Skills:
Skills are learned from repeated success in an action.
Skills provide percentile "+X%" bonuses to rolls when performing actions.
(See "The Numbers" chart in Link, TBD for an idea of what it takes to improve a skill.)
Usurper, Learnable Skills:
Each skill begins at "0" until acquired. Even for Units that begin with similar bonuses. Once a skill is acquired it then becomes Skill Level: 1. The bonus listed is multiplied by the Level for the total bonus. Thus, a Unit of Dwarves with "Smith[3]" (Smith Skill to level 3) would have a +9% bonus to that activity.
Maximum Skill Level is 10.
Note that level of Skill and Level of the Unit itself are different.
Annotations:
Negotiator is an interesting skill. Although Units cannot buy/sell goods - their presence, if they have this skill, can improve your Diplomacy rolls so long as they are "In Attendance" with the Leader/Cohort making the deal.
& - This skill is detailed below.
&& - Another skill must be acquired before this one can be learned.
*** - Your leaders/cohorts can teach this skill to your Units once they have learned Leadership.
† - This skill can only be trained up to 5 levels.
Tactics[#] does two things for a player:
1) Sometimes Units (and leaders) get into trouble. Normally; if you run afoul of a hostile encounter, you're forced to fight a completely unwinnable battle; nearly always resulting in losses within a Unit or the loss of an entire Unit. Tactics gives you a free 'roll' to retreat. It's a morale check, Formula:
1d100 + Tactics([A]*3) + Originating Throne Room Morale Bonus +/- (Speed Diff * 3) - (# of Enemy Units * 4).
If anything less than 100 is rolled, you're stuck in the fight.
Each level of tactics beyond [1], allows another chance after each round of fighting to retreat.
Successful use of this skill prevents any further losses.
2) Tactics provides a 'surprise' bonus when attacking/raiding/harassing a location/group. At the beginning of the Combat a Morale + Tactics check is rolled:
1d100 + Tactics([A]*3) + Originating Throne Room Morale Bonus + any other Morale Bonuses (Orcs, Leaders) +/- (Speed Diff * 3). This roll is an opposed check against the enemy who receives:
1d100 + (Tactics[B]*3) + Morale Bonuses.
If your score is higher: you get a +10% to the fight round of attacks (including the ranged round) on Offense rolls (rolls to hit.) An additional +10% is added for every 50 by which you beat them.
Outmaneuver allows slower armies to compensate for fighting faster ones. It also allows faster armies to stay faster in the face of slower armies.
If your unit is slower - and has the Outmaneuver skill - you can see from the chart-above, how much of the Outmaneuver skill you require in order for you to strike with your enemy simultaneously. Outmaneuver can never make you 'faster' than the enemy, only bring you to an equal level.
If you have faster units and also have the outmaneuver skill; then your skill level subtracts from theirs. If this leaves the enemy with a '0' value or less - they do not get to apply the outmaneuver skill against you.
Example:
You have two Units, 1 x Elves, 1 x Dwarves.
Your Elves have no special skills (Speed Fast)
Your Dwarves have outmaneuver[3]. (Speed Slow)
You are fighting against a group of advanced Centaurs (Speed Very Fast).
In this example: Your Dwarves and the Centaurs would strike simultaneously (independent of target.) Then your Elves would strike after casualties were recorded.
Note: Two Units at the same speed do not necessarily target each other automatically. Enemies tend to target the 'weakest' (lowest level) Units first. Exceptions are Ogres, Giants and Dragons which go after the strongest first.