Skills

The skill tree in this game is going to be massive. It will be divided into sections, presumably grouped roughly by affinity, although there will probably be too much complexity for that to entirely work. Within each of the trees, though, there will be 3 broad groups of skills: Basic Skills (which everyone can learn equally and are never forgotten), Normal Skills (which are available to everyone, but with advantages for affinity holders), and Mastery Skills (which are available only to affinity holders).

Learning Skills
New skills can be learned in two ways. Any skill that you have currently learned generate experience when you use them. Each of these skills can be set to put that experience either towards improving the same skill (increasing its level and effectiveness), or towards learning any new skill downstream from that one on the skill tree. In some cases, multiple skills might be able to contribute towards learning a new skill.
 * 1) By performing related but simpler skills.
 * 2) By being taught them by people who already have the skill (not sure about this)

Using Skills
Write the second section of your page here.

"Forgetting" Skills
As in real life, unused skills will be gradually degrade over time, losing levels and effectiveness, and eventually being forgotten. The mechanics of how this work vary depending on several factors.

Exceptions

 * 1) Skills that fall within your character's chosen affinity will never degrade, no matter what their level of use is.
 * 2) Basic Skills (other than those within your chosen affinity) will degrade in level with disuse, but will never be completely forgotten.
 * 3) Normal Skills (other than those wtihin your chose affinity) will degrade and eventually be forgotten entirely.
 * 4) Mastery Skills obviously will not degrade, since you can only possess mastery skills within your chosen affinity.

Mechanics
Skill degradation is calculated at the end of every in-game day/night cycle (12 hours in real time). At that point, any skills that have not been used sufficiently (what defines that?  It can't be just being used once, too easy) within the past in-game day degrade in level a small amount. The amount that their level is reduced increases the more consecutive days they go unused (you forget things slowly at first, but more and more as time goes on).

Agriculture

 * Farming
 * Ranching

Travelling

 * Cartography
 * Messengering
 * Sailing/Boats

Mining
Building
 * Digging/excavation
 * Prospecting
 * Engineering
 * Carpentry (Wood Structures)
 * Masonry (Stone Structures)

Artisan

 * Blacksmithing
 * Weaving/tailoring

Naturalist

 * Hunting/Trapping/Tracking
 * Plant/Herb gathering
 * Logging/Forestry