EDIT: Question posted on the ARC board.
Really? That's not how it was described to me and enforced at the last game. I was not allowed to learn (per a Marshall that I asked and other players agreed) my 5th level of Earth Magic because I did not yet purchase my second 4th spell slot thus did not have the prerequisite skill to learn. I think this needs to be clearly stated by ARC or a LOT of people have been doing this wrong. (Also, I'd like that 5th level spell)
The only direct text I could find on it was in the Rulebook (.pdf version) Page 51:
"To
learn Alchemy, you must first know how to
Read and Write and must know Herbal Lore."
However, the previous sentence says,
"When buying skills, be sure to check the
prerequisites. For instance, to buy Weapon Proficiency,
you must first have a weapon skill to
be proficient in and four Critical Attack skills."
So it is ambiguous. Does "knowing" mean be able to use or simply have it on the character card?
I only replied with how the whole teaching thing was explained to me by an experienced player. Until someone with absolute, matter-of-fact knowledge on this comments, ignore the indicated sections of my previous post.
Thanks Alexander for helping uncover this inconsistency and ensuring quality control of the game!