A proper discussion of the concept seemed to deserve its own thread, and while another poll is the last thing anyone needs, I thought it'd be interesting to get a general idea of what the forums think.
(I searched, and failed to find a relevant and specific thread on this topic. I also don't know the status of skill trainers in Skyrim and whether or not they'll even exist. As an aside, is there any information on this yet?)
The subject is: NPC-given skill training. Expanding upon remraF's post, it occurred to me that several, if not all of the skills in Skyrim could be trained by NPCs -- for a price, as before -- with the additional requirement to complete a small mini-game sequence appropriate to the skill to be trained. Presumably, success at the mini-game would result in a successful skill increase, while failure would result in no skill increase, with the cost of training still being paid. Some examples:
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Archery Skill
The PC must successfully hit several targets with a ranged weapon, within a time limit. At higher skill levels (tiers of 0-24, 25-49, 50-74, 75-100?), the difficulty of the targets increase and the time limit decreases.
Smithing Skill
The PC must strike different areas of a heated metal item on an anvil (current target areas might be highlighted red), within a time limit for each target area. At higher skill levels, more target areas must be struck and their time limits decrease.
One-Handed & Two-Handed Weapon Skills
The PC must destroy undefended (highlighted) areas of a rotating combat dummy with a melee weapon. At higher skill levels, the undefended areas can sustain more damage and the dummy moves faster.
Block Skill
The PC must correctly time blocks against a rotating combat dummy. At higher skill levels, the dummy moves faster.
Destruction Skill
The PC must destroy moving targets using any spell(s) of the Destruction school, within a time limit for each target. At higher skill levels, the targets can sustain more damage and their time limits decrease.
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The NPC trainers could walk the PC through the mini-games with voiced tips and suggestions.
Admittedly, I don't have strong examples of how this would work for some skills, but I could come up with comprehensive systems for any skill given a little more time. But since the inclusion of skill trainers and their implementation is pure speculation and discussion, I didn't want to design a game system just to create the thread.
What do you think?