Skill Mechanics

Skill: Everything a person can do in the Land beyond basic body functions is governed by one or more Skills. Higher levels and ranks in a Skill grant bonuses to performing the related activity. Some Skills can only be used by people with specific qualifications (Race, Class, Profession, Trait, etc).
Subskill: A more specialized application of a parent Skill. Functions exactly the same as a Skill except that its level cannot exceed the level of the parent Skill.
Level: What level the skill is. There is no theoretical limit to the level of any Skill, but practical limits exist for most people. Displayed as a 1.2 digit number where the first digit (before the decimal) is the Skill's level and the second and third digits (after the decimal) are the percent progress to the next level.
Rank: Each rank after Unskilled grants a permanent passive bonus to the character. This can change how the skill is used, increase damage, reduce costs, or even provide bonus stats or effects to the character. Rank is based on the level of the Skill and are as follows: 1-4: Unskilled, 5-10: Novice, 11-24 Initiate, 24-49 Apprentice, 50-74 Journeyman, 75-99 Adept, 100-149 Master, 150+ Grandmaster
Affinity: The ability of a person to learn a particular Skill. Higher Affinity means less effort is needed to level the Skill. Low Affinity might cap a Skill at a low rank or completely prevent it from being learned. Affinity usually decreases gradually as skill levels are earned.
Associated Attribute: Each Skill has one or more associated Stats which can provide bonuses to the effectiveness of the Skill. If more than one Stat is listed, usually they are averaged together to determine the resultant bonus.
Description: Describes what the Skill actually does.

Example:

Magical Theory (Level: 5.00. Rank: Novice. Affinity: 100%): Associated Attribute: Logic. Magical Theory is the study of magic and how to manipulate it. Magical theory is used to create, modify, and learn spells and rituals. Masters of magical theory may even learn the secrets of manipulating arcane magics. Due to your Novice rank in Magical Theory, when you attempt to learn a spell, the chance of success is increased by 5%.