Puddleopedia | Entry / Skinning

Skinning is the art of extracting furs from creatures, and it works much in the same way that dentistry does. The skill is taught by Skea Brightfur near the docks in West Puddleby, and the more training one has with her, the greater one's chances for recovering skins from a slain critter. Most coins earned by exiles come from furs, though some areas favor highly skilled dentists. Exiles also earn coins from challenges, selling goods, performing services and other miscellaneous sources.

The value of the skin usually mirrors the toughness of the creature it comes from, ranging from 1-2 coins for the skins of a common large vermine to hundreds of coins for those of an Angry Mother Sasquatch. Occasional rare creatures will have double or even triple the value of other members of their species. For example 25c maha ruknee and 150c valley panther skins have been collected.

The ability of the skinner does not affect the value of a fur, only the ability to collect it. The skinner's coin "limit" (above which he will only rarely collect intact skins) will occur at approximately 1/3 to 1/4 of the number of ranks earned in the skill. Training to "toes" should be sufficient to collect many 30c furs. However, even an exile with no Skea ranks has a small chance of successfully skinning a critter by luck. When one skins a creature, there is a chance to get a very small amount of experience from it.

If one is hunting in a group, everyone who tags a creature, and everyone on the same sn'ell whom the taggers are shared with, gets a chance at skinning it. If a party member has enough Skea to routinely skin the creatures, all in the party will benefit, provided that party member either tags or is being shared by taggers. However, if no one has enough Skea, then having a bigger group can increase the chance that the party will successfully recover a fur. If one does not wish to skin creatures, for whatever reason, they can speak with M'at Ma'gond ?, who teaches exiles to be at peace with the Earth's creatures.