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dorchadas
First, if you're curious about the system I'm using to build this, there's what's effectively a Novus SRD up on the game's official website, and you can see all the rules there. That also means I can link stuff in my posts, which will be handy.
I almost always end up tinkering with the skill list in the games I run, with the notable exception of White Wolf games. I can't really claim realism or anything, because a realistic skill list would have tens of thousands of skills (almost 7000 for languages alone!) and give the players hundreds if not thousands of points to spend at character creation, and that's just too much to deal with. It's just aesthetic preference.
Combat Skills
Axes & Hammers: Axes, battle axes, warhammer, etc.
Blunt Weapon: Maces, flails, morningstars, clubs, staves, and so on.
Long Blade: This is the skill for broadswords and all larger swords.
Marksman: This is the skill for bows, crossbows, slings, and other ranged weaponry.
Short Blade: This is the skill for shortswords and all smaller swords.
Spears: Spears, short spears, polearms, and other long-hafted pointy weapons.
Throwing: Any muscle-powered thrown weapon uses this skill.
Unarmed: This should be pretty self-explanatory.
Magical Skills
Hedge Magic (Will): This is the skill for minor magics and petty cantrips. It works the same way the Spellcasting skill normally works, with a single skill rating and multiple spells that use it.
Eldritch Lore (Int): This is similar to the Magecraft skill, but has a slightly different focus. It has no base skill, only specializations, which include the Outer Dark, specific schools of sorcery, the Predecessors, necromancy, etc.
Magical Sense (Wis): Often called "Witchsight," this skill is only available to sorcerers and is more expansive and less limited than the Sense Magic Talent. Magical Sense can see the swirl of magic around magical items (whether they are in-use or not), places of power, sorcerers, Predecessor ruins, and so on. It has no range limits beyond those imposed by the character's own senses, but it is a double-edged sword--just as strong light can blind physical sight, powerful magic can blind witchsight and leave the sorcerer vulnerable.
[Sorcery] (varies): This is not one single skill, but many. Every sorcery spell is a single skill, and all must be bought and trained separately. What spells are available varies based on the school of sorcery the character chooses. Major Adepts treat the spells as Favored skills, and Minor Adepts treat them as unfavored skills. Non-Adepts cannot learn sorcery, though they may learn hedge magic.
Non-combat skills
Acrobatics: As written.
Athletics: As written.
Command (Cha): Command is the ability to give orders and expect people to obey them. It is primarily used in military or strictly hierarchical situations with positions of authority, though it can also be used to exert control over a mob. It can even cover orders in a bureaucratic situation, but that will often come across as imperious and may lead to difficulties down the line even if the target follows the character's orders.
Crafting: As written.
Deceive (Cha): Deceive is the ability to spin a convincing lie and to keep track of lies already told. It can be used to bluff past guards, scam money from people, convince others of the character's authority, or forge documents. It's usually opposed by Empathy.
Empathy (Wis): Empathy is the ability to determine what other people are feeling, including telling if they're lying or trying to discover any ulterior motives. It's often used to oppose other social skills.
Endurance (Con): Endurance is the skill to keep going under adverse conditions. It is used to resist spells that target the body, diseases and poisons, torture, extreme temperatures, and so on. It is also used to keep going on forced marches, swim for hours, go without sleep, or otherwise continue when others would have given up.
First Aid: See below for how I've modified the healing rules.
Gimmickry: As written.
Intimidate (Str): Intimidate is the skill of achieving goals through threat of force, either direct or indirect, physical or social. It is not typically subtle. It is often opposed by Empathy or Resolve.
Lore: As Written. Specializations here include Culture Lore (for the different countries, plus Kremlings, Kong Imperium, Mycon, Pidgit-folk, etc.), Star Road, Strategy/Tactics, Law, History, Engineering, etc.
Navigation: As written.
Negotiate (Cha): In addition to buying low and selling high, this skill also covers trade deals, making treaties between two rival groups, and acting as an impartial third party. It has some aspects of persuasion, but the skill-set is not entirely the same.
Perception: As written.
Performing Arts: As written.
Persuade (Cha): Persuade is the ability to convince others to do what you want through charm or reason. It involves both appeals to emotion or to logic, depending on the individual making the arguments. It is often opposed by Empathy or by other social skills.
Resolve (Will): This is the character's mental fortitude. It is used to resist spells targeting the mind or emotions, anything that might damage the character's sanity, intimidation, mental deprivation, and so on.
Riding: As written.
Stealth: As written.
Streetwise: As written.
Survival: As written.
Tracking: As written.
Trickery: As written.
Healing
Above 1/3rd of the character's total hit points, everything works exactly the same as the Novus healing rules would indicate.
From 1/3rd of the character's total hit points to 0, they're Wounded. They heal only their Constitution Bonus in hit points. A Constitution Bonus of +0 heals one hit point every two days, -1 heals one hit point every three days, and so on. This level of healing continues until the character is no longer Wounded. Successful use of First Aid on a Wounded character heals an extra number of hits equal to half the ranks they have in their First Aid skill.
Below 0 hit points, they're Heavily Wounded. They heal their Constitution Bonus in hit points per week. A Constitution Bonus of zero heals one hit point every week and a half, a Constitution Bonus of of -1 heals 1 point every two weeks, and so on. This level of healing continues until the character reaches 0 hit points, at which point they become Wounded. Successful use of First Aid on a Heavily Wounded character heals one tenth (rounded up) of the ranks the healer has in their First Aid skill. A character may benefit from First Aid once per day.
I almost always end up tinkering with the skill list in the games I run, with the notable exception of White Wolf games. I can't really claim realism or anything, because a realistic skill list would have tens of thousands of skills (almost 7000 for languages alone!) and give the players hundreds if not thousands of points to spend at character creation, and that's just too much to deal with. It's just aesthetic preference.
Combat Skills
Axes & Hammers: Axes, battle axes, warhammer, etc.
Blunt Weapon: Maces, flails, morningstars, clubs, staves, and so on.
Long Blade: This is the skill for broadswords and all larger swords.
Marksman: This is the skill for bows, crossbows, slings, and other ranged weaponry.
Short Blade: This is the skill for shortswords and all smaller swords.
Spears: Spears, short spears, polearms, and other long-hafted pointy weapons.
Throwing: Any muscle-powered thrown weapon uses this skill.
Unarmed: This should be pretty self-explanatory.
Magical Skills
Hedge Magic (Will): This is the skill for minor magics and petty cantrips. It works the same way the Spellcasting skill normally works, with a single skill rating and multiple spells that use it.
Eldritch Lore (Int): This is similar to the Magecraft skill, but has a slightly different focus. It has no base skill, only specializations, which include the Outer Dark, specific schools of sorcery, the Predecessors, necromancy, etc.
Magical Sense (Wis): Often called "Witchsight," this skill is only available to sorcerers and is more expansive and less limited than the Sense Magic Talent. Magical Sense can see the swirl of magic around magical items (whether they are in-use or not), places of power, sorcerers, Predecessor ruins, and so on. It has no range limits beyond those imposed by the character's own senses, but it is a double-edged sword--just as strong light can blind physical sight, powerful magic can blind witchsight and leave the sorcerer vulnerable.
[Sorcery] (varies): This is not one single skill, but many. Every sorcery spell is a single skill, and all must be bought and trained separately. What spells are available varies based on the school of sorcery the character chooses. Major Adepts treat the spells as Favored skills, and Minor Adepts treat them as unfavored skills. Non-Adepts cannot learn sorcery, though they may learn hedge magic.
Non-combat skills
Acrobatics: As written.
Athletics: As written.
Command (Cha): Command is the ability to give orders and expect people to obey them. It is primarily used in military or strictly hierarchical situations with positions of authority, though it can also be used to exert control over a mob. It can even cover orders in a bureaucratic situation, but that will often come across as imperious and may lead to difficulties down the line even if the target follows the character's orders.
Crafting: As written.
Deceive (Cha): Deceive is the ability to spin a convincing lie and to keep track of lies already told. It can be used to bluff past guards, scam money from people, convince others of the character's authority, or forge documents. It's usually opposed by Empathy.
Empathy (Wis): Empathy is the ability to determine what other people are feeling, including telling if they're lying or trying to discover any ulterior motives. It's often used to oppose other social skills.
Endurance (Con): Endurance is the skill to keep going under adverse conditions. It is used to resist spells that target the body, diseases and poisons, torture, extreme temperatures, and so on. It is also used to keep going on forced marches, swim for hours, go without sleep, or otherwise continue when others would have given up.
First Aid: See below for how I've modified the healing rules.
Gimmickry: As written.
Intimidate (Str): Intimidate is the skill of achieving goals through threat of force, either direct or indirect, physical or social. It is not typically subtle. It is often opposed by Empathy or Resolve.
Lore: As Written. Specializations here include Culture Lore (for the different countries, plus Kremlings, Kong Imperium, Mycon, Pidgit-folk, etc.), Star Road, Strategy/Tactics, Law, History, Engineering, etc.
Navigation: As written.
Negotiate (Cha): In addition to buying low and selling high, this skill also covers trade deals, making treaties between two rival groups, and acting as an impartial third party. It has some aspects of persuasion, but the skill-set is not entirely the same.
Perception: As written.
Performing Arts: As written.
Persuade (Cha): Persuade is the ability to convince others to do what you want through charm or reason. It involves both appeals to emotion or to logic, depending on the individual making the arguments. It is often opposed by Empathy or by other social skills.
Resolve (Will): This is the character's mental fortitude. It is used to resist spells targeting the mind or emotions, anything that might damage the character's sanity, intimidation, mental deprivation, and so on.
Riding: As written.
Stealth: As written.
Streetwise: As written.
Survival: As written.
Tracking: As written.
Trickery: As written.
Healing
Above 1/3rd of the character's total hit points, everything works exactly the same as the Novus healing rules would indicate.
From 1/3rd of the character's total hit points to 0, they're Wounded. They heal only their Constitution Bonus in hit points. A Constitution Bonus of +0 heals one hit point every two days, -1 heals one hit point every three days, and so on. This level of healing continues until the character is no longer Wounded. Successful use of First Aid on a Wounded character heals an extra number of hits equal to half the ranks they have in their First Aid skill.
Below 0 hit points, they're Heavily Wounded. They heal their Constitution Bonus in hit points per week. A Constitution Bonus of zero heals one hit point every week and a half, a Constitution Bonus of of -1 heals 1 point every two weeks, and so on. This level of healing continues until the character reaches 0 hit points, at which point they become Wounded. Successful use of First Aid on a Heavily Wounded character heals one tenth (rounded up) of the ranks the healer has in their First Aid skill. A character may benefit from First Aid once per day.
