I'd like to build a comprehensive list of all skills imaginable in a fantasy setting, can you help?  Craft skills, combat skills, etc.  If you can't think of anything else to add to the list, maybe you can think of an interesting way that one or more of the skills could be implemented in a game?  Or, perhaps you could seperate them into skill trees or skill groups?  Or, I know some of you probably have real world experience in some of these areas - perhaps you can describe them in more detail or offer interesting things that could be created or done with exceptional ability in one of these skills.

1. Blacksmithing
2. Weapon/Armorsmithing
3. Mining
4. Silver/Gold/Jewelrysmithing
5. Gemcutting
6. Stoneworking
7. Masonry
8. Quarying
9. Leatherworking
10. Rending
11. Farming
12. Mapmaking
13. Scribing
14. Bookbinding
15. Papercrafting
16. Alchemy
17. Apothocary
18. Herbalism
19. Dancing
20. Singing
21. Instrumentalism
22. Composition
23. Woodworking
24. Lumberjacking
25. Engineering
26. Roadbuilding
27. Architecture
28. Tailoring
29. Cobblering
30. Ropemaking
31. Bowyering
32. Fletching
33. Hairstyeling
34. Make-up Artistry
35. Painting
36. Drawing
37. Caligraphy
38. Glassblowing
39. Glassmithing
40. Pottery
41. Camping
42. Tracking
43. Wilderness Lore
44. Streetsmarts
45. Observation

Nice list but I have no idea how some of those skills would work, like observation and some of those are more geared towards fantasy and some are more sci fi.

Originally posted by Tertiary

1. Blacksmithing
2. Weapon/Armorsmithing - This could be combined with blacksmithing as a tree of the smithing craft ^^^.
3. Mining - I would rename this Prospecting and make it used for locating and idetifiying minerals, along with extraction.
4. Silver/Gold/Jewelrysmithing
5. Gemcutting - This could be made a tree of Jewelrycrafting ^^^.
6. Stoneworking - These three are very closely related and could all be trees of stonecrafting.
7. Masonry -  ^^^
8. Quarying - ^^^
9. Leatherworking - This could be a tree of tailoring, since they are very similar.
10. Rending - I would call this one Tannery.
11. Farming  - I would call this Agriculture.
12. Mapmaking - I would call this one Cartography. 
13. Scribing
14. Bookbinding  - This could be a tree of papermaking, you could even add origami and other paper crafts.
15. Papercrafting - I would rename this one Papermaking or Pulping, because papercrafting is actually origami.
16. Alchemy
17. Apothocary - This is closely related to alchemy and could be a tree of it.
18. Herbalism - This should only be used for identifying herbs, because anyone can pick herbs.
19. Dancing
20. Singing
21. Instrumentalism - Different intruments could be different skill trees.
22. Composition
23. Woodworking - You could add carpentry as a skill tree for this one.
24. Lumberjacking - This should focus on effienciency of cutting down trees not the "difficulty level," of the tree.
25. Engineering  - You could also make seige weapons with this skill.
26. Roadbuilding - This one could be a tree called civil engineering in the Engineering tree. 
27. Architecture
28. Tailoring
29. Cobblering - I would just call this one the cobler skill.
30. Ropemaking - This would be a subskill of a Textile (fabric making) skill.
31. Bowyering
32. Fletching
33. Hairstyeling
34. Make-up Artistry
35. Painting
36. Drawing - Drawing and Painting could be trees of a Depicting skill.
37. Caligraphy - This could be a advanced skill of the Scribing skill.
38. Glassblowing
39. Glassmithing - This and Glassblowing are the same thing.
40. Pottery - This could be a tree in a Sculpting skill.
41. Camping
42. Tracking
43. Wilderness Lore - I am not sure what this is.
44. Streetsmarts - This one seems vague.
45. Observation - So does this one.

Impressive list, well thought out, those are some changes and additions I would make.

Other skills I would add that were not mentioned above:

Melee - I see no need to seperate the different weapons, they are fundamentally the same anyway, maybe make trees for the specific types so that you can specialize in one, but overall if you can use an axe you can use a sword, this would also include a melee defense tree.

Ranged - Like melee you could have trees for particular weapons, but if you can use a bow then a crossbow shouldn't be a problem so it should be one skill.

Animal Trainer - Used to capture, tame and teach animals, could have different trees for taming pet wolves all the way to breaking in horses.

Candlecrafting - sounds cliche but candles are useful.

Locksmithing - Used to both lock and unlock locks :p

Healthcare - It could have trees ranging from surgery to medicine.

Speechcraft - You ability to smooze people, used for law, merchantile or just in general.

Binding - The ability to both restrict and capture people and to escape from capture, I.E. ropes and chains.

Slight of Hand - The ability to conceal things, usefull for stealing, poisoning, hinding a weapon and magic tricks.

Stealth - The ability to move unheard and unseen.

Meditation - The ability to calm the body and help heal yourself a bit.

Hypnosis - The nonmagic ability to suggest to people to influence them with your will (similar to sppechcraft but more cerebral).

Swimming - Self exclamatory.

Scaling -  The ability to climb and manuever up walls and such.

Navigation -  The ability to tell where you are going and where you want to be going.

Riding - The ability to rides horses, mules, cammels and what not.

Sailing - The ability to steer a boat and other nautical craft.

Cooking - You could have trees for different types of food.

That is all I can think of for the moment, I could get into magic but don't want to because I have no idea what kind if any magic you are thinking of.

Originally posted by CactusmanX

Melee - I see no need to seperate the different weapons, they are fundamentally the same anyway, maybe make trees for the specific types so that you can specialize in one, but overall if you can use an axe you can use a sword, this would also include a melee defense tree.

Ranged - Like melee you could have trees for particular weapons, but if you can use a bow then a crossbow shouldn't be a problem so it should be one skill.

---

Realisticly this is of course completely wrong. Every weapon has different technique and tactics. Anyone can wildly swing anything he can hold in his hand, but wildly swinging has nothing to do with fighting.

Shooting with modern rifles is usually simple. If you know how to use one, you usually can shoot accurately with just about any model. But bows and crossbows have very little in common. Both have a string which applies force to some pointy thing, and that's about it. And anything throwable is of course entirely different matter.

I do agree weapon skills, especially melee ones, should have some synergies. You learn to read the movements of enemies, learn to use the terrain, etc.

Of course if the game want to focus on something else than combat or does not try to be even little realistic, what you suggest is okay.

I like the way you reworked them CactusmanX, the original names sounded to Runescapish, and melee skills could be separated by weapon type and range skills should also be separated by guns and bows/crossbows.

Don't get me wrong with the melee and ranged skills, I don't mean to say that if you are great with swords you are great with every other melee weapon, but what I think it avoids is the typical weapon skill problem in most RPGs, which is you could be a master swordsmen but be a complete novice with axes because you have never taken the time to use one yet.  That is unrealistic, I would intend for people to focus in a particular weapon, but if you are good with a bow, you should have a leg up on crossbow or gun, it isn't that much of a stretch.

This works especially for melee weapons, since the basics of how to use any melee weapon is about the same, you may not learn the more advanced stuff, but there should be a pool of common melee knowledge that applies to every weapon, same for ranged. After you learn melee to a certain extent then you focus in a weapon.

Think about like this, lets say half of the skill needed to master sword is needed to master axe, since you are a master swordsmen then you should be a journeymen axemen by default, so if you had to use an axe you don't completely suck, you would be pretty good actually.  This is why I think you should make it all one skill then break it into trees, because it is more accurate to how learning weapon skills really is.

You might find some pdfs of d20 games on the net to find more skills to add to the list.

Streetsmarts reminds me of streetwise from d20 games where its a mix of fitting in and getting the info you need because the NPCs trust you as one of "the people."

Originally posted by superhero13

You might find some pdfs of d20 games on the net to find more skills to add to the list.

Streetsmarts reminds me of streetwise from d20 games where its a mix of fitting in and getting the info you need because the NPCs trust you as one of "the people."

QFT

I was going to recommend you take a look at the skills in games like D&D and other PnP games.

Originally posted by CactusmanX

those are some changes and additions I would make.

LOL, how hilarious. You ask for help building a skill list, and the first thing you get is someone critiquing your current list, telling you what to change and how to fix it.

LOL, that's mmorpg.com for you.  

Originally posted by CactusmanX

Don't get me wrong with the melee and ranged skills, I don't mean to say that if you are great with swords you are great with every other melee weapon, but what I think it avoids is the typical weapon skill problem in most RPGs, which is you could be a master swordsmen but be a complete novice with axes because you have never taken the time to use one yet.  That is unrealistic, I would intend for people to focus in a particular weapon, but if you are good with a bow, you should have a leg up on crossbow or gun, it isn't that much of a stretch.

This works especially for melee weapons, since the basics of how to use any melee weapon is about the same, you may not learn the more advanced stuff, but there should be a pool of common melee knowledge that applies to every weapon, same for ranged. After you learn melee to a certain extent then you focus in a weapon.

Think about like this, lets say half of the skill needed to master sword is needed to master axe, since you are a master swordsmen then you should be a journeymen axemen by default, so if you had to use an axe you don't completely suck, you would be pretty good actually.  This is why I think you should make it all one skill then break it into trees, because it is more accurate to how learning weapon skills really is.

How is a bow similar to a crossbow, or even a gun for that matter? They function completely differently for the user, and are three completely different types of weapons.

The only thing they have in common is that they shoot projectiles.

A bow requires extensive skill to fire accurately and you have to know how to string the bow just to use it.
A crossbow requires one to load in a bolt and pull a trigger. Accuracy and aiming is nowhere near the same as a bow.
A gun is completely different in every single way. You pull the trigger and a tiny bullet flies out. Even if you aim, you still might not even be able to hit the broadside of a barn. If it's a pistol, the becomes a lot more inaccurate the further you are from the target.

IMO, the differences between these things should NOT be a generic "ranged" skill, but specific skills designed JUST for these weapons. A bow is not a crossbow, is not a pistol, is not a rifle, is not a shotgun, is not a missile launcher, is not a sling, is not a slingshot.

But the swords thing IS accurate. Someone able to use a rapier will be able to use other similar thrust weapons very well. Someone using a longsword will be able to efficiently use a broadsword. Someone able to use a mace can use a hammer, but not a flail or a whip. Someone who can use an axe might not be able to use a sword, but WILL know basic combat tactics, which will help when fighting with a sword.

Combat is about more than just knowing how to use your weapon. There are many things such as basic-combat tactics and complex combat-tactics, aerobatics, movement, agility, dexterity, strength, kicking, punching, secretly knifing, poison, exploiting weaknesses, etc.

Originally posted by AnlaShok

 

Originally posted by CactusmanX

Melee - I see no need to seperate the different weapons, they are fundamentally the same anyway, maybe make trees for the specific types so that you can specialize in one, but overall if you can use an axe you can use a sword, this would also include a melee defense tree.

Ranged - Like melee you could have trees for particular weapons, but if you can use a bow then a crossbow shouldn't be a problem so it should be one skill.

---

Realisticly this is of course completely wrong. Every weapon has different technique and tactics. Anyone can wildly swing anything he can hold in his hand, but wildly swinging has nothing to do with fighting.

 

Shooting with modern rifles is usually simple. If you know how to use one, you usually can shoot accurately with just about any model. But bows and crossbows have very little in common. Both have a string which applies force to some pointy thing, and that's about it. And anything throwable is of course entirely different matter.

I do agree weapon skills, especially melee ones, should have some synergies. You learn to read the movements of enemies, learn to use the terrain, etc.

Of course if the game want to focus on something else than combat or does not try to be even little realistic, what you suggest is okay.

I imagine in a medieval game, this could be taken a step further. Allow the characters to develop a preference to a specific weapon. (Not just broadswords, but this particular broadsword... I shall call him Chippy the Orc Slayer  ) This kind of preference was largely important in the legends of those days (such as Excalibur), and I think it would add a great touch to the system.

  This languished without any replies for so long I took it off my watched threads list.  Thanks for the input!!!  Especially the rework, that's exactly what I was looking for!  It was geared more for fantasy, since that's what I'm more interested in.

Anyways, I intended to have the broad groups of melee, ranged, etc. that would branch off into the more specific ones... just forgot or something.  *shrug*  Um, to the detractors of that idea:  Crossbow firing is different than bow firing... but, aiming is aiming.  Your ability to perceive where you should shoot is a basic skill, how to shoot a specific thing is what you would advance into.  Same with mellee, though I doubt we'd receive much resistance to that idea.

"Cobblering" isn't a word. It should be "cobbling."

Aside from that, it looks good, but if you are going to have Wilderness Lore as a separate skill then you might as well have all kinds of Lore skills as well... History, Economics, Politics, Arcane/Technology, etc etc.

I will not join the debate but instead, I wonder why you wouldn't group skills based on how they are played instead of what seems realistic. As far as gameplay is concerned, do you think that you can make a bow different from a crossbow and different from a rifle ? If the answer is yes, then you should make each skill different, however if the answer is no, put them all into ranged weapons. There is no point in confusing the players with semantics when the gameplay is identical, that is what I think should be the deciding factor.

Isn't the whole topic a bit vague? Wouldn't it be better to break it down into categories?

D.

I cant help but question the value of a bookbinding or ropemaking skill and whether somebody would actually devote time to developing said skill...

You'd be surprised at what people would do, no matter how useless it seemed.  But, bookbinding:  Bookbinding + Authors = Literature.  I think that PC created literature is a great idea to add to a game.  Especially if some of the research ideas I have bonking around in my head could actually be implemented.

Ropemaking = Bridges, Mountaineering, etc.  Ropes are an acknowledged necessity in most RPG adventuring arenas.  Just cuz they haven't made a big appearance in MMOs yet... well, I was going to add 10-foot pole-building to the list too... but, I don't think the world is ready for that yet. ;)

You could easily break down Instrumentalism into different instrument categories, at the very least Strings, Winds, and Percussion. Add Instrument Crafting.

Weapon skills could be divided up a dozen different ways. I personally like the idea of having skills for different weapon types (swords, axes, etc.) but giving a small bonus when using a weapon that's related to but not your primary weapon type.

Other skills I could think of/stole from other games:

• Acrobatics (flips, cartwheels, etc.)
• Cooking
• Fishing
• Trapping (catching animals/players)
• Animal Handling/Riding
• Sculpting
• Climbing
• Swimming
• First Aid
• Skinning
• Tanning
• Appraisal (valuing items)
• Teaching (if you want players to be able to teach other players skills)

I'd suggest looking at GURPS -- they've got a mess of skills there, along with the idea that some skills default to others (i.e. knowledge in one translates to some knowledge in another).  As for the weapon skills argument...even for a specific weapon there often are a lot of different techniques that could be considered skills in their own right.  Some skills are also harder to master than others -- the old yoke about to train a good bowman you start by training his grandfather doesn't apply to the crossbow.