How Skills Work
If you've ever played a MUD before, skills in LO work a little differently than in most.
You can learn skills in all classes, but your "main" class will be easiest. When you first get a level, skills can only be "practiced" up to "good" for main-class skills and "poor" for non-main classes. (As you gain levels beyond the one that initially gives you a non-main class skill, you can practice it higher.) And the highest you can ever practice anything is "good"… But skills go up to "Superb". The only way to improve beyond what you learn in your guild is to actually use the skills. Oft-used skills improve, while rarely-used ones will decline.
Type "skills <class>" (such as "skills mage") to get a list of all the skills that class can ever learn. Type "practice" (such as "pr mage") to see what you've learned so far and how well.
At the top of the practice command output, you'll see how well you know the skills in your class. If you see "You're ready to learn more!" it means you'll retain everything you know and could still learn more. If you see "You have an excellent grasp of these skills." it means unused skills will decline extremely slowly. The less you know your skills, the faster they'll decline and the less benefit you'll get out of using your skills. It's your choice if you want to be mediocre at many skills or elite at a few.
Mage
These are the skills that can be learned from the Mage guild
| Level | Skill | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | magic missile | Cast a blast of magic at your opponent |
| 1 | drain vigor light | Refresh your movement at another's expense |
| 3 | chill touch | Sap strength at the touch of a finger |
| 3 | detect magic | Tune in to magical auras |
| 3 | farsee | See into a room without entering it |
| 3 | drain vigor serious | Refresh your movement at another's expense |
| 4 | detect invisibility | See the un-seeable |
| 4 | invisibility | Go about un-seen |
| 4 | vitality | Lose that unhealthy mage pallor |
| 4 | dispel invisible | Expose the un-seeable |
| 5 | burning hands | Forceful fingers of fire |
| 5 | translook | Cast your sights within the zone |
| 5 | drain vigor critic | Refresh your movement at another's expense |
| 6 | locate object | Find the things you need |
| 7 | shocking grasp | Master the electric touch |
| 7 | strength | Get buff the easy way |
| 7 | meteorswarm | Summon stones from the sky |
| 7 | dexterity | Move with swan-like grace |
| 8 | teleport | For when your favorite place is elsewhere |
| 8 | minor creation | Sometimes you need a cup |
| 9 | lightning bolt | Show off your electric personality |
| 10 | control weather | Everyone talks about the weather… |
| 10 | teleimage | Spy on a distant mark |
| 10 | nosleep | Be the life of the party |
| 10 | calm | Soothe the savage beast |
| 10 | fury | Motivate the meek attacker |
| 11 | colour spray | Wield a rainbow of force |
| 11 | haste | Flail faster in a fray |
| 11 | confusion | Muddle a mind |
| 12 | enchant weapon | Everything is better with a little magic |
| 12 | nocharm | Keep from being duped |
| 13 | energy drain | Deplete the mana of your enemy |
| 13 | sleep | End the party early |
| 13 | sunray | Learn to harness solar energy |
| 14 | charm person | Win friends and influence people |
| 14 | transmove | Move to someone in the zone |
| 14 | stoneskin | Make your body as hard as your heart |
| 15 | fireball | Cast an incendiary blast |
| 16 | invulnerability | Reduce your susceptibility to magic |
| 16 | telelook | Cast your sights across the world |
| 17 | shriek | Throw a shrieking jet of flame |
| 17 | telemove | Move to anyone in the world |
| 18 | metalskin | Beware of sudden rain storms |
| 19 | mind thrust | Induce skull crushing pressure |
| 20 | mage fire | A superlative fire attack |
Warrior
These are skills that can be learned from the Warrior guild
| Level | Skill | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | slashing proficiency | Basic swordsmanship |
| 0 | pounding proficiency | Blunt weapons |
| 0 | piercing proficiency | Daggers and stabbing |
| 0 | cleaving proficiency | Heavy weapons |
| 1 | kick | Deliver a boot to the head |
| 1 | bash | Knock 'em off their feet |
| 3 | rescue | Save the weak and savor the glory |
| 3 | charge | Leap to the head of the fray |
| 4 | blocking proficiency | Shield mastery |
| 5 | flanking | Take 'em all on at once |
| 7 | dismemberment | Maim your opponent |
| 10 | repair | Fix damaged equipment |
| 14 | evisceration | Tear their hearts out |
| 20 | decapitation | A spectacular way to end a fight |
Cleric
These are skills that can be learned from the Cleric guild
| Level | Skill | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | armor | Be protected by your faith |
| 1 | cure light | Heal small injuries |
| 1 | faerie fire | Outline your target |
| 2 | create water | Never go thirsty again |
| 2 | detect poison | No need to taste it first |
| 2 | cause light | Re-open wounds from a distance |
| 3 | create food | Never go hungry again |
| 3 | vigorize light | Move farther without resting |
| 4 | cure blind | Restore vision to the sightless |
| 4 | detect evil | Tune in to darkness |
| 4 | wrath hammer | Burn with holy fervor |
| 5 | bless | Sanctify people and equipment |
| 5 | cure serious | Patch larger injuries |
| 5 | temporary light | Summon the aura of the gods |
| 6 | blindness | Summon a flash of holy brightness |
| 6 | cause serious | Re-open large wounds from a distance |
| 6 | clarity | Salvation for the drunkard |
| 6 | divine object | Find objects through divine providence |
| 7 | earthquake | Shake the foundations of faith |
| 7 | sense life | Search for souls |
| 7 | nosummon | Remain grounded in faith |
| 7 | haven | Pray at the nearest altar |
| 8 | poison | Spoil with injurious toxicants |
| 8 | summon | Call the ungrounded to task |
| 8 | cure paralysis | Restore mobility to the frozen |
| 8 | redemption | Give the dead a chance to make amends |
| 9 | cure critic | Stitch gaping wounds |
| 9 | remove poison | Nullify injurious toxicants |
| 9 | fear | Force a crisis of confidence |
| 10 | dispel evil | Make evil souls hurt and suffer |
| 10 | vigorize serious | Move farther without resting |
| 10 | dispel good | Make good souls hurt and suffer |
| 10 | cause critical | Re-open long healed wounds from a distance |
| 11 | word of recall | There is no place like home |
| 11 | firestorm | Ignite the room with holy fire |
| 11 | flamestrike | Direct a blast of holy fire |
| 12 | call lightning | Summon a force of nature |
| 12 | remove curse | Remove the stigma from an object |
| 12 | equilibrium | Walk through fire and ice |
| 12 | age | Often with age comes wisdom |
| 12 | freeze | Summon the force of a winter storm |
| 13 | sanctuary | Shelter from danger and hardship |
| 13 | continual light | Summon the aura of the gods |
| 14 | heal | Cure the mangled and maimed |
| 14 | rejuvenate | Sooth the sufferings of old age |
| 14 | heroism | A hero knows no fear |
| 15 | harm | Summon the ire of the gods |
| 15 | vigorize critic | Move farther without resting |
| 18 | ice lance | Summon a blast of ice |
| 19 | vampiric touch | Channel the evil of Set |
| 20 | full harm | Summon the wrath of the gods |
Thief
These are skills that can be learned from the Thieves guild
| Level | Skill | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | sneak | Walk undetected, leave few tracks |
| 2 | orienteering | Find zones through landmarks |
| 3 | pick | Open a door without having the key |
| 3 | listen | The secret to good conversation |
| 4 | steal | Lift items from your mark |
| 5 | backstab | A dagger can be your best friend |
| 6 | climb | Master rough terrain |
| 7 | track | Follow from a distance |
| 8 | hide | Hide in plain sight |
| 8 | swim | Don't wait for your ship to come in |
| 9 | escape plan | Make a hasty retreat when attacked |
| 10 | second backstab | You can always use another friend |
| 11 | coldcock | Sometimes they're asking for it |
| 12 | cache | Hide treasure for later |
| 13 | dodge | Duck the deadliest damage |
| 15 | double attack | Fight with both hands |