[Gimli]

"Alchemy... useful as an add-on to Knowledge (Arcana,)but i think that Knowledge (Arcana) should include that part of this skill"

Helps ID potions. Also (don't want to spoil it) can be used to help solve a quest in the game.

"Animal Empathy... yeah i get this, but i never use any spells that are not offensive, summoning,or healing"

Charm spells can actually be pretty powerful - but this is a waste indeed if you don't use them.

"Bluff... fairly clear, the points show how convincing the lie is?"

Well all the social skills do two things. One, if you have the skill you might open up new dialogue options when you're talking. Two, the level of the skill helps you beat the DC check when you're trying to successfully bluff.

"Concentration... useful, but if you can concentrate through getting struck, why do you need to keep adiing points. Does it have any relation to the damage being done to me or what?"

Again the higher the concentration, the better your chances to beat the DC on a check. Don't know if the amount of damage matters, but the level of the spell being cast does make it harder to make the concentration check.

"Diplomacy... probably pretty useful, but my lead character always has it, so I
haven't noticed any benefits. Sounds very useful at least"

Same as Bluff.

"Disable Device... useful - if you can detect traps before you step on them - but how does one set about using it to jam locks, make wagon wheels fall off etc."

Dunno, have never used it for that?

"Hide... very useful, the points dictates how long you stay hidden right?"

Hide and Move Sliently basically work together in "stealth mode". If you want to move about unseen, then they both get checked, so having one really high and the other low is a bad idea. The points help with DC checks (even when you succeed initially in going into stealth mode, every now and then the game makes you roll a check to stay hidden). Not sure how the game treats an already hidden character who doesn't move - then it should just be a hide check, but I am not 100% sure the game handles it that way.

"Intimidate... not very useful to me, I just cannot bring myself to say nasty stuff to people - even if I hate their guts - I have used this once to my knowledge - at Andora - but its kinda hard to tell"

Also the same as Bluff.

"Knowledge (Arcana)... one of the best skills in the game, excepting perhaps open lock - it saves wasting spells on identify"

Yeah, I have a group that doesn't have this skill and it does tax my Sorcerer somewhat to cast identify all the time.

"Move Silently... WHAT IN THE NINE HELLS IS THIS FOR?!! If its just to make hide work, then that is really cheap... to waste skill points just to make another skill work... ye gods!"

It's for the overall "stealth mode", along with hide. To stay in stealth mode as you move around, you have to both hide and move silently.

"Open Lock... VERY VERY VERY VERY useful, but do locks have points awarded them and the skill has to be higher than those points? Or do points in this skill just lower the chance of failure?"

Actually I have heard that you can bash open pretty much anything, and also that the Knock spell never fails, so I'm not sure this is necessary (have one party with it, one without it, both are fine). The points go against the DC check (not all locks are created equally).

"Pick Pockets... useful... especially early on... after that there is not much to be gained as you already have enough money..."

Have heard this is a wasted skill. Don't want to spoil it, but I can think of at least one place in the game it would nab a magic item you couldn't get any other way.

"Search... this would be useful - if it detected traps before you stood on them. Even if you have previously been hit by a trap, you have to stepright on it before you notice it, or you are so close to the trap that you can't stop moving in time and you walk onto it"

Search is really useful IMHO - the two best rogue skills are search and disarm.

"Spellcraft... does this give any benefits at all if you are not a wizard? Do I really need to know which spells are being cast at me? Is it not enough that they hurt?"

Knowing what's coming can be an advantage. Also for a Wizard, it helps you when you "write magic" - there's less chance learning from scrolls will fail. But it also very importantly is a prerequisite to the elemental magic feats (you need a 10 at least) like Scion of Storms.

"Use Magic Device... this is quite useful - and the only skill that I consider properly explained"

Seems kind of gimped in this game, might be somewhat useful for a pure Rogue, but if you give the Rogue a Wizard level, it pretty much covers it.

"Wilderness Lore... this is useful I suppose - but, like I said, I don't use buffing spells, so it doesn't help to know what enemies I am about to fight... the higher the skill, the more information gained?"

I think the info is always the same, the higher skill level just helps with DC checks. Again I don't want to spoil anything, but it can save alot of time in one place in particular.