Mount&Blade/Skills

Skills are divided into three categories: personal, party, and leadership skills. All skills range from level 0-10 (although for party skills, the effective level can exceed this with bonuses). Skills can be improved by spending skill points. Some skill points are given during character creation, one skill point is earned per level up, and also one extra skill point is rewarded per attribute point spent on Intelligence. Each skill has a base attribute that limits the skill to 1/3 of the attribute's value (rounded down). For example, with a STR of 14 Ironflesh may not exceed level 4. Starting at STR 15, Ironflesh may be increased to 5. These attribute limits can be surpassed using bonuses from books, but cannot exceed level 10.

Personal Skills
These are skills you or a companion can possess. They don't affect the party.

Ironflesh
At early levels it isn't very important, but as you fight tougher enemies every bit of protection helps. This skill has a very large effect on determining whether an NPC survives autoresolved combat.
 * Base Attribute: Strength
 * Effect: +2 HP per level

Power Strike

 * Base Attribute: Strength
 * Effect: +8% melee damage per level

Power Throw
More powerful throwing weapons cannot be used until this skill is sufficiently high.
 * Base Attribute: Strength
 * Effect: +10% thrown weapon damage per level

Power Draw
This is required for the more powerful bows, and is overall a valuable skill for making archery less difficult. You will benefit from up to four points in this beyond the power draw requirement of the bow (if any).
 * Base Attribute: Strength
 * Effect: +14% bow damage for each point (up to 4 plus Power Draw requirement of the bow). Also increases how long the character can aim for before losing accuracy.

E.g. if you have a bow that requires Power Draw 2, you may have up to 6 points in this skill in order to add damage to your arrow. If you add a seventh point to this skill, you will not receive an additional +14% damage bonus to your arrow above the maximum 6 points:

$$MAX Power Draw Bonus = Bow Power Draw Req. + 4$$

Weapon Master
This skill allows you to continue using weapon proficiency points after you have passed the normal cap.
 * Base Attribute: Agility
 * Effect: Each point increases by 40 the limit at which weapon proficiencies can be raised with weapon proficiency points. Also increases the rate at which proficiencies are improved by use in combat.

This cap is only for the purpose of spending additional proficiency points; using weapons in combat will continue to raise your skill regardless of what the proficiency cap is set at, but it will do so faster at higher levels of Weapon Master.

Shield
Due to a bug, raising this skill also raises the Shield skill of enemies, and is therefore a poor choice for characters who make use of ranged weapons. This bug is fixed in Warband.
 * Base Attribute: Agility
 * Effect: Reduces damage to shields by 8% per level and improves shield speed and coverage.

Athletics
This isn't very obvious early on, but with a few levels it will start to really take effect. This skill is made less important by having a horse, but it's still a useful backup if you lose your horse or if you want to fight on foot. It is also useful during sieges and tournaments, where a horse might not be available. Note that the combined weight of your armor and equipment will reduce the speed bonus your Athletics skill grants.
 * Base Attribute: Agility
 * Effect: Increases running speed.

Riding

 * Base Attribute: Agility
 * Effect: Increases riding speed and maneuver, allows riding of more difficult horses.

Horse Archery
Reduces the aiming reticule spread while mounted, allowing for much greater accuracy. All ranged weapons: bows, crossbows, throwing weapons and firearms are affected by this skill.
 * Base Attribute: Agility
 * Effect: Reduces penalties for using ranged weapons on a moving horse by 10% per level.

Note that the negative effects of being mounted and using ranged weapons are only applied while you are actually moving, thus this skill has no effect if you are mounted but stationary.

Trainer
Experience points are not given to party members that are fully upgraded. If multiple companions have this skill they will each help train party members.
 * Base Attribute: Intelligence
 * Effect: Every day at midnight lower-level party members gain experience

Experience gains per level are as follows:

This skill also helps you train peasants against bandits faster.

The total experience points given to a soldier is the amount from the training skill multiplied by the number of levels the player or companions are over the soldier to be trained.

For instance, if you are level 30 and have 1 point in training and are training a level 1 recruit you will give 116 experience points to the recruit.

That's 30-1= 29. Training level of 1 gives 4 points of experience.

29 X 4 = 116.

Stack this with companions and higher skill levels and you will be able to train even the highest tiered troops relatively quickly.

Party Skills
These are skills that each character individually possesses, but they are applied to the party as a whole. If the party leader (you) has these skills, a bonus to the skill is applied as per the table to the right. The leader's bonus is applied to the party even if a companion has a higher skill level than you. An additional (+1) can be earned from certain Books. If characters are listed as Wounded their Party skills will be disabled until they regain some health.

Looting
Increases the amount of loot obtained by 10% per skill level.
 * Base Attribute: Agility

Looting also increases the quality of the loot. For example, at level 1 looting you will find mostly rusty, broken and cracked prefixes, negative ones. If your looting is 10, you will find more items with positive prefixes such as balanced, reinforced, or tempered. This skill works in village looting, and in any other battle or siege. It also increases the number of cattle obtained when stealing them from a village.

Tracking
This skill makes tracks appear on the world map, gradually becoming more accurate and providing additional information. At level 1 the tracks indicate party movement, but little else. As levels progress the accuracy of party size predictions and hours the tracks remain visible for increases. Tracks will also gain colors, allowing you to easily follow a particular path regardless of what other paths it crosses.
 * Base Attribute: Intelligence
 * Effect: Makes onscreen tracks appear and gradually become more informative. Also increases the distance at which tracks can be seen.

Tactics
Before each battle your Tactics score is compared to that of the enemy leader, and this determines how many men each side has at the beginning of the battle.
 * Base Attribute: Intelligence
 * Effect: Every 2 points to this raises your battle advantage by 1.

Additionally, if you choose to send your men in while you stay back or are knocked out during battle this skill will have an effect on the aftermath losses. This skill also reduces how many men you need to leave behind if you retreat.

Path-finding

 * Base Attribute: Intelligence
 * Effect: Increases party map speed by 3% per level.

Spotting

 * Base Attribute: Intelligence
 * Effect: Increases party sight range by 10% per level.

Wound Treatment

 * Base Attribute: Intelligence
 * Effect: Increases party healing speed 20% per level. Also applies to the healing of crippled horses in the inventory.

Surgery
This skill is quite useful for giving your troops the best chance you can to reach higher levels and become effective fighters. It also lessens the annoyance factor of spending top dollar on some new, high tier troops only to have a significant fraction of them be killed in their first battle.
 * Base Attribute: Intelligence
 * Effect: Each point adds 4% to the chance that struck down troops will be knocked out rather than killed. This is added to a base chance of 25%.

First Aid
This skill takes effect both between battle waves and after combat is over. This only heals up to the level of health before you entered battle, so if you go into battle with low health you can only heal back up to that level and no further.
 * Base Attribute: Intelligence
 * Effect: Heroes regain 5% per level of hit-points lost during a particular battle. This is added to a base rate of 10%.

Engineer
This skill also affects the cost of building village improvements.
 * Base Attribute: Intelligence
 * Effect: Build siege equipment and village improvements quicker (-5% on time and price to build improvements)

Trade
The Trade skill reduces the cost penalty applied to buying and selling. See Trade for more details. Trade also reduces the time it takes to collect taxes for tax collection quests.
 * Base Attribute: Charisma
 * Effect: Reduces trading penalty by 5%

Leader Skills
These skills affect the party, but only if the person with these skills is the party leader.

Inventory Management
Very important when pillaging villages or attacking caravans.
 * Base Attribute: Intelligence
 * Effect: Increases inventory size by 6 squares

Persuasion
Useful for persuading Lords to pay debts or support peace. Also used for persuading lords to rebel and reduce chances that recruited prisoners will run. Perhaps most importantly, it can be used to keep your companions from leaving your group due to low morale.
 * Base Attribute: Intelligence
 * Effect: Helps you make other people accept your point of view. There is a random factor involved in determining how successful you are.

Prisoner Management
Needed if you want to recruit or sell prisoners. Also needed for the Bring Prisoners quest. This skill has no effect for NPC lords, who have no limit to the number of prisoners they can take.
 * Base Attribute: Charisma
 * Effect: Increases prisoner capacity by 5

Leadership
The higher your Leadership, the more men you can lead into battle. You'll probably want to put a point towards Charisma every other level or so, and a point towards Leadership every chance you get. Increasing your Renown will also raise the party size cap.
 * Base Attribute: Charisma
 * Effect: Increases party capacity by 5, boosts party morale by 12, and reduces troop costs and wages by 5%.