SUGGESTIONS:

Non-Combat Skills

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LOCKPICKING:

Lock picking now occurs in real time.

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SPEECH:

Speech as a skill is omitted, though successful persuasion attempts contribute to the player's Intellect attribute. Dialogue is more a brisk back-and-forth, typically with six persuasion methods (inquisitive, sympathetic, boastful, frivolous, charming, intimidating). This places the emphasis on the player's ability to read subtle social cues from the conversant NPC and drive the dialogue forward.

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When you gain certain Feats- and as your other skills improve, so too do your dialogue options. An experienced marksman may be able to dissuade a General who plans to station archers poorly. A player who has unlocked the Warlord feat (achieved by killing 1000 NPCs) will see marked success by way of intimidation.

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The player can bribe a guard to look the other way following a crime, or convince a guard to open the door to their cell when imprisoned.

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STEALTH:

Once enemies in a region become aware of the presence of an intruder- even if the player successfully hides, they will remain in a state of alert, patrolling with more deliberate, unpredictable movements (and a player's stealth strike bonus is halved). A player who wants to keep a low profile must incapacitate enemies silently and drag their bodies into concealed places.

 

It is now possible to extinguish torches manually or with ranged frost spells. Wearing a particular colour of clothing or armour can help the player blend into the environment. Thieves wear dark colours to this end.

 

Damage Bonus:

By default, a weapon type will inflict 25% extra damage on a completely unaware opponent. This damage bonus is halved if the opponent is in a suspicious state. The bonus increases as Feats with successful undetected strikes (up to 200% with bows, 300% with light weapons, 900% with daggers and 50% with heavy weapons).

 The player may also perform a stealth attack from cover on an approaching enemy, causing significant damage. If well-placed, the player can fatally strike an enemy and drag the corpse into the darkness before other enemies are alerted.

 

Pickpocket:

The Pickpocket skill now falls under the umbrella of Stealth, as they usually go hand-in-hand. A pocket successfully picked will contribute to the Stealth skill and Dexterity attribute.

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SURVIVALIST:

This new skill improves as you spend time in the wilderness, hunting and living off of the land. It improves with the following activities:

• Setting up camp,

• Healing wounds by natural means,

• Hunting and stalking game,

• Forging traps,

• Cooking hunted raw meat in the wilds,

• Picking and consuming ingredients in non-civilised locales.

 

Camping:

Players may now set up camp in the wilds, as part of the new Survivalist skill. This can be achieved by carrying a portable bed roll or fashioning a tent from animal hides and salvaged wood from the wilds itself (using a chopping weapon). You must also gather flint and tinder, available from dry grass and stones.

 

The benefits of creating a campfire:

• One can cook food (raw meat won't form part of the player's stamina reserve until cooked).

• One can cauterise a bleeding wound by heating a blade over the fire.

• A sensibly located camp means the player can rest the night safely in the wilds and move out under better light in the morning.

 

Traps:

The Survivalist skill allows the player to set up traps, to ensnare animals and pursuers. Beware traps set up for you! The common trap is a trip wire with a swinging spike or a hole covered with netted overgrowth. Traps are especially common in the jungles of Pelletine.

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TRAINERS & SKILL BOOKS:

Skill books and training do not always increase a skill uniformly by one point. Rewards include:

• New power attacks and techniques,

• Killing maneuvers,

• The next level of a specific Feat (e. g.- Wolf Hunter),

• New armour and weapon designs for Smithing,

• New spells (replaces spell tomes),

• Skill increase if the book provides general knowledge in that skill (e. g. “Enchanter's Primer” generally discusses enchanting in less depth and therefore raises the Enchanting skill +1. “Catalogue of Weapons Enchantment” and “Complete Catalogue of Enchantments for Armour” discuss specific facets of enchanting and increase those enchantments by 10%).

 

As a result of these myriad rewards, most literature will impart new knowledge, not just the dedicated skill books of old. Books will have a balanced value spectrum to reflect this. Books shall also illustrate their pages to provide new designs. A novel may incidentally describe the process of channelling and emitting a gout of fire, thereby teaching you a new spell (spells can also be taught directly from mage trainers). A tattered manual salvaged from a Dwemer ruin shows the faded schematics for a Dwarven crossbow. If the player were to sell this manual, more people will eventually carry said crossbow and other smiths create and sell them.

 

Trainers (of which there are many more) may impart the knowledge of their three best skills. Some will improve the player's skill by +1, while others will teach new maneuvres or spells. As with previous titles, the player is restricted to how many times he or she can train per level. So, in the case of magic, the player cannot learn more than five spells per level from a trainer. A trainer in light weapons may demonstrate on a mannequin a killing blow with two short slashing weapons that will decapitate an enemy, or how better to slay trolls.