Skillbook workaround

[Sefrog]

First of all, I would like to commend you for your work. You have created a niche game that is very appealing for RPG fans such as myself and I'm eager to continue enjoying it. For that reason, I would like to contribute with a little suggestion.

As other users have pointed out, it's fairly frustrating to find a skill book that is no longer usable because the player has already improved the skill granted by the book. This design choice brings about two undesirable effects: some players feel that their character is forever gimped due missed LP, while others take a restricting, metagame-conscious approach and plan their character's progress around skill book availability.

I agree that skill books should improve specific levels, as level-independent boots are exploitable (getting alchemy to level 2 and then grabbing both books in NW Darkwood would unlock level 4 right away). My suggestion is that when a book can no longer award a skill level, it should award the corresponding LP. That way, if the player chooses to improve swordplay to level 2 before finding the book, all that is lost is 500 gold, and not 5 LP. This could apply to stat boosts as well.

Thank you for reading this. Keep up the good work!