Need Explanation on Learning Skills

[TechnoSarge]

Character development in levels apparently depends on improving the 18 skill areas the game offers, with Skill Points (SP). Do I have that right?

Skill advancement in points apparently depends on multipliers (affected by Characteristics like Endurance, and Focus Points) applied to XP. Is that right?

Then, what affects XP? That's not clear to me.

Next, what is a Learning Limit? Apparently it's not an actual limit, since for instance my character is 31 points beyond his Learning Limit for Scouting. When does it drive the multiplier to zero? - I have one stat, Riding, that is red and the detail indicates the multiplier is zero; I am currently 36 points past the Learning Limit there.

If I'm understanding this correctly, I should be pumping up my unused weak skills like my 5 SP in Crossbow to force my character to move up levels. But a level brings only 1 Focus Point and I get a Characteristic buff of 1 every other level. So I can't see how the game is encouraging or allowing me to become good at what I want to get good at. In fact, I only have some "green" developmental space in 7 of the 18 Skills at my level 25, and they're the ones like Crossbow I'm not using.

Frankly, I'm finding this development system rather opaque and unsatisfying. I must be missing something, since I read of other players sampling the perk delights at 250 SP. Are they reaching those levels by creating characters lopsided in their initial stat distributions? My absolute best stat right now is Leadership at 184, which is (only) 4 above my Learning Limit... and it has a full set of 5 Focus Points.

 

[Raggs]

Using the skills improves them. What classes as using them in some cases, I don't really know.

I definitely don't spread skills evenly. I focus on the skills I want, so nothing in crossbow/throwing, nothing in engineering or medicine etc.

 

[TechnoSarge]

I got curious about my progression vs the nobles in the game. I searched until I found 2 with the same current age as my character (45). For personal skills, they were identical. For the Party skill of Steward, one was 57 and the other had none listed. So I totalled the Skill Points they had, per the Encyclopedia - the one with the Steward skill was 1737 points. My total for the same skills was 879. But, I had more skills listed, and my total was 1476. In addition, I had Medicine and Engineer scores totaling 172 which were not in my Encyclopedia entry. So, if you count all 18 skills and assume the nobles had zeros in unlisted ones, they had as many as 1737 points and I had 1548.

Humpph.

 

[Raggs]

You started your "training" a lot later than they did.

 

[Apocal]

I got curious about my progression vs the nobles in the game. I searched until I found 2 with the same current age as my character (45). For personal skills, they were identical. For the Party skill of Steward, one was 57 and the other had none listed. So I totalled the Skill Points they had, per the Encyclopedia - the one with the Steward skill was 1737 points. My total for the same skills was 879. But, I had more skills listed, and my total was 1476. In addition, I had Medicine and Engineer scores totaling 172 which were not in my Encyclopedia entry. So, if you count all 18 skills and assume the nobles had zeros in unlisted ones, they had as many as 1737 points and I had 1548.

Humpph.

Look up Corein at game start and weep.