One Handed guide

Bannerlord v1.5.7 · checked 2026-11-12 · updated 2026-11-12

This guide explains what the One Handed skill and every One Handed perk really do: how hard and how fast you hit with swords, axes and maces, what the shield perks protect, and the captain, party and governor bonuses in the second halves of the perks. It is for game version v1.5.7; where a tooltip says one thing and the game does another, you get the game's version. The battle rules (damage, armor, speed, health, morale) live in the SandBox module. NavalDLC extends the agent damage, agent stats, battle morale, hit experience, troop training, wage and recruitment cost, militia, security, armor and strike magnitude and tournament models, and extends and replaces parts of the party size limit models. It redoes the armor calculation that Chink in the Armor feeds (the perk still counts once, with the same value), and many halves carry an environment line in the tooltip ("Land only" or "Reduced effect at sea"); see Land and sea. StoryMode extends the hit experience, party size limit and wage and recruitment cost models in the story campaign.

For exact formulas, edge cases and links to the game code, see the deep dives: Combat damage (damage bonuses and reductions, armor penetration, shield hits), Combat agent stats (effective skill, movement speed, weapon weight, health, swing speed, handling, weapon damage, shield area), Battles (starting morale, battle experience, tournament renown), Party and map (wages, recruitment cost, party and garrison size, daily troop experience), Settlements (security, militia) and Characters and politics (hit points).

Each perk has two halves. The primary half usually helps you personally; the secondary half helps others when you hold a role: captain (troops in the formation you lead in battle, not counting yourself), party leader (your whole party) or governor (the settlement you govern; you must be in it). The verdict after each half says how the code compares with the tooltip:

works: does what the tooltip says, or more; broader effects are noted.
differs: narrower, different or extra conditions or values compared with the tooltip.
unused: never read by the game.
ui_only: only shown in the interface.

No One Handed perk is unused or ui_only.

What unlocks what

You pick one perk of each pair. Tier 11 has a single perk.

One Handed	Perk A	Perk B
25	Basher: +50% shield bash damage and stun	Wrapped Handles: +20% handling with one-handed weapons
50	Swift Strike: +2% swing speed with one-handed weapons	To Be Blunt: +5% damage with one-handed axes and maces
75	Cavalry: +5% one-handed damage while mounted	Shield Bearer: carrying a shield no longer slows you
100	Duelist: +20% one-handed damage with an empty off hand	Trainer: +2 hit points
125	Arrow Catcher: larger shield area against missiles	Shieldwall: −20% damage to your shield on a wrong-side block
150	Corps-a-corps: +10% battle experience for infantry	Military Tradition: +2 daily experience for infantry
175	Lead by example: +5% battle experience for all troops	Stand United: +8 starting morale when outnumbered
200	Fleet of Foot: +4% combat movement speed	Steel Core Shields: −10% damage to your shield
225	Deadly Purpose: +5% one-handed damage	Unwavering Defense: +5 hit points
250	Chink in the Armor: ignore 10% of the armor you hit with one-handed weapons	Prestige: +50% one-handed damage against shields
275	Way of the Sword: +0.2% attack speed and +0.5% damage per One Handed point above 250	—

The second half of each perk is described in its section below.

Land and sea

The tooltip of a half can carry an environment line. The game follows it, so it is not counted as a difference from the tooltip.

Tooltip line	Halves
Land only: switched off at sea	Basher, Wrapped Handles, Shield Bearer, Arrow Catcher, Shieldwall, Fleet of Foot, Steel Core Shields and Deadly Purpose (all captain halves); Cavalry (both halves); Military Tradition (party half); Unwavering Defense (party half)
Reduced effect at sea: halved at sea	The personal half of Basher, Wrapped Handles, Swift Strike, To Be Blunt, Shield Bearer, Duelist, Arrow Catcher, Shieldwall, Fleet of Foot, Steel Core Shields, Deadly Purpose, Chink in the Armor and Prestige; both halves of Way of the Sword; Trainer, Corps-a-corps and Stand United (party halves); Lead by example (both halves)
No line: the same at sea	Governor halves, Duelist (tournament half), Trainer and Unwavering Defense (hit points), Chink in the Armor (recruitment half), Prestige (party size half)

One Handed 25: Basher or Wrapped Handles

Basher

Primary (works): +50% damage with shield bashes, and your shield bashes stun 50% longer. Both need a shield in your off hand.
Secondary, captain (differs): −4% damage taken by troops in your formation while it stands in shield wall formation. The tooltip says all damage, but the game reduces only melee hits; arrows, bolts and thrown weapons are not reduced. On the other side it is broader than the tooltip: there is no infantry or on-foot check, so every troop in the shield wall gets it.

Wrapped Handles

Primary (works): +20% handling while you wield a one-handed melee weapon.
Secondary, captain (works): +30 One Handed skill to troops in your formation. The game gives it to every troop on foot, not only infantry, so dismounted archers and skirmishers get it too; mounted troops do not. The added skill feeds the One Handed damage and speed bonuses described in Skill effects.

Worked example. An infantry troop with One Handed 100 under a captain with Wrapped Handles fights at One Handed 130:

An infantry troop on foot with One Handed 100 in a formation whose captain (another character) has Wrapped Handles. Inputs: skill value 100.

Step	Source	Stage	Change	Running value
Base	Character skill value	base		100.0000
1	Wrapped Handles	add	+30.0000	130.0000
Result	Agent effective skill in battle			130.0000

With these inputs, agent effective skill in battle is 130.0000.

One Handed 50: Swift Strike or To Be Blunt

Swift Strike

Primary (works): +2% swing speed with one-handed melee weapons. It is added to the other swing speed perks (such as Way of the Sword) and the total multiplies the speed you already have from your skill.
Secondary, governor (works): +1 militia per day in the settlement you govern.

To Be Blunt

Primary (works): +5% damage with one-handed axes and maces in melee.
Secondary, governor (works): +0.5 security per day in the settlement you govern.

One Handed 75: Cavalry or Shield Bearer

Cavalry

Primary (works): +5% damage with one-handed weapons in melee while you are mounted.
Secondary, captain (works): +5% to the melee damage dealt by mounted troops in your formation, with any melee weapon.

Shield Bearer

Primary (works): without the perk, a shield in your off hand counts 1.5 times its weight toward the weapon weight that slows you down in battle. With the perk the shield counts nothing toward it, so a shield no longer slows you. See Weapons encumbrance.
Secondary, captain (differs): +3% movement speed to troops in your formation, but only troops without a shield in their off hand get it, which the tooltip does not say. There is no infantry or on-foot check, so shieldless cavalry and archers get it too.

One Handed 100: Duelist or Trainer

Duelist

Primary (works): +20% damage with one-handed melee weapons while your off hand is empty. Anything in the off hand blocks it, not only a shield.
Secondary (works): doubles the renown you get for winning a tournament. The base renown is 3; Duelist doubles it, and a Charm perk that adds renown (Self Promoter) is added after the doubling.

Worked example. Winning a tournament with Duelist gives 6 renown instead of 3:

The player wins a tournament holding Duelist.

Step	Source	Stage	Change	Running value
Base	Renown for winning a tournament	base		3.0000
1	Duelist	multiply ×2	+3.0000	6.0000
Result	Renown for winning a tournament			6.0000

With these inputs, renown for winning a tournament is 6.0000.

Trainer

Primary (works): +2 maximum hit points. When you take the perk, your current hit points also go up by 2 straight away.
Secondary, party leader (works): +5% battle experience for troops in your party that are not ranged troops. The bonus goes on the experience of every hit the troop lands, which is how battle experience is earned, and it is halved while your party is at sea ("Reduced effect at sea" in the tooltip).

One Handed 125: Arrow Catcher or Shieldwall

The game gives every shield an area that blocks incoming missiles. Both halves of Arrow Catcher and the captain half of Shieldwall enlarge it by a fixed amount, 0.01 each, on a starting size of 0.3. These three need a shield in the off hand, and they add together.

Arrow Catcher

Primary (works): your shield blocks missiles over a larger area (+0.01).
Secondary, captain (works): the same +0.01 for troops in your formation that carry a shield.

Shieldwall

Primary (works): −20% damage to your shield when you block on the wrong side.
Secondary, captain (works): +0.01 shield area against missiles for troops in your formation that carry a shield, while the formation is in shield wall formation. It adds to your own Arrow Catcher if your captain has Shieldwall and you have Arrow Catcher.

One Handed 150: Corps-a-corps or Military Tradition

Corps-a-corps

Primary, party leader (works): +10% battle experience for infantry in your party. As with Trainer, the bonus goes on the experience of every hit the troop lands, and it is halved while your party is at sea ("Reduced effect at sea" in the tooltip).
Secondary, governor (works): +30 garrison limit in the town or castle you govern.

Military Tradition

Primary, party leader (works): +2 experience per day to every infantry troop in your party. Land only, as the tooltip shows.
Secondary, governor (works): −5% wages of the garrison in the town or castle you govern.

One Handed 175: Lead by example or Stand United

Lead by example

Primary, party leader (works): +5% battle experience for all troops in your party, on every hit they land, halved while your party is at sea ("Reduced effect at sea" in the tooltip).
Secondary, party leader (works): +5 starting battle morale for the troops in your party, halved at sea ("Reduced effect at sea" in the tooltip). Your own fighter (the party leader) does not get it.

Stand United

Primary, party leader (works): +8 starting battle morale for the troops in your party when your side of the battle is weaker than the other side. Your own fighter does not get it. It is halved at sea ("Reduced effect at sea" in the tooltip).
Secondary, governor (works): +30% to the security the garrison provides in the settlement you govern. Only the garrison's share of security grows, not the whole daily security change, and the garrison needs healthy troops. See Daily security change.

One Handed 200: Fleet of Foot or Steel Core Shields

Fleet of Foot

Primary (works): +4% to your movement speed limit while in combat. It always applies, whatever you carry.
Secondary, captain (differs): +4% movement speed to troops in your formation, but only troops without a shield in their off hand get it. It raises their normal movement speed, not the in-combat limit the primary half raises, and there is no infantry or on-foot check.

Steel Core Shields

Primary (works): −10% damage to your shield from blows that hit it, whether you block with it or it is hit on your back.
Secondary, captain (works): the same −10% for troops in your formation. The game gives it to every troop on foot, not only infantry.

One Handed 225: Deadly Purpose or Unwavering Defense

Deadly Purpose

Primary (works): +5% damage with one-handed melee weapons.
Secondary, captain (works): +10% to the melee damage dealt by troops on foot in your formation, with any melee weapon (any troop on foot, not only infantry).

Unwavering Defense

Primary (works): +5 maximum hit points; your current hit points go up by 5 when you take it.
Secondary, party leader (works): +10 hit points in battle to the infantry of your party. Limits the tooltip does not state: heroes (companions, family, other lords) never get it, only regular troops; and the troop must be on foot. The perk is land only, as its tooltip shows. See Max health.

One Handed 250: Chink in the Armor or Prestige

Chink in the Armor

Primary (differs): your hits ignore 10% of the armor on the body part you hit. The tooltip says melee attacks, but the game applies it only with one-handed weapons: two-handed weapons and polearms get nothing. It adds to other armor-ignoring perks; see Adjusted armor.

Armor that counts = armor on the hit body part × (1 − all your armor-ignoring bonuses)

Armor on the hit body part: the defender's armor where your blow lands.
All your armor-ignoring bonuses: 10% from Chink in the Armor, plus any other such perks you have. The result is never below zero.
Secondary, party leader (works): −20% recruitment cost of infantry. A troop never costs less than 1.

Prestige

Primary (works): +50% damage with one-handed melee weapons against shields, when the blow is blocked by a shield or hits a shield carried on the back.
Secondary, party leader (works): +15 party size limit.

One Handed 275: Way of the Sword

Primary (works): +0.2% swing speed and +0.2% thrust speed with one-handed melee weapons for every point of One Handed above 250. The game counts your own skill points here; a captain's Wrapped Handles bonus does not raise it.
Secondary (works): +0.5% damage with one-handed melee weapons for every point of One Handed above 250, counted the same way.

Worked example. A hero at One Handed 300 (50 points above 250) with Way of the Sword, who took To Be Blunt instead of Swift Strike. The game multiplies the starting swing speed of 0.93 first by the skill's +21%, then by Way of the Sword's +10%:

A hero on foot at One Handed 300 swinging a sword, with Way of the Sword (and To Be Blunt rather than Swift Strike).

Step	Source	Stage	Change	Running value
Base	Melee swing speed multiplier	base		0.9300
1	One handed weapon speed	factor +21%	+0.1953	1.1253
2	Way of the Sword	factor +10%	+0.1125	1.2378
Result	Melee swing speed multiplier			1.2378

With these inputs, melee swing speed multiplier is 1.2378.

Swift Strike, if taken, would be added to Way of the Sword's +10% before multiplying, not multiplied on its own.

Skill effects

Your One Handed skill itself also does two things, whether or not you have perks. One Handed here is your effective skill in battle, so a captain's Wrapped Handles bonus counts.

One handed weapon damage (works): +0.15% damage per point of One Handed with one-handed weapons. See Weapon damage multiplier.
One handed weapon speed (works): +0.07% swing speed and +0.07% thrust speed per point of One Handed with one-handed weapons. The perk speed bonuses then multiply the result. See Swing speed and thrust/ranged ready speed.

What the skill level itself does

The game also reads your One Handed level directly, without any perk. Effects that depend on any skill level are listed once in the skills guide.

What it affects	What the level does	Level needed	Conditions	Verdict
Agent AI combat level	A soldier's melee combat AI level is their melee skill ÷ 300 × the difficulty setting, kept between 0 and 1. The skill is the primary weapon's (One Handed, Two Handed or Polearm; other weapons count as One Handed; Athletics with no weapon). The game engine uses the level.	—	—	works
Agent AI combat level	A soldier's ranged combat AI level is the skill of their primary weapon (One Handed, Two Handed, Polearm, Bow, Crossbow or Throwing; Athletics with no weapon) ÷ 300 × the difficulty setting, kept between 0 and 1. The game engine uses the level.	—	—	works
Wielded weapon inaccuracy	A wide-grip melee weapon's inaccuracy is 1 − 0.01 × skill (at least 0). A sling's is 1 − 0.007 × skill, at least 0.2.	Only wide-grip melee weapons and slings; no minimum skill	Item: melee weapon	works
Ranged max movement accuracy penalty	A ranged weapon's movement accuracy penalty is 0.125 × (1 − weapon skill ÷ 500), at least 0. Mounted it is 0.025 × (1 − weapon skill ÷ 500) × (1 − Riding ÷ 1800).	—	Item: ranged weapon	works
Ranged max unsteady accuracy penalty	A ranged weapon's unsteady accuracy penalty is 0.1 × (1 − weapon skill ÷ 500), at least 0. Mounted it is 0.12 × (1 − weapon skill ÷ 500) × (1 − Riding ÷ 1800).	—	Item: ranged weapon	works
Ranged aim unsteady begin time	Per skill point the aim holds steady longer: 0.01 for throwing weapons, 0.01 × a factor between 2 and 4 for bows, 0.064 for slings, 0.005 for wide-grip melee weapons.	—	—	works
AI clan hero score for leading a new lord party	AI clans pick who leads a new lord party by the score 3 × Tactics + 2 × Leadership + Scouting + Steward + One Handed + Two Handed + Polearm + Riding (raw levels of the candidate).	—	—	works
Hero can equip item	A hero can equip an item only if their level in the item's skill (a weapon skill, or Riding for horses) meets the item's difficulty. Captain and party bonuses do not count.	Skill at least the item's difficulty	—	works
Hero counts as a combatant	A hero counts as a combatant if any of the six weapon skills is 100 or more. A non-combatant clan companion cannot enter tournaments; AI clans use it to pick party leaders and rate clan strength.	Any weapon skill at 100 or more	—	works
Player may take an issue's quest	You cannot take an issue's quest while all six weapon skills are low (other conditions also apply).	At least one weapon skill at 50 or more	Hero: main hero	works
NPC hero may enter a fight tournament	An NPC hero (including your clan's companions, not you) can enter a fight tournament only with enough melee skill.	The better of One Handed and Two Handed at 100 or more	—	works
Score of a participant in a simulated tournament	In tournaments you do not attend, an AI participant's score adds 0.01 × the best of One Handed, Two Handed and Polearm, scaled by the hero's own factor.	—	—	works
Daily chance a town starts a tournament	Each day, every hero without a party in a town adds 0.1 to the chance the town starts a tournament if their best of One Handed and Two Handed is above 100.	The better of One Handed and Two Handed above 100	Settlement: town	works
Simulated tournament defense power	A shield user's simulated defense power is multiplied by 0.3 + 0.7 × One Handed ÷ 300.	—	Item: shield; mission: tournament	works
Simulated tournament attack power	Each non-shield weapon's part of a simulated attack power is multiplied by 0.3 + 0.7 × the weapon's skill ÷ 300.	—	Mission: tournament	works

Who the perks work for

Who counts as you, a relative or a wanderer, and why some halves skip one of them, is explained in the Skills guide.

Every other One Handed perk half and skill effect works for every hero: you, relatives and wanderers.

Perk	Half	Works for	Where the hero has to be
Swift Strike	secondary	relatives and wanderers, not you	governor
To Be Blunt	secondary	relatives and wanderers, not you	governor
Corps-a-corps	secondary	relatives and wanderers, not you	governor
Military Tradition	secondary	relatives and wanderers, not you	governor
Stand United	secondary	relatives and wanderers, not you	governor

All effects at a glance

Every effect site of the One Handed perks, skill effects and skill level. Values are what each site applies; a value that grows with skill is shown at the perk's required skill (skill effects and skill levels: per skill point). ×N marks N identical sites.

Perk	Half	Game number	Stage	Value	Conditions	Verdict
Basher	primary	Blow damage after attacker amplifications	factor	+50%	Item: shield; role: personal	works
Basher	primary	Shield bash stun duration multiplier	factor	+50%	Item: offhand shield; role: personal	works
Basher	secondary	Blow damage after victim reductions	factor	-4%	Formation: shield wall; item: melee weapon; role: captain	differs
Wrapped Handles	primary	Melee weapon handling multiplier	factor	+20%	Item: one handed weapon; role: personal	works
Wrapped Handles	secondary	Agent effective skill in battle	add	+30	Role: captain; troops: on foot	works
Swift Strike	primary	Melee swing speed multiplier	factor	+2%	Item: one handed weapon; role: personal	works
Swift Strike	secondary	Daily militia change of a settlement	add	+1	Role: governor	works
To Be Blunt	primary	Blow damage after attacker amplifications	factor	+5%	Item: one handed axe or mace; role: personal	works
To Be Blunt	secondary	Daily security change of a town or castle	add	+0.5	Role: governor	works
Cavalry	primary	Blow damage after attacker amplifications	factor	+5%	Item: one handed weapon; role: personal; troops: mounted	works
Cavalry	secondary	Blow damage after attacker amplifications	factor	+5%	Item: melee weapon; role: captain; troops: mounted	works
Shield Bearer	primary	Agent weapons encumbrance	add	-1.5 × shield weight	Item: offhand shield; role: personal	works
Shield Bearer	secondary	Agent max movement speed multiplier	factor	+3%	Item: no offhand shield; role: captain	differs
Duelist	primary	Blow damage after attacker amplifications	factor	+20%	Item: offhand empty, one handed weapon; role: personal	works
Duelist	secondary	Renown for winning a tournament	multiply	×2	Mission: tournament; role: personal	works
Trainer	primary	Current hit points on perk unlock	add	+2	Role: personal	works
Trainer	primary	Maximum hit points	add	+2	Role: personal	works
Trainer	secondary	Combat XP from one hit	factor	+5%	Role: party leader; troops: melee	works
Arrow Catcher	primary	Shield missile collision body size adder	add	+0.01	Item: offhand shield; role: personal	works
Arrow Catcher	secondary	Shield missile collision body size adder	add	+0.01	Item: offhand shield; role: captain	works
Shieldwall	primary	Blow damage after victim reductions	factor	-20%	Attack: wrong side shield block; role: personal	works
Shieldwall	secondary	Shield missile collision body size adder	add	+0.01	Formation: shield wall; item: offhand shield; role: captain	works
Corps-a-corps	primary	Combat XP from one hit	factor	+10%	Role: party leader; troops: infantry	works
Corps-a-corps	secondary	Garrison size limit	add	+30	Role: governor; settlement: fortification	works
Military Tradition	primary	Daily troop experience	add	+2	Role: party leader; troops: infantry	works
Military Tradition	secondary	Party daily wage	factor	-5%	Party: garrison; role: governor; settlement: fortification	works
Lead by example	primary	Combat XP from one hit	factor	+5%	Role: party leader	works
Lead by example	secondary	Agent initial battle morale	add	+5	Role: party leader	works
Stand United	primary	Agent initial battle morale	add	+8	Party: outnumbered; role: party leader	works
Stand United	secondary	Daily security change of a town or castle	factor	+30%	Party: garrison; role: governor	works
Fleet of Foot	primary	Agent combat max speed multiplier	factor	+4%	Role: personal	works
Fleet of Foot	secondary	Agent max movement speed multiplier	factor	+4%	Item: no offhand shield; role: captain	differs
Steel Core Shields	primary	Blow damage after victim reductions	factor	-10%	Attack: shield hit; role: personal	works
Steel Core Shields	secondary	Blow damage after victim reductions	factor	-10%	Attack: shield hit; role: captain; troops: on foot	works
Deadly Purpose	primary	Blow damage after attacker amplifications	factor	+5%	Item: one handed weapon; role: personal	works
Deadly Purpose	secondary	Blow damage after attacker amplifications	factor	+10%	Item: melee weapon; role: captain; troops: on foot	works
Unwavering Defense	primary	Current hit points on perk unlock	add	+5	Role: personal	works
Unwavering Defense	primary	Maximum hit points	add	+5	Role: personal	works
Unwavering Defense	secondary	Agent max health at spawn	add	+10	Hero: not hero; role: party leader; troops: infantry, on foot	works
Chink in the Armor ×2	primary	Victim armor after attacker penetration effects	factor	+10%	Item: one handed weapon; role: personal	differs
Chink in the Armor	secondary	Troop recruitment cost	factor	-20%	Role: party leader; troops: infantry	works
Prestige	primary	Blow damage after attacker amplifications	factor	+50%	Attack: shield hit; item: one handed weapon; role: personal	works
Prestige	secondary	Party member size limit	add	+15	Role: party leader	works
Way of the Sword	primary	Melee swing speed multiplier	factor	+5% at skill 275, +0.2% per point	Item: one handed weapon; role: personal	works
Way of the Sword	primary	Thrust or ranged ready speed multiplier	factor	+5% at skill 275, +0.2% per point	Item: one handed weapon; role: personal	works
Way of the Sword	secondary	Blow damage after attacker amplifications	factor	+12.5% at skill 275, +0.5% per point	Item: one handed weapon; role: personal	works
One handed weapon damage	—	Agent weapon damage multiplier	factor	+0.15% per point	Item: one handed weapon; role: personal	works
One handed weapon speed	—	Melee swing speed multiplier	factor	+0.07% per point	Item: one handed weapon; role: personal	works
One handed weapon speed	—	Thrust or ranged ready speed multiplier	factor	+0.07% per point	Item: one handed weapon; role: personal	works
Skill level (any skill)	—	Agent effective skill in battle	base	skill value	—	works
Skill level ×2	—	Agent AI combat level	base	min(1, max(0, skill / 300 × difficulty factor))	—	works
Skill level	—	Wielded weapon inaccuracy	override	set to 1 at skill 0, -0.01 per point, limit 0	Item: melee weapon	works
Skill level	—	Ranged max movement accuracy penalty	base	0.125 at skill 0, -0.00025 per point, limit 0	Item: ranged weapon	works
Skill level	—	Ranged max unsteady accuracy penalty	base	0.1 at skill 0, -0.0002 per point, limit 0	Item: ranged weapon	works
Skill level	—	Ranged aim unsteady begin time	add	+0.01 per point	—	works
Skill level	—	AI clan hero score for leading a new lord party	add	+3 × tactics skill + 2 × leadership skill + scouting skill + steward skill + onehanded skill + twohanded skill + polearm skill + riding skill	—	works
Skill level (any skill)	—	Skill a hero inherits on coming of age	base	+1 per point	—	works
Skill level (any skill)	—	Heir selection points of a clan member	add	+5	—	works
Skill level	—	Hero can equip item	override	off	—	works
Skill level	—	Hero counts as a combatant	override	on	—	works
Skill level (any skill)	—	Maximum troops lost on an issue's alternative solution	multiply	×max(0.2, min(0.8, trunc(issue required skill / skill) × 0.1))	Hero: player clan	works
Skill level (any skill)	—	Days an issue's alternative solution takes	add	+2 × min(10, trunc(issue required skill / skill))	Hero: player clan	works
Skill level (any skill)	—	Failure risk of an issue's alternative solution	add	-0.005 per point	Hero: player clan	works
Skill level (any skill)	—	Troops required for an issue's alternative solution	multiply	×max(0.2, min(1.2, issue required skill / skill))	Hero: player clan	works
Skill level (any skill)	—	Skill is high enough for a perk reset	override	on	Hero: player clan	works
Skill level (any skill)	—	Gold cost to reset the perks of a skill	add	+40 per point	Hero: player clan	works
Skill level	—	Player may take an issue's quest	override	off	Hero: main hero	works
Skill level (any skill)	—	Persuasion success multiplier	factor	min(0.2, floor(skill / 250) × 0.2)	Hero: main hero	works
Skill level	—	NPC hero may enter a fight tournament	override	off	—	works
Skill level	—	Score of a participant in a simulated tournament	add	+0.01 × hero factor × skill	—	works
Skill level	—	Daily chance a town starts a tournament	add	+0.1 × min(1, floor(skill / 101))	Settlement: town	works
Skill level	—	Simulated tournament defense power	multiply	×0.3 at skill 0, +0.002333 per point	Item: shield; mission: tournament	works
Skill level	—	Simulated tournament attack power	multiply	×0.3 at skill 0, +0.002333 per point	Mission: tournament	works

Practical tips

Sword and board: Basher, Shield Bearer, Arrow Catcher or Shieldwall, and Steel Core Shields all need or reward a shield; Duelist does nothing while anything is in your off hand.
Empty off hand: If your off hand is empty, Duelist adds +20% to one-handed damage.
Leading shield infantry: Shield Bearer's and Fleet of Foot's captain speed bonuses skip every troop holding a shield. For a shield wall, Basher's captain half cuts only melee damage. If the enemy has many archers, Arrow Catcher and Shieldwall's captain half enlarge the shield area against missiles.
Leading foot troops: Wrapped Handles, Steel Core Shields and Deadly Purpose reach every troop on foot in your formation, including dismounted ranged troops.
Unwavering Defense for the party only covers regular infantry on foot, not your companions, and not at sea.
Chink in the Armor only works with one-handed weapons, whatever the tooltip says about melee attacks.
Sailing parties: Military Tradition and Unwavering Defense's party half are "Land only"; Trainer, Corps-a-corps, Lead by example and Stand United's party half show "Reduced effect at sea". The tooltips show both. Most personal halves and every captain half also carry one of the two lines; see Land and sea.
Way of the Sword keeps growing with every point above 250, but only your own skill points count.