: Re: How to plausibly write a character with a hidden skill TLDR How to keep a character's skillset hidden, when it will be key in the story later on? This must be done without magic and as subtly

@Smith147

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Sometimes characters surprise you.

And that's okay.

You're absolutely right to worry about a deus ex machina situation where a solution comes out of the blue with no rhyme or reason. This is the sort of thing that annoys readers, and for good reason.

But this is a character whose past is not well known. She didn't grow up in the same culture as the rest of your characters. And knife work is something you'll already establish (even if most people use swords as weapons instead).

You should also establish that she carries a dagger. That's pretty easy because daggers are common tools that people of that tech era (or even our modern one, especially on a journey) would carry for standard tasks like portioning out meat for a shared dinner, skinning/preparing animals to cook, or cutting plants make herbal remedies.

Probably everyone in your story carries a dagger of some sort. Most also carry swords but Jane does not. The characters can comment on it, can even factor that into their assessment of how the group might defend itself if attacked.

You can also establish Jane as someone who doesn't fear conflict and doesn't easily back down when insulted or challenged. Though it would work even if you make her a bit of a pushover, as lots of people step up when it's an emergency.

When Jane suddenly proves she can fight well with a dagger, it will be a welcome surprise, not an eye-rolling one. If you've shown the reader that her personality is one that does what needs to be done (perhaps with killing an animal for food) and you've shown her skill with the knife (deftly skinning said animal), her suddenly fighting and killing a person or attacker is not going to be all that out of the blue.

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