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Skills and Abilities
In order to go around doing heroic deeds, adventurers have to use skills and abilities.
An ability is something everyone has, even if they only have a small amount.  Things like strength,
intelligence, and agility are present in all people, so they are abilities.  Skills are things only some people
have, such as magic.  Below is a list of the skills and abilities for the character classes and how to improve them..

Abilities:

Strength- Strength is a measure of how much one can carry and how much power they can put in their punches.  It is important in combat, and contributes to health points.  Fighters and paladins rely on strength to help them in combat.

How to Improve:

-Fighting monsters gives you more strength once you have rested.
-In Spielburg, go to the Weapon Master and take lessons from him everyday.
-The Gobling Combat Training Zone is a good place to find some easy cash and build up strength.  Each time you go there an extra goblin appears for you to fight.
-Work at the stables in the castle.  Another good way to get some money.
-Spar with Uhura and Rakeesh in Shapeir's Adventurer's Guild.  They give helpful advice on how to improve your tactics.
-Armwrestle Issur.
-Use the Initiation Bridge in the Simbani village.  You can cross hand-over-hand underneath it or walk on top of it.
-Throw spears in the Simbani village's target area.
-Use the stair-stepper machine in Mordavia's Guild.
-Wading through the swamp takes a lot of strength.
-The exercise machine in the Silmarian Adventurer's Guild raises strength.
-Climbing and throwing builds strength along with themselves.

Intelligence- Intelligence helps plan tactics in combat and in casting spells.  The higher the intelligence, the higher the mana and the power of the spell.

How to Improve:

-Casting spells is a slow way of raising intelligence, though raising intelligence always takes a long time.
-Playing Erasmus at Mage's Maze in Spielburg raises both your spell skills and intelligence.
-Going through WIT's initiation will help boost it.  Remember, you can go through WIT as many times as you need until you pass, so it helps if you keep making mistakes to improve your spell-casting.
-Play Awari with Yesufu.
-Enter magical duals to practice spell casting and raise intelligence (the Shaman in 3 and the Faerie Queen in 4).

Agility- Dexterity, nimbleness, and quick reflexes are combined into agility.  This is helpful in combat for dodging blows, and for sneaking around at night.  Agility and vitality determine stamina points.

How to Improve:

-Combat will raise this, especially if you dodge a lot.
-Walk tightropes, like Agi the Agile's in the Fighter's Plaza of Shapeir.
-Practice on the Initiation Bridge in the Simbani village, using the moves Uhura teaches you or just walking across.
-Using acrobatics will raise agility.
-In Dragon Fire, shadow boxing quickly increases agility.  To do this, fight without any weapons equipped.  Not recommended while actually fighting monsters.

Vitality- Vitality goes with strength to form health points and with agility to make stamina points.  The higher the vitality, the more damage your hero can take and he will not get as tired.  Healing will take a shorter amount of time.

How to Improve:

-This goes up with strength and agility, mainly during combat.  Get enough rest after a fight, then go and fight some more!  Or you can fight many enemies at once (goblins, brigands near the fortress, jackalmen, apemen at the Lost City, the necrotaurs guarding Castle Borgov at night).
-Using the Silmarian Guild's running machine is the fastest way of increasing vitality in Dragon Fire.

Luck- Luck goes into everything, from combat to spell casting to sneaking.

How to Improve:

-Luck can't go up on its own, it follows other skills when they improve.  This works quite well when playing games of chance or skill (Dag-Nab-It, Mage's Maze, Awari, using the exercise machine in the Adveturer's Guild in Silmaria, betting on the Dead Parrot board, playing the Wheel-of-Fortune).

Communication- This deals with how good you are at talking to people.  With a higher communication you can haggle prices with merchants and make what you're trying to say to someone more clear.  It is equally valuable to all classes, though the thief probably has more money so he doesn't need to bargain... This is only available in 2,3, and 4.

How to Improve:

-Talk to everyone about everything you can think about.
-Always greet people and say goodbye to them.
-Tell people about yourself, about past experiences, etc.

Skills:

Weapon Use/Offense- This determines whether you hit the monster or not.  Obviously, the fighter and paladin would want to keep this high.  Thieves and wizards who like fighting will also want this high.  Weapon Use is in the first 4 games only, it turns into the Offense skill in Dragon Fire.

How to Improve:

-Let's see here... maybe fighting?!
-Do the same things as in the strength training, fighting numerous opponents or getting lessons.

Parry- Parrying is blocking your enemy's blow with your own sword or shiels.  (Using a shield is called blocking.)  This is useful if you like your body parts where they are.  Since you need a sword to parry, only fighters and paladins can have this skill.  Only in the first 4 games.  It combines with Dodge to become Defense in 5.

How to Improve:

-Parry during combat!

Dodge- Dodging is the art of making sure you don't come into contact with sharp objects.  All classes will want to know this, especially shifty thieves forced to fight and wily wizards worming their way out of warfare.  This is only in the first 4 games.  It combines with Parry to become Defense in 5.

How to Improve:

-Dodge blows in combat!

Defense- This replaces Parry and Dodge in Dragon Fire.  It basically is how well you avoid damage in battle.  It can be affected by amulets and armor.

How to Improve:

-Use you shield to block blows in combat (press the D key).  That's the only way I know how to, though it will slowly improve if you fight at all, regardless of whether you defend yourself or not.

Stealth- This is the thief's best friend when he wants to go around unnoticed.  Stealth means being able to move quietly so that you don't call attention to yourself.  If you have this skill you are considered a thief, ven if you don't have lockpicking.  (In Dragon Fire this can be a serious disadvantage to non-thieves, so if you're making a characters that's not a thief, don't give him stealth).

How to Improve:

-Sneak around everywhere.  Do this by typing "Sneak" in the EGA games or use the stealth icon on the toolbar in the VGA games.  Press the K key to sneak in Dragon Fire.

Pick Locks- If you're a thief and you don't have this, something's wrong.  This is the ultimate thief skill, distinguishing between a mere panhandler and a Chief Thief.  The only way to use this skill is if you have a lockpick or a tool kit (sometimes you have to improvise, but you get the point).  If you aren't a thief but you have this skill, you are considered a thief (since you have the ability to break into other peoples' possessions).

How to Improve:

-Pick any lock you can get near!  Don't do it in broad daylight, though, unless you want the real challenge of picking your jail cell's lock.
-Pick your nose.  When you are skilled enough, this will help you.  Be careful, though, if your skill is below 40 you'll kill yourself.
-The Thieves Guild of Mordavia has some safes you can crack constantly.  They are also trapped, so disarm them first!
-Silmaria's Thieves Guild has a safe you can practice your skills on if you give it 5 drachmas.

Throwing- Self-evident, throwing is how good your aim is and how far you can hurl a projetcile.  Fighters will want this to know how to fling stones and spears eveywhere, thieves will want to be able to throw their deadly daggers.

How to Improve:

-Pick up lots of rocks and throw them.  You can find rocks on the ground outside of the towns.  In Silmaria, there are stones by the archery range outside of town and by the docks.
-Throw things at the archery board in Spielburg and Silmaria, the practice area in the Simbani village, and the target on Sifnos Island.
-Play Dag-Nab-It in the Spielburg Thieves Guild.
-Play the Wheel-of-Fortune in the Dead Parrot Inn in Silmaria.

Climbing- Climbing is the process of getting from the ground to a higher spot (or lower if you're going the wrong way).  Thieves start out with this and are later helped by getting rope.  Fighters will learn of tis in Mordavia if they have not already done so.  Wizards just use levitate.

How to Improve:

-Climb anything that's taller than you.  This includes the healer's tree in Spielburg, the Spirea plant's cliff, 'Enry's home, the Brigand Fortress' walls, and the town and castle walls.
-Use the magic rope in Shapeir (careful, though, it eventually runs out; buy another one from the Magic Shop when it does).
-Climb the griffin's nest in the Shapeirian desert.
-You can use the trees in Mordavia for practice, along with the rope in the Adventurer's Guild, the town walls, the castle gates, your inn's window, and the monastery's walls.
-In Silmaria, there is no real use for climbing, though you can climb the palm tree to the left of the Dead Parrot Inn (you won't go up but your skill will).

Acrobatics- The rope seller, Rashid, will teach you this in Tarna, though it doesn't become a true skill until Shadows of Darkness.  This lets the hero (generally a thief) flip in the air and land away from where he started.  It helps when you're trying to walk a tightrope or fight with your bare hands.  It is directly associated with agility, and only available in 4 and 5.

How to Improve:

-Use the acrobatics icon in Mordavia to flip through the forest.
-Use special attacks in combat.
-Shadow box in Dragon Fire by attacking with no weapons in your hands.

Magic- This is what makes magic users different from everyone else.  Magic lets someone actually cast a spell, and determines how powerful it is.  It contributes to the wizard's mana, along with intelligence.

How to Improve:

-Practice all of your spells.  This will increase your spell skill for the spell, making it more effective, as well as raise your intelligence and magic.
-Play Mage's Maze with Erasmus.
-Dual with magic users such as the kobold, the WIT wizards, the Leopardmen Shaman, leopardmen, the demon wizard, the Faeries Queen, wraiths, Chernovy, and the Centaur wizards.

Swimming- Basically, how to move through water somewhat gracefully.  You can't hold your breath for too long, no matter how high your swimming stats are, so before you do any major expeditions underwater you'll want to find a way to prolongue your breathing.  This is only in Dragon Fire since there is nowhere to swim in the first four lands.  You can learn it from a book in the FACS.

How to Improve:

-Swim around the docks in Silmaria.
-If you swim away from the city, you will encounter monsters to fight underwater.  This will take coordination since you have to swim and fight.  Don't get caught fighting when you loose your breath.

Pickpocket- This is the wonderful way of getting some easy cash from careless people.  In order to get this skill you'll have to buy a pickpocket knife from the Silmarian Thieves Guild.  Then you use the knife on passing people.  Hopefully the money won't drop to the ground and the person won't notice you.  That's why you should have a high skill in it and stealth before you try it on someone.

How to Improve:

-Practice on the dummy in the Guild.  It will have to be reset after you get the money from its pouches, so leave then come back.
-Some people have easier pockets to pick than others.  Try to start with the townspeople and work your way up to merchants.

Derived Stats:

Health- Health is how much damage you can take before you die; an important thing for anyone, adventurer or no.  It is comprised of Strength and Vitality.  To improve it, raise your Strength and Vitality abilities.  To regain lost health, use a healing pill/potion or sleep.  The paladin can Heal himself or others, but this takes away from his Stamina.  The mage can use the First Aid spell.

Stamina- This is the amount of energy the hero has.  Actions require a certain amount of effort, even walking, and stamina is used each time you perform an action.  Once Stamina is gone health points start disappearing.  Stamina is made up of Vitality and Agility.  To regain it, use stamina pills/potions, water from the Pool of Peace, eat, or rest.

Mana- Mana is the amount of magical energy in a person.  Magic users tap into it to create their spells.  Once it's gone, the wizard can't cast anymore spells.  Mana is determined from the caster's intelligence and magic skill.  To replenish Mana, the caster can take a mana pill/potion, a fruit from Erana's Garden, or sleep.  Some magical places wil give back points when you sleep at them more quickly than normal places.  Caution: mana takes a long time to replenish itself, so a magic user lost in the forest better be able to defend himself if he runs out of juice.

Honor- Honor is what all paladins strive for, and what most heroes seek.  Honor is the summation of all good done by the hero.  When he does a good deed his honor will increase.  When he does a bad deed his honor will decrease.  You can't give the hero points for honor, they must be earned.  The paladin's abilities require a certain amount of honor for them to work.  In Dragon Fire your communications skill has been replaced by honor.  The higher the honor the better deal you can cut.  Honor is only measured after So You Want to be a Hero.

How to Improve:

-Don't steal.
-Give money to the poor.
-Don't kill defenseless people, including unarmed opponents.
-Give flowers to people.
-Be polite to everyone, no matter how rude they are.
-Say "hello" and "goodbye" when talking to people.
-Thank people.
-Defend the defenseless.

Note: In Trial by Fire, at the end the hero will come across a genie who will give him 3 wishes.  2 of them can be spent wishing for more prowess.  I recommend either increasing an important ability or skill for that character class (ie Strength and Weapon Use for the fighter, Intelligence and Magic for the wizard, and Stealth and Pick Locks for the thief), or giving him a new skill that he doesn't have.

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