 Players have the option to develop their character . At the beginning of the game , players create their character by selecting one of several races , including humans , orcs , elves and anthropomorphic cat or lizard @-@ like creatures , and then customizing their character 's appearance . Over the course of the game , players improve their character 's skills , which are numerical representations of their ability in certain areas . There are eighteen skills divided evenly among the three schools of combat , magic , and stealth . When players have trained skills enough to meet the required experience , their character levels up . Each time their character levels , the players may choose to select a skill @-@ specific ability called a perk , or to store perk points for later use . Earlier entries in The Elder Scrolls series used a character class system to determine which skills would contribute to the character 's leveling , but Skyrim allows players to discover preferred skills as they play the game and rewards them with more experience when a frequently used skill is leveled . A head @-@ up display ( HUD ) appears when any of the player 's three main attributes are being depleted . Attributes regenerate over time , although this process can be accelerated by using potions or regenerative spells . Health is depleted primarily when the player takes damage , and the loss of all health results in death . <unk> is depleted by the use of spells , certain poisons and by being struck by lightning @-@ based attacks . Stamina determines the player 's effectiveness in combat and is depleted by sprinting , power attacking , and being struck by frost @-@ based attacks . The player 's inventory can be accessed from the menu and items can be viewed in 3D , which may prove essential in solving puzzles found in dungeons . 
