path: root/crawl-ref/source/dat/descript/skills.txt

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Fighting

Fighting skill increases your accuracy and damage in hand-to-hand combat, and
also increases your maximum health.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Bows

Being skilled with Bows will let you deal more damage when using the
appropriate launcher and ammunition.
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Crossbows

Being skilled with Crossbows will let you deal more damage when using the
appropriate launcher and ammunition.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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# 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.
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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.
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# 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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