Skills
Knowledge skills
The ten knowledge skills in the d20 SRD have been simplified to six knowledge skills.
| Skill | d20 SRD skills | Topics | Creatures Identified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arcana | Arcana | Magic. The undead. Elementals. Alchemy ingredients other than animals and plants. | Undead. Elementals. |
| Dwemer | Arch/Eng, Dungeoneering | The built environment (buildings, aqueducts, fortifications, bridges, etc.) Dwemer ruins. Machinery. Construct-type creatures. | Dwemer. Constructs. |
| Daedra | Religion, The Planes | Daedric gods. Daedra-worshipping cults. Daedric ruins. The planes of Oblivion. Daedric creatures. | Daedra |
| Nature | Nature | Animals and plants. Alchemy ingredients derived from animals and plants. Seasons and cycles. Weather. | Animals. Plants. |
| Morrowind | Local, Geography | Knowledge of the Morrowind area, including local knowledge, history, nobility/royalty, geography, and religion. | Nil |
| Empire | History, Nob/Roy | Knowledge of the overall Empire, including history, nobility/royalty, geography, and religion. | Humanoids |
Skill training
In addition to the usual skill points gained by levelling up, you can also improve your skills by reading books or being trained by an expert.
Skill Books
Skill training books are mundane items which you can find in the world, or buy from booksellers.
General interest books are mass-printed on printing presses, and cheaply available from bookstores. Specialised technical manuals and training guides are also available, but they tend to be held in private collections.
Learning a skill from a book requires eight hours of quiet reading time (not necessarily contiguous.) At the end of the eight hours, make an INT check. If the skill is in-class for you, the DC of the INT check is 10 + your existing skill ranks. If the skill is cross-class for you, the DC is 15 + your existing skill ranks.
If you succeed the INT check, you gain one full rank in the skill. You can't increase your skill tanks beyond the skill cap for your level.
If you fail the INT check, you didn't learn anything useful from the book.
You don't learn anything extra by reading the same book twice.
Trainers
There are many experts in the world who will provide training for a fee. The fee depends mostly on your current skill rank and how valuable the trainer's time is.
You can't use training to exceed the skill cap for your level. Additionally, trainers can't teach you beyond the limits of their own skill rank.
Learning a skill by training requires at least eight hours of one-on-one time with the trainer. At the end of the training time, roll an ability check based on the governing ability for the skill (i.e. STR for Jump.) The DC of the check is 10 + your existing skill ranks if the skill is in-class, or 15 + your existing skill ranks if the skill is cross-class.
Success means you gain one skill rank, and you can take further training in this skill. Failure means the trainer was unable to teach you anything, and you can't take further training in this skill until you level up.