[quote=Enalais]
Yay i got buddies, for a second i thought i might be the only stormcloak.
[/quote]

Skyrim belongs to the Nords!... And Bretons!... And Argonians! 

[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fvTxv46ano]Cats[/url], I think I have an idea for characters learning new skills. I'm kind of assuming that this RP isn't going to span years IC, unless there is a considerably lengthy time skip, and the skills in Skyrim would take a considerably long time to master, let alone learn. And with a war waging, it doesn't leave my Nord warrior a lot of time to practice his Illusion spells, or a sorcerer to build the strength required to lug around heavy armor. However, it is not so hard to believe a claymore-wielding soldier learning the basics of shields, or a sorcerer acquiring the essentials of alchemy. The key words there are basics and essentials though, as in on an novice level in-game. Perhaps at certain points in the RP, maybe after a certain period in game, you could announce that characters can add a new skill to their list, although they would have to include their character practicing this skill quite frequently IC. Maybe characters could even build on the current four stats that they have.

I was thinking of setting the skills up how they are in the upgrade menu on Skyrim. 

[hider=Skills]
Light Armor
Sneak
Lockpicking
Pickpocket
Speech
Alchemy
Illusion
Conjuration
Destruction
Restoration
Alteration
Enchanting
Smithing
Heavy Armor
Block
Two-Handed
One-Handed
Archery
Light Armor[/hider]
Essentially, characters could become novices in skills adjacent to ones they are already proficient in. For example, my character, proficient in smithing, could learn how to enchant items after enough practice, under the guidance of an enchanter. Skyrim did a good job of making closely related skills adjacent in the menu, so it kind of makes sense to me. Or maybe not. Just a suggestion!

EDIT:
Also, I generally try to keep in mind the rule that it takes 10,000 hours of experience to completely master a skill, so it would take about 2,000 hours to become a novice, 2,000 more to become an apprentice, and so on until reaching mastery. Obviously, I'm not asking players to keep a logbook of how much their characters practice a certain skill, but its just something to keep in mind!