Another thought comes to mind to kind of go with my example of Iris on page 1: the type of character makes a world of difference in terms of how reasonably quickly a character can learn. Most of my characters have a love of learning and study and those that don't typically lack a wide variety of skills. Because a character who is by their nature studious and interested is going to actually try to learn things, where someone who has decided they know all they need to in life will probably only be talented in a small selection of skills. If all you want out of life is to be a hunter, you've got no motivation to learn Allagan poetry. But a historian character would gobble up every tomestone of poetics she could get her hands on. So that's a matter to consider as well.
Still, the most important thing isn't a trade-off of skills for flaws, its that all skills and flaws are part of a narrative and describe who a character is and what their beliefs, values, history and attitudes are.
Still, the most important thing isn't a trade-off of skills for flaws, its that all skills and flaws are part of a narrative and describe who a character is and what their beliefs, values, history and attitudes are.
