List of skills

This is a list of all the skills a character may learn during their adventure in Crawl. Depending on species and background, some of these skills will be known at the outset, but many more must be learned through trial and hardship.

Physical Skills

These skills are found in the left-hand column of the in-game Skills screen (accessible by pressing the m key). They revolve around melee and ranged combat.

• Fighting increases your max HP and the damage you deal in melee.
• Short Blades encompasses the use of small blades such as stabbing daggers.
• Long Blades improves your deadliness with katanas, scimitars and other such weapons.
• Axes improves your skills in melee with all axes.
• Maces & Flails trains you in the use of bludgeoning and crushing weapons, such as hammers.
• Polearms allows you to use hafted weapons with terrible blades, such as a scythe.
• Staves encompasses the use of quarterstaves, the exotic lajatang, and magical staves.
• Unarmed Combat increases the power and speed of your unarmed attacks. Auxiliary attacks are not improved.
• Bows lets you fire powerful arrows at range with all types of bows.
• Crossbows trains you in firing accurate bolts using crossbows.
• Slings develops your ability at playing David versus Goliath, firing stones from a sling.
• Throwing governs your aptitude at firing missiles and thrown weapons without a launcher.
• Armour increases the protection you receive from wearing armour.
• Dodging makes you harder to hit both in melee and at range.
• Shields lets you deflect melee and ranged attacks when wearing a shield.
• Stabbing allows you to deal devastating sneak attacks on unsuspecting monsters.
• Stealth lets you avoid detection when around monsters so you can take them by surprise. Or escape.
• Traps bestows on a character the ability to detect dangerous traps encountered throughout the Dungeon.

Magical Skills

These skills are found in the right-hand column of the Skills screen. They pertain to magic spells, magical devices, and divine aid.

• Spellcasting is a general magical skill, similar to Fighting, that makes you a better all-around wizard.
• Fire Magic enhances all manner of fiery spells.
• Ice Magic's domain concerns spells of ice, frost, and englaciation.
• Air Magic controls air, wind, and electricity spells.
• Earth Magic confers mastery of earth, stone, and iron spells.
• Poison Magic increases your affinity for dangerous, venomous magic.
• Conjurations encompasses all damage-dealing spells.
• Summonings brings mastery over creatures (both lesser and greater) that can be summoned and bound to the caster's will.
• Necromancy governs death magic, able to bring unlife to the dead.
• Charms deals with spells which temporarily boost your power.
• Hexes determines your mastery over spells that weaken your enemy.
• Transmutations lets the caster affect varied transformations on himself, others, or even certain objects.
• Translocations manipulates the very fabric of space to the spellcaster's advantage.
• Invocations improves your ability to plead for divine assistance.
• Evocations makes you better at using magical devices found in the Dungeon, such as rods, wands or decks.