skills

name: skills description: Schema and rules for creating skills context: fork agent: skills

Edit tabs/skills.json.

Required Fields

Field	Requirement
`name`	Must match object key exactly
`attribute`	Must reference a valid attribute from attributeSettings
`type`	Skill category - must match a key in `skillTypeDifficultyBonus` from settings. Use `"combat"` for attack skills that should deal attribute-scaled damage (see type Categories)
`description`	3 sentences explaining what the skill does
`startingItems`	Always set to `[]`

Never Include

Omit these fields:

level, xp, xpToNextLevel

description Format

Skill descriptions should be 3 sentences, effect-focused.

No em dashes — use periods, commas, and semicolons instead
No translation labels — avoid opening with bare translations
Weave name meanings into prose — fold the meaning into full sentences
Focus on mechanical effects — what it does, how it works, what happens when used
Avoid species-specific details — skills are shared, descriptions should be generic

type Categories

Skill types are defined per-world in skillTypeDifficultyBonus in tabs/settings.json. Each type can grant different difficulty bonuses to skill checks.

"none": 0 is the default type. Other types are world-specific.

"combat" is special: attacks using a type: "combat" skill gain a flat damage bonus that scales with the skill's attribute (+1 damage per 2 attribute points above 6). Use it for attack skills you want to deal attribute-scaled damage.

attribute Selection

Attributes are defined per-world in attributeSettings.attributeNames in tabs/settings.json. Choose the attribute that governs this skill.

The attribute affects:

Skill check bonuses: (attributeValue - base) * attributeBonusModifier
Chance to learn: baseChanceToLearnNewSkill + (attributeValue * skillLearningBonusModifier)

Schema

interface SkillType {
  name: string
  attribute: string
  type: string
  description: string
  startingItems: InventoryDefinition[]
}

interface InventoryDefinition {
  item: string
  quantity: number
}

Reference

For detailed documentation, see skills-reference.md.