal large amounts of direct physical damage, which cannot be resisted like fire, cold and lightning damage can. It is also linked with some Transmutations, with spells to liquefy the earth around you, or to turn your enemies to stone. Being skilled in Earth Magic increases the success rate and spell power of spells in this school. Many spells belong to a combination of several schools, in which case spellcasting success and power will depend on the average skill in these schools. %%%% Poison Magic Poison Magic provides spells which are highly effective against many natural creatures. Being skilled in Poison Magic increases the success rate and spell power of spells in this school. Many spells belong to a combination of several schools, in which case spellcasting success and power will depend on the average skill in these schools. %%%% Invocations Your Invocations skill affects the likelihood that an attempt to use a divine ability will be successful, and often the power of such abilities. The Invocations skill also affects your magical reserves, but to a lesser degree than the Spellcasting skill, and only the highest contribution is used. %%%% Evocations Evocations is all about using magical items like wands, decks or other uncommon objects. The higher your skill, the more likely a positive outcome is when evoking items. High skill may also let you determine the amount of charges a zapped wand has left. The Evocations skill also affects your magical reserves, but to a lesser degree than the Spellcasting skill, and only the highest contribution is used. %%%%