Skills and levels

You get better at things by doing them. Every job trains the skill that goes with it, and a higher level makes that job quicker and opens up new things to do. The first few levels come in minutes. After that each level takes a bit longer than the last, so a high level is something you really earned.

How a skill pays off#

Every skill works the same way, so once you know one you know them all. Up to level 30, each level makes the jobs that go with it a bit quicker and your chances a bit better, the same share every level, and by 30 they're as good as they get. The things you need a level for unlock along the way.

From 30 to 50 it's about getting more out of the work. Gathering sometimes gives you one more of whatever you were after, and the things you make start coming out masterwork. That chance is 2.5% at level 31 and goes up the same each level, to 50% at 50.

Melee, Archery and Strength are a little different. Fighting keeps getting better all the way up, and Strength keeps adding to what you can carry. Each skill's own page says what it does past level 30.

What each skill opens up#

Some skills don't lock much away. They pay off in other ways: Farming grows bigger harvests and turns up better seed when you forage, Husbandry makes animals easier to win over and quicker to breed, Melee and Archery hit harder, and Fishing lands the bigger fish.

Fine and masterwork#

Clothing, weapons and iron tools come in three grades: plain, fine and masterwork. A fine one does a quarter more than a plain one, and a masterwork half as much again. The further your level is past what the thing needs, the better your chance of a fine one, and masterwork only starts at level 30. Things you make by the handful, like arrows and fittings, don't have grades. The same luck gives you an extra one or two instead, and a good cook sometimes gets an extra portion. There's a page on it: Fine and masterwork.

Every skill#

• Woodcutting: Felling trees. It's the first thing most people do.
• Mining: Breaking rock, reading the ground, and digging mines.
• Digging: Shovel work. Moving dirt, clay and sand, and clearing stumps.
• Building: Putting up anything in wood or stone, and sawing planks.
• Farming: Tilling, planting and harvesting, foraging for seed and growing flowers.
• Cooking: Cooking food at a fire.
• Crafting: Making things by hand: arrows, snares, canteens, halters, yarn, and clothing of hide, wool and fur.
• Melee: Fighting up close, with a sword or your fists.
• Archery: Shooting with a bow you've made.
• Smithing: Working iron at a forge.
• Husbandry: Handling animals: gentling horses and stray stock, riding, keeping a farm, and setting snares.
• Fishing: Catching fish with a rod or a net, in fresh water and out at sea.
• Strength: How much you can carry. It grows from heavy work and hauling.

Tools#

Felling, mining and digging all need a tool in your pack: an axe, a pick, or a spade or a shovel. The first ones you make by hand from sticks and flint, and anyone can do that from the first day. A hammer for building and a knife for crafting you always have. Fishing takes a rod you make yourself. See Tools.

An iron tool from the forge does the same jobs quicker, on top of what your level does. If you've got more than one of a kind, the best one counts.