Norland: All skills Norland guide, tips

Skills in Norland, are the basic statistics that describe each lord. On this page, we will tell you what each attribute is responsible for, as well as hint at how to influence them.

Last update: 22 July 2024

Each Lord in Norland is described by eight different skills - basic statistics that determine his/her competence in a given field. They cover nearly all activities, from management and diplomacy to skills related to waging war. On this page, we will describe each of the basic statistics, inform you which ones are worth developing, and explain how you can increase them.

• How to adjust skills in the character creator?
• How to develop skills?
• Manners
• Trade
• Persuasion
• Intelligence
• Management
• Teaching
• Combat
• Command

How to adjust skills in the character creator?

When starting the scenario in Norland, your first task will be to define your noble family. Depending on the template you choose, you'll create two or three nobles. In addition to determining their appearance and initial character traits, you will also need to consider their starting statistics.

The game in the default "Two brothers and a wife" scenario will offer some balanced statistics, but nothing is stopping you from changing them using the arrows visible next to the value of a given skill. However, when adjusting them, pay attention to two dependencies:

1. Lowering one stat by 1 point will usually allow you to increase another stat by 1. However, points added and subtracted at higher values are treated as "more valuable," which will affect the pool of available points. For instance: lowering the value from 11 to 10 will allow you to increase another skill from level 2 to 5 points;
2. The distribution of skill points is closely related to the age mechanic. The more points you choose to allocate at the beginning, the older your lord will be at the start of the game. The maximum age limit is 40 years, so if you want to use all available points, pay attention to the character's age visible next to his name.

Each of the available family templates has the same number of available talents as the family members. Talents are the lord's special predispositions in a given skill, thanks to which he/she receives several bonuses:

1. 5 additional experience points when learning a skill for which your character have a talent;
2. An extra, powerful character trait if he or she manages to develop the skill with the talent to level 15.

Talents are marked among skills with a gold star. However, you can freely "uncheck" them by clicking on the star and assigning them to any other skill or even transferring them to a completely different lord in the family. Each noble can have a maximum of 2 talents.

Although talents can be assigned freely, we recommend assigning them to the lord's main and best stat, which he will specialize in in the future. Also remember that a child has a chance to inherit talents from his parents.

How to develop skills?

You can preview the skills of the lords during the game in the window of the respective character, in the middle tab described as "Skills." If you take a closer look at each of them, you will certainly notice a gray bar, symbolizing the number of experience points (EXP) accumulated by the character in a given statistic. Filling the bar will provide you with a promotion to the next skill level over time, and each successive one will require collecting a correspondingly higher amount of EXP. There are two main ways you can develop your stats.

The simplest and almost automatic way is to simply engage the lord in activities related to a given statistic. For example, if your lord frequently engages in trade relations, either with the Holy Caravan or with neighboring kingdoms, his trade skill will develop over time. However, if he spends a lot of time in the library reading books and gaining knowledge, this will have a positive impact on his Intelligence. Thus, it's worthwhile to skillfully manage the activity of the lords in such a way that by frequently performing similar activities they develop their best qualities.

A much more dynamic activity leading to skill development is direct learning of skills from other characters. To do this, in the character window, click the plus button labeled "Action" and then select "Educate." Choose one of 4 items, each related to two skills. You can also choose general teaching, which will prioritize the talent stat and then randomly focus on the rest of the stats. Finally, choose a teacher who will impart knowledge to the student.

The effectiveness of this method is influenced by two factors:

1. The teacher will be able to develop a given student's skill to the level he represents. So, if the teacher has, for instance, an Intelligence of 11 and the student has an Intelligence of 6, the teacher will be able to develop the student's skill by another 5 levels.
2. The effectiveness of the teacher's skill in imparting knowledge will determine how quickly they can convey the information to the student. In a nutshell: The higher the value of the Teaching skill, the more EXP the student will receive with each lesson.

Also remember that not only your lords can share knowledge with each other. You can also appoint other nobles present at the court as teachers, such as:

1. Hired, freelance lords;
2. Bishop;
3. Guests from other kingdoms.

Use this option to make the most of your guests' strengths, and strategically invite representatives of other houses with high stats..

Finally, it's worth mentioning that small children and adolescents up to 21 years of age absorb knowledge much better than adults. Little lords receive twice as many experience points during lessons. Take advantage of the receptiveness of their minds and devote a lot of time to educating the youngest family members, so that when they enter adulthood, they can boast high stats.

Manners

The first main skill is Manners. This skill primarily influences how a given lord is perceived by other characters, which is directly related to the level of interest.

Interest is an indicator reflecting the relationship between two nobles. A high rate of interest (above 50) will make it very likely that the characters will go on a date or fall in love with each other. If you want to check the interest between two characters, go to the tab marked with a heart (second from the right) in the character window, and then click on the lord you are interested in.

Manners also influence the quality and effectiveness of deep conversations, which are one of the basic diplomatic tools. You can initiate it with people in your town by clicking "Action" in the character window and then selecting "Spend time" in the "Social" tab. To start such an activity with members of other houses, you must go to the world map ("Improving Relationships" tab).

Therefore, a high Manners rate should be present in characters who are often involved in foreign policy or court intrigues.

Trade

The Trade level directly affects the prices of goods bought and sold. This applies to both transactions with the Holy Caravan and agreements between kingdoms. The prices of some services also change, an example of which is the cost of renting a freelance lord.

Therefore, if you plan to base your game on economic domination, this factor should be your priority.

Persuasion

An extremely important statistic, especially for the king. It affects the power of persuasion and determines the chance of influencing the actions of other characters. This factor is particularly important in international relations, organizing intrigues, and committing dark deeds (it affects the cost of hiring cutthroats). A high Persuasion rating also allows you to deliver compelling sermons to the people of your kingdom, enabling you to influence their mood.

Persuasion should be the dominant feature of the ruler of your kingdom. When passing the crown on, make sure that the new king also has this skill highly developed.

Intelligence

The Intelligence indicator determines the sharpness of your lord's mind. It affects, among others:

1. The speed of acquiring new knowledge in the library;
2. Speed of copying books;
3. Increased resistance to seduction;
4. A chance to win at dice game.

High Intelligence also increases the chance of insight, i.e. the spontaneous appearance of new knowledge in the lord's head.

Management

This skill determines the amount of the production bonus when giving orders in workplaces. It's important to ensure that the production facilities are managed by lords with strong management skills when organizing the production chain.

Teaching

It affects the amount of experience a student will gain while teaching. It's important to keep track of this statistic, especially for guests staying at your court. As we mentioned earlier, guests can also act as teachers, and if you happen to have a talented guest with a high Teaching level, it's worth using his knowledge.

Combat

Combat skills come into play when two armies clash. The discrepancy in the combat stats of both leaders will determine how frequently warriors from both sides will land blows.

Command

Affects the morale of the army and the effectiveness of combat training conducted in the kingdom. If the scenario you are playing involves governing a country in a dangerous area of the map, or if you simply dream of leading a great military campaign, this skill should be high on your list of priorities.