Unspent experience points represent the ability of an adventurer to rapidly learn or improve their own skills. Some skills are harder than others to learn, and sometimes an instructor, manual, or opportunity is required to learn a skill.

There are several possible ways to learn a skill:

• Immersion – You are surrounded by the skill. Savoir-Faire (High Society) at high Status or Area Knowledge for your local region, for example.
• Natural Talent – You have 12+ in the controlling attribute or an advantage that gives a bonus to the skill, such as flexibility for Climbing.
• Transferable Skills – You already know another skill that gives a default to the one you wish to learn. This default must be higher than your current skill level or attribute based default.
• Performance Under Pressure – You have succeeded a roll against the skill during the last session.
• Instruction – You have access to a teacher with the skill known and Teaching 12+.
• Written Materials – You have access to written textbooks, manuals, etc. created by someone with the skill and Writing 12+.
• Dedicated Study – Intense and time consuming study and experimentation. Requires 200 hours of effective learning (also gives a point in the skill).

Harder skills require multiple avenues of learning a skill:

• Easy – 1 method.
• Average – 2 methods.
• Hard – 3 methods.
• Very Hard – 4 methods.

Once you have one point in a skill you need two fewer methods to continue improving it. Instructors and authors must have more points in the skill than you do.

Languages are learned in a similar manner. Learning a language at Broken counts as an Average skill, Accented as Hard, and Native as Very Hard.