It turns out that you have the ability to speak the dragon language, and specifically dragon "Shouts" which are powers unique to your character that can be unlocked by capturing the souls of slain dragons.Īfter you find words of power, unlock these Shouts by slaying dragons and capturing their souls. The basic premise of the game is pretty straightforward. The outcome is a character who becomes a knight or a mage or a thief rather than one who starts out that way, turning the old D&D model on its head. Unlike the traditional narrow path most RPGs take, this forces players to choose whether they want a well-rounded character that improves across the board quite slowly, or a focused character who improves quickly. If I haven't used that skill in combat, I may not have leveled that skill up high enough to unlock new powers. Just because I level up from level 10 to level 11 doesn't mean I can unlock a new power in destruction magic.
As these skills improve, new powers are unlocked.Īs your character levels up you can upgrade her health, stamina, and magicka (one per level) and choose to unlock new powers based on the level of skill level each trait is at.
If I spend my time forging new weapons or armor - a truly gratifying experience, by the way - my smithing ability slowly improves. So if my character wields a one-handed weapon, his one-handed weapon skill gradually improves. In Skyrim you improve the traits you use the most.