Skills Primer

Acquiring Knowledge

There is much to be known in the world of Aelyria, and depending upon your character's background, he or she may already know some of it. Persons who grow up around cities and towns benefit from public education; children attend a Grammaticus, where they learn to read, write, and reason. Usually, children also learn a second language. Afterwards, young adults attend Schola, where they study history and literature, so that once they venture out in the world, they have a solid grasp of the story of their people and their kingdom.

Characters in Aelyria start out with this basic education, and so to increase what it is that they know, they will have to acquire knowledge. Knowledge can be obtained in a variety of ways: from reading in libraries to searching for relics. Most cities have a Universitas, an institution dedicated to academic pursuit. Characters may require knowledge in order to perform certain tasks; for example, to understand the origin of items, a character may want to study archaeology; to be able to command soldiers in war, an adventurer may need to attend a military academy. Lore identifies what your character knows, and is helpful in determining what would be a realistic reaction for your character when encountering the random challenges and obstacles they face.

There is never a limit to what your character can know. However, there are certain reasonable limits as to what your character is skilled at doing.


Combat

Citizens and adventurers enter Aelyria with a fundamental ability to defend themselves modestly. However, against the foes and beasts of the world, this tends to be rather futile. So to be able to successfully defeat monsters, a character must be trained in the art of combat. Guilds and armies, militia and societies readily accept and train recruits in the use of various weapons, and acquiring the skills to use these weapons is necessary in order to engage in armed combat. Sometimes, unarmed combat as well can be an effective discipline against the dangers of the world.

Visit the Combat FAQ for more.
Learn about Combat.

Magic

All characters in Aelyria are born "bound", that is, without the ability to perceive or use magic. In order to learn magic, cast spells, and grow as mages, they must first be "unbound". Skilled mages and wizards have the ability to unbind people, but because there is nothing more dangerous than an untrained wizard, often only unbind a character with a commitment of learning. Great academies of magic span the world, teaching characters how to cast spells. Finding these teachers, gaining their trust, and pursuing studies diligently will open the corridors of power for your character.

Visit the Magic FAQ for more.
Learn about Arcana.


Trades

Artisans and craftsmen throughout the world hone and perfect their skills at producing items of their handiwork. Characters in Aelyria often aspire to learn how to perform these trade skills to create products of value and power; ordinarily, an aspiring tradesman will first undergo an apprenticeship to learn the basics of his craft, and then afterwards head out into the world to make a living for himself, returning only when he is ready to claim mastery over the trade. Merchants and businessmen often rely upon the crafters that inhabit the realms, and embarking on creating these items and mastering these trades is often very beneficial.

Visit the Trades FAQ for more.
Learn about Trades.


The three types of skills -- Combat, Magic, and Trades -- are both learned and practiced, and when they are used and trained, the practitioner progresses in proficiency. In Aelyria, there are five levels of proficiency across the skills:

Level	Combat	Magic	Trade
1	Basic	Initiate	Novice
2	Veteran	Apprentice	Apprentice
3	Elite	Adept	Journeyman
4	Master	Master	Master
5	Grandmaster	Archmage	Grandmaster

These titles are generally acknowledged to be the public recognition of a person's accomplishment in the skill, but some skills may have specialized titles more reflective of the skill's history, culture, and tradition.

Training and Practice

There are two steps to progressing through the levels of proficiency: first, learning the essentials (both theory and abilities) of the skill; and, secondly, practicing the abilities. Together, both training and practicing, can yield experience (see below). Practitioners of a craft can usually teach others the theory and abilities behind their skillset, but the student must put those ideas into practice in order to get the benefit of progression. Additionally, some skills - such as Magic, and some specialized combat skills and complex trade skills - may have limitations on how much one can teach at certain proficiencies. The general rule of thumb is that a person can teach another person any ideas or theories up to one level below their own level of proficiency in the skill.

Experience

In order to advance through proficiencies, a character must obtain experience. Experience is acquired first by learning the skill, and then by applying the skill through practice and use. Threads in which these skills, once learned, are applied, can be awarded experience by a game master. Experience is awarded as experience points, these points are specific to the specific skill being learned and applied, and as your character collects experience points, he or she may advance and progress through proficiency levels for that particular skill. Moderators can award experience and are asked to follow this basic guideline:

1 Point. Standard Progression, requiring at least Ten (10) Posts contributing towards acquisition of knowledge, skills, and abilities for the proficiency.

2 Points. Phenomenal Progression, requiring at least Twenty Five (25) Posts contributing towards acquisition of knowledge, skills, and abilities over the course of a season; or, alternatively, at least Ten (10) Posts of considerable creative ingenuity setting a high standard for proficiency.

3 Points. Epic Progression, a Masterpiece, unique in Aelyria's history, or, awarded as a recognition of a Feat of Heroism or Exploit of Villainy without parallel in recent times.

While some learning and practicing the skill can often only yield one point for significant progress, earning two points is a matter of routinely focusing on that skill over the course of weeks and months for the character. Characters that use their skill for profession and profit, as in working at a shop or teaching at an academy, consistently over the course of a season, may get on-the-job experience of one point (normal work) or two points (decisive impact on others). Throughout your character's adventures, there may be an exceptional moment when he or she reaches a breakthrough and is able to accomplish great things with what he or she has learned; such a breakthrough is worth three points. As a character acquires these points and they accumulate, he or she may be able to advance and progress to the next level of proficiency. This is commonly called a "Level Up Thread".

Leveling Up

An adventure or encounter, testing your character's skills and abilities, as acquired and practiced, is a pivotal moment on the career of your creation. If he or she is successful in overcoming the challenges and risks, your adventurer will be awarded additional bonus experience for the encounter (anywhere betwen one and three points), and may be awarded the promotion by a game master. Your character must first have the prerequisite number of experience points after successfully completing a Level Up thread.

Level	Total Exp
1	2
2	6
3	12
4	24
5	36

Skills take time to learn, and even after an adventurer uses a skill, either through practice or training, learning from the application of that skill also takes time. While a few weeks may be all that is required to unlock one's potential, it may take years of learning and practice before a practitioner can master his skills. Often times, a lifetime of dedication to a single art is required for a person to achieve a fifth level proficiency, and the discipline and focus required are not always for everyone. If a character stops practicing his or her craft, whether through player inactivity or the character no longer embarking in those sorts of pursuits, then it is possible that a game master may subtract experience points, to reflect a depreciation or loss of talent. This is called "rustification", and if severe enough, could result in your character de-leveling to a lower level of proficiency.

Arms	Time	Arcana	Time	Trade	Time
Basic	One Cycle	Initiate	One Cycle	Novice	One Cycle
Veteran	One Month	Apprentice	One Month	Apprentice	One Month
Elite	Two Months	Adept	Three Months	Journeyman	Two Months
Master	Three Months	Master	Six Months	Master	Three Months
Grandmaster	Six Months	Archmage	Twelve Months	Grandmaster	Six Months

Level 1 through Level 3 threads can be moderated by any moderator, a peer moderator, or via self-moderation. Level 4 threads can be moderated by Game Masters, Assistant Game Masters or Peer Moderators with permission from The Directorate via The Help Desk. Level 5 threads require Game Masters or Game Directorate Moderation due to the intense level and caliber of roleplay often required. These threads can only be ran via permission from The Directorate via The Help Desk.


Skill Limits

Most characters have certain basic limits as to how much they are capable of being skilled at doing. These Skill Limits require tough choices by players to decide in what their characters will specialize. The limitations also reflect the reality that citizens and adventurers have a limited amount of focus and discipline, and as a consequence, they have natural limitations to how far and how quickly they can progress. Characters seeking to progress in their skills are free to learn and practice two separate skills at the same time. Additionally, characters have certain paths they can take when embarking on acquiring skills and abilities.

The Path of Focus. Highly disciplined individuals with a singular goal can pursue a primary skill up to the Fifth Level of Proficiency, two secondary skills up to the Third Level of Proficiency, and an unlimited number of tertiary skills up to the Second Level of Proficiency.

The Path of Balance. Persons who are attuned to their surroundings and strive for harmony can pursue two primary skills up to the Fourth Level of Proficiency, three secondary skills up to the Third Level of Proficiency, and an unlimited number of tertiary skills up to the Second Level of Proficiency.


Abilities

Once your character has learned a skill, he or she may be able to execute special abilities with those skills. Often times, it is through the training and practicing of these abilities that one acquires experience in order to advance and progress to higher levels of proficiency with those skills. For more information, please consult the corresponding primer.

A Primer to Combat
A Primer to Magic
A Primer to Trades