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%%%%
Buggy

Buggy
(It's a bug if you ever see this.)
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Fighting

Apart from making you more proficient in hand-to-hand combat, Fighting also increases your maximum hit points.
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Short Blades

Being skilled with a particular type of weapon will make it easier to fight with all weapons of this type and make you deal more damage with them. It is generally recommended to concentrate your efforts on one or two weapon types to become more powerful in them. Short Blades have a reputation for producing rather little damage in the late game, but, on the other hand, they are the best implements for stabbing.

If you're already skilled in Short Blades, it is easier to become skilled in Long Blades.
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Long Blades

Being skilled with a particular type of weapon will make it easier to fight with all weapons of this type and make you deal more damage with them. It is generally recommended to concentrate your efforts on one or two weapon types to become more powerful in them.

If you're already skilled in Short Blades, it is easier to become (more) skilled in Long Blades.
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Axes

Being skilled with a particular type of weapon will make it easier to fight with all weapons of this type and make you deal more damage with them. It is generally recommended to concentrate your efforts on one or two weapon types to become more powerful in them.

Being skilled in Axes makes learning to fight with Maces or Polearms easier.
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Maces & Flails

Being skilled with a particular type of weapon will make it easier to fight with all weapons of this type and make you deal more damage with them. It is generally recommended to concentrate your efforts on one or two weapon types to become more powerful in them.

Being skilled in Maces & Flails makes it easier to also become skilled when fighting with Axes or Staves.
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Polearms

Being skilled with a particular type of weapon will make it easier to fight with all weapons of this type and make you deal more damage with them. It is generally recommended to concentrate your efforts on one or two weapon types to become more powerful in them.

Being skilled in Polearms eases training in Axes or Staves.
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Staves

Being skilled with a particular type of weapon will make it easier to fight with all weapons of this type and make you deal more damage with them. It is generally recommended to concentrate your efforts on one or two weapon types to become more powerful in them.

Being skilled in Staves makes becoming skilled in Maces & Flails or Polearms easier.
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Slings

Being skilled in a particular type of ranged attack will let you deal more damage when using the appropriate launcher and ammunition.

If you're already skilled in Slings, it is easier to become (more) skilled in Throwing.
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Bows

Being skilled in a particular type of ranged attack will let you deal more damage when using the appropriate launcher and ammunition.
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Crossbows

Being skilled in a particular type of ranged attack will let you deal more damage when using the appropriate launcher and ammunition.
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Darts

Being skilled in a particular type of ranged attack will let you deal more damage when using the appropriate launcher and ammunition.
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Throwing

Training Throwing will make thrown weapons (as opposed to ones fired from a launcher) more effective. In particular, it makes weapons of returning more likely to actually return to their thrower.

If you're already skilled in Throwing, it is easier to become (more) skilled in Slings.
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Armour

Armour skill increases the AC gained by wearing heavy armour, and it also helps lessen the hindrance of heavy armour on moving, spellcasting and other actions.
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Dodging

Unsurprisingly, the Dodging skill will affect your chance of dodging an attack, be it melee, ranged or magical. You cannot dodge enchantments, sadly. Rather, to resist them, you'll need a high resistance to hostile enchantments, something that grows with your experience and can also be influenced by certain items.
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Stealth

By training Stealth, you can make it less likely that monsters will notice you. This skill is trained by moving in the vicinity of unaware monsters. Note that monsters become more suspicious and observant as you descend.
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Stabbing

Stabbing is the skill that governs the likeliness of doing a great amount of damage on a distracted or helpless creature. Some gods may disapprove of this.
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Shields

A high Shields skill helps you block melee and ranged attacks with your equipped (or a magical) shield.
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Traps & Doors

A character trained in Traps & Doors will be more observant to his or her surroundings and be quicker in noticing traps and secret doors.
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Unarmed Combat

A character trained in Unarmed Combat will occasionally do an additional melee attack, provided they have the means to do so. Of course, this skill also trains your proficiency in barehanded combat.
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Spellcasting

Training Spellcasting makes it easier to learn and cast spells, along with increasing your magical reserves. Gaining a level in Spellcasting gives you more "spell slots" to spend on new spells. Spellcasting skill and your intelligence are the only factors countering spell hunger.
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Conjurations

Being skilled in a magical "school" makes it easier to learn and cast spells of this school. Many spells belong to a combination of several schools, in which case the average skill in these schools will decide on spellcasting success and power.

Conjurations are battle oriented spells, which work by conjuring up a chunk of short-lived matter and propelling it towards the victim.
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Hexes

Being skilled in a magical "school" makes it easier to learn and cast spells of this school. Many spells belong to a combination of several schools, in which case the average skill in these schools will decide on spellcasting success and power.

Hexes try to bestow various enchantments on nearby things. While none do direct damage, being ensorcelled can effectively take an opponent out of combat. Sadly, Hexes suffer greatly from spell resistance when cast on living beings.
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Charms

Being skilled in a magical "school" makes it easier to learn and cast spells of this school. Many spells belong to a combination of several schools, in which case the average skill in these schools will decide on spellcasting success and power.

Charms provide you with a number of self-enhancing auras.
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Summonings

Being skilled in a magical "school" makes it easier to learn and cast spells of this school. Many spells belong to a combination of several schools, in which case the average skill in these schools will decide on spellcasting success and power.

Summonings, not surprisingly, deals with summoning creatures from another plane of reality to join your army or distract your foes. Note that summoned beings don't leave corpses and don't give experience when killed. Their equipment is as ephemeral as they are.
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Necromancy

Being skilled in a magical "school" makes it easier to learn and cast spells of this school. Many spells belong to a combination of several schools, in which case the average skill in these schools will decide on spellcasting success and power.

Necromancy is the art of draining and gaining life, although most often associated with zombies and other undead.
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Translocations

Being skilled in a magical "school" makes it easier to learn and cast spells of this school. Many spells belong to a combination of several schools, in which case the average skill in these schools will decide on spellcasting success and power.

Translocations focus on spatial movement of beings or objects.
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Transmutations

Being skilled in a magical "school" makes it easier to learn and cast spells of this school. Many spells belong to a combination of several schools, in which case the average skill in these schools will decide on spellcasting success and power.

Transmutations deal with changing shapes. It is possible to become a powerful dragon, for example.
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Fire Magic

Being skilled in a magical "school" makes it easier to learn and cast spells of this school. Many spells belong to a combination of several schools, in which case the average skill in these schools will decide on spellcasting success and power.

Being skilled in Fire Magic makes Ice Magic harder to learn, and vice versa.
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Ice Magic

Being skilled in a magical "school" makes it easier to learn and cast spells of this school. Many spells belong to a combination of several schools, in which case the average skill in these schools will decide on spellcasting success and power.

Being skilled in Ice Magic makes Fire Magic harder to learn, and vice versa.
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Air Magic

Being skilled in a magical "school" makes it easier to learn and cast spells of this school. Many spells belong to a combination of several schools, in which case the average skill in these schools will decide on spellcasting success and power.

Being skilled in Air Magic makes Earth Magic harder to learn, and vice versa.
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Earth Magic

Being skilled in a magical "school" makes it easier to learn and cast spells of this school. Many spells belong to a combination of several schools, in which case the average skill in these schools will decide on spellcasting success and power.

Being skilled in Earth Magic makes Air Magic harder to learn, and vice versa.
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Poison Magic

Being skilled in a magical "school" makes it easier to learn and cast spells of this school. Many spells belong to a combination of several schools, in which case the average skill in these schools will decide on spellcasting success and power.

Poison magic is at its most useful early on, as many monsters are resistant to poison in the later game. There are poison spells of high utility throughout the game, though.
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Invocations

Your Invocations skill affects the likelihood that an attempt to use a divine ability will be successful. Also, the Invocations skill affects your magical reserve, just as the Spellcasting skill does, but to a lesser degree.
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Evocations

Evocations is all about using magical items like wands, decks or other uncommon objects. The higher your skill, the more likely is a positive outcome when evoking items. Also, high skill may let you determine the amount of charges a zapped wand has left.
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