The utility he designed to do edit the game's skill tables - along with my NEW skill block - can be downloaded here:

http://btb2.free.fr/site/downloads/mm7_skills.zip

Also among the people to thank is Mok for his patch, which I also have hosted on my site at:

http://btb2.free.fr/site/downloads/mm7_patch.zip

Anyways, the skills download contains a readme for my skill block that lists the new skill tables. I'll mention most of the major changes below, along with my reasoning for them:

-A lot of the "pointless" skills have been removed, like Chain for Thieves or Staff for Paladins. Nobody in their right minds would ever select these skills, and they just cluttered up the table.

-Knights are now able to GM in Axe and Mace, giving them more choices of weapons besides just Sword and Spear.

-Monk skills are no longer path-dependent; they get master Disarm and expert Self magic regardless of path choice. They also get expert Meditation.

-Monk gets GM Repair Item, since they are the class that best suits the lore. Knight and Paladin both drop to master in the skill, and Cleric drops to basic (Clerics are massively overpowered, but we'll get tot hat in a bit).

-Monk goes from master Armsmaster to expert. This was done for two reasons. One is that GM Staff is pointless, since you do less damage over time due to the slower speed of the Staff, and thus the lower overall damage output from losing master Armsmaster favors the slower attack. The second reason is that Monks are clearly superior to Knights in every way, so they needed to be taken down a notch, anyways.

-Monks lose the ability to wield a Bow, since they specialize entirely in close-quarters combat. Monks are still better fighters close-up, but the loss of Bow is a serious nerf that really helps top but them back on equal footing with Knights.

-Monks go from master Leather to basic. The Dodge bonus is insane enough as is without adding master Leather armor on top of it, so this at least makes the decision to do so have a downside in the form of a speed penalty.

-Thief goes from master Sword to expert. Mathematically speaking, the Sword cannot possibly compare to damage output of GM Daggers (due mainly to the attack speed), so it's not something I wanted to encourage.

-Thief drops from master Armsmaster to expert, mostly for the same reasons as the Monk (specifically, the one about being better than Knights).

-Thief goes from master Merchant to expert, as the personality level required for such a skill didn't really agree with the average Thief. Besides, their miscellaneous skills were overpowered enough as is. They also lose Alchemy and Repair Item, as well.

-Paladin gets Chain GM, while the Archer loses it. This actually makes the "Chain or Plate" decision for Paladins a very hard one to make. Plus, Chain is the quintessential Paladin gear, anyways, so it's something I felt they should be associated more strongly with.

-Paladin gets master Merchant (up from expert), since you'd sort of expect that from them. And unlike the Thief, they should actually have the Personality to pull it off.

-Paladin gets master Armsmaster (up from expert) to more strongly reflect their skills as powerful warriors. Plus, they really needed the damage boost.

-Ranger gets master Sword (up from expert) to give them a viable off-hand weapon, or even a good alternate primary one. Remember: Aragorn was a Ranger.

-Ranger gains expertise with ALL miscellaneous skills, since many of the basic-level ones they could learn were damn near pointless at basic level. Now, Rangers can actually function as a "gap-filling" class for skills that nobody else in your party can learn.

-Rangers go from master Perception to GM. If you're going to start the Goddamn guys out with the skill, they had damn well better be at least as effective with it as Archers are. God, that used to piss me off. (Sorry, had to vent)

-Ranger gets master Armsmaster for much the same reasons that the Paladin did. Without it, they are, mathematically speaking, one of the least-powerful classes in the game. More than anyone else, they REALLY needed this boost.

-Archer goes from GM Chain to master, as Paladins have taken over the GM Chain position (as well they should). Chain is still a good choice for Archers, but master Leather also becomes a bit more attractive, as well. The point is that Archers are most definitely NOT a defensive class (Knights, Paladins, and Clerics fit that bill), and as such, they should not be treated like one.

-Archers gain several miscellaneous skills more befitting of their role as a Knight/Sorcerer hybrid. They gain access to master Meditation (up from expert), master Alchemy, and expert-level ID Item (at the expense of losing Repair Item and Merchant). The Alchemy mastery is of particular note - especially considering that they couldn't learn it all before - because it allows them a far greater ability to fill the role of being the only elemental magic-user on a team. It also makes them, like Rangers, one of the most versatile classes in the game.

-Clerics, Druids, and Sorcerers all lose the Bow ability. This forces them to rely on magic for long-range combat, which is something that I felt was a bit lacking in the early game. Bows were simply too overpowering when they allowed a team of nothing but Clerics, Druids, and Sorcerers to clean house at level one. That ability is now restricted to classes that are actually trained to fight.

-Clerics get quite a bit of nerfing, yet remain one of the most powerful classes in the game for their spellcasting abilities alone. As mentioned earlier, Clerics have master Repair Item dropped to basic. This leaves them able to at least use the skill on a team of nothing but Clerics, Druid(s), and Sorcerers, but you'll have to put some effort into getting it to work very well. Then again, the traditional equipment of those classes is not very hard to repair in the first place. The whole point is that Clerics are overpowered enough without throwing "masters of repairing crap" on top of everything else.

-Clerics get GM Merchant dropped to master. This leaves no class able to gain GM Merchant, as it was hands-down the single most broken skill in the entire game. I trust I won't have to explain why.

-Clerics get master Meditation and master Learning both dropped to expert, as those skills are generally much more representative of elemental magic classes than of self magic classes.

-Clerics gain basic knowledge of Plate, giving them full access to any type of armor they choose (and thus reinforcing their role as a defensive class). It also allows more than just two damn classes to learn Plate. Leather and Chain remain viable options, however, due tot he massive speed penalty imposed by Plate at basic level.

-Clerics get master Shield dropped to basic. With no off-hand weapons (unless you count the ability to use a Staff), the decision to use a Shield was never actually a decision. Shields can now still be used, but at the expense of speed. They also no longer automatically make Clerics the defensive powerhouses that they once did, unless you combine it with Plate armor. The speed penalty for that combo, however, is pretty heavy.

-Druids and Sorcerers gain expert Dodge, which actually gives them a viable alternative to Leather armor. Mathematically speaking, they provide about the same level of protection throughout the game unless you dump a large amount of skill points into Dodge (or unless you run across an Amulet of +20 Dodging or something). I did this largely because there were far too many classes in the game for which the best choice of armor was Leather, so I wanted to give some alternatives where I felt they would be appropriate.

-Druids, again along with Sorcerers, lose the Merchant skill. This helps to accentuate the classes that actually can learn the skill, plus you'd have to be pretty diseased to designate these guys as the team's resident merchants in the first place (unless they're the only people ON the team, in which case shame on you).

-Druids gain basic Unarmed fighting for several reasons. One is that they were the most logical class for this placement, as it allows them to make a bit of use of the Hammerhands spell without giving them too much of an overpowered attack (double master Daggers are still much nastier). Secondly, it creates another class besides Monks where learning the Unarmed skill isn't a pointless waste of time. Lastly, it's sort of a nod to the role that Druids would later play in MMIX.

-Sorcerers go from expert Dagger to basic. They can still pick up a Dagger and use it, but double Daggers were just too damned powerful for these guys, not to mention that it distracted from the Staff (which is SUPPOSED to be their weapon of choice).

-Sorcerers lose the Repair Item skill. Of all the skills these guys have, fixing things should definitely not be one of them. Aside from that, they had access to way too many miscellaneous skills to begin with, and Sorcerers more than anyone else should definitely NOT be functioning as a utility class.

-Sorcerers gain basic Disarm Trap, which is mainly to allow Cleric/Druid/Sorcerer-only teams to survive the early game without blowing themselves clear to hell. The downside? Clerics, Druids, and Sorcerers all lose the Perception skill, thus making the "just take the hit" strategy much harder to employ. So, you'll either have to dump a lot of skill points into Disarm Trap, hire some followers, and/or just make a mad rush for Telekinesis as soon as you can.

-Archers and Paladins can now reach expert-level Light/Dark magic. This actually makes their ability to learn the stuff useful, while also creating classes that are restricted to just expert-level Light/Dark magic (previously, nobody was).

-Sorcerers are now restricted to mastery of Light magic, while Priests can only master Dark magic. This at least somewhat reigns in those classes while creating classes that are restricted to just master-level Light/Dark magic (previously, nobody was).

-Light/Dark magic can now be learned before 2nd promotion, but is restricted to basic level (Archers and Paladins) and expert-level (Priests and Sorcerers). I always hated how you'd learn them and then jump straight to grandmaster. There was no feeling of progression at all. At least this provides some good "entry-level" magic until you can attain promotion. Also, even the entry-level stuff is great to have around when actually attempting some of the 2nd promotions (Sniper/Master Archer + Paralyze/Shrink Ray, anyone?). God, the Titan's Stronghold is a pain in the ass without Invisibility. And, hey, just look at what magic school the Archer specializes in! Ok, I'm done ranting now.