what is the difference in a school being Good/Neutral/Evil?
The biggest
mechanical difference is that different schools have different expectations of conduct for their members. Shaolin, historically, are
monks. It's a religious order. If you go around killing people, they don't like that. Or, for example, as Emei myself, there is a "public dignity" rule, and at one point while switching around my armor, I took off my clothes in order to put new clothes on. So for about 3 seconds I was naked in public. That resulted in school discipline because I wasn't acting like the dignified lady that Emei are supposed to be. If you accumulate too many discipline points, you receive debuffs, and you need to go repent in penance. This takes the form of sitting in a meditation are for real live ten-minute chunks of gametime.
Rules vary by school, but in general good schools have stricter requirements. Evil schools have looser requirements.
Here's a list of rules by schoolCan evil characters not cooperate with good characters and vice-versa? Does
being part of an Evil school force you to actually play in an evil manner?
No, no restrictions like that. You can party with anyone you want. No faction restrictions like WoW. There are inter-school events and battles and things, but these are not limited by alignment. If you want to pk as a member of a good school you can, but because of the discipline mechanic your life might be easier if you choose an evil school.
Note that there is
no shortage of pvp in this game if you want it. Don't feel the need to play evil just to have pvp. Camping the newbie zone and killing new players is considered "evil." Engaging in school or guild warfare is not.
What are these life skills you speak of? What are the crafting skills
"Life" skills are any secondary professions. Mining, cooking, tailoring, music, playing chess, etc.
Gathering skills (you get all of these)
* Mining
* farming
* hunting (this is skinning)
* fishing
* woodcutting
Manufacturing skills: (choose one)
* Tailoring
* Blacksmithing
* Herbalism
* Poison making
* Cook
* Craftsman
Culrtual skills: (choose one)
* Music
* Weiqi (go)
* Calligraphy
* Painting
Other: (choose one)
* Begging
* Divination (paid subscription only)
and which one does our clan need in particular?
We could use a craftsman. So far as I know we lack poison maker and blacksmith. For culture, we seem to have musicians in abundance.
What the heck is a cultural skill?
Well, see above for the list. Each works differently and brings different things to the game. Musicians can act like bards to give prty buffs. Calligraphers can create scrolls that reduce training times. I think the other two can buff arrays, which are party-wide buff structures.
Anything I can bring to the table that will be of a particular help to the Clan?
Again, we could use a craftsman. But honestly my advice would be to get in game and start learning and playing. Sure, we could benefit as a group from certain things, but the game needs to be fun for you too. See what you enjoy, and what benefits you. Different professions have slightly different gameplay mechanics. Weiqi is not for everyone, for example. No matter how "useful" it might be...some people are
not going to want to do it, because you actually have to solve go puzzles. For some professions it's not just a matter of gathering of materials and clicking "build."
Note also that your life will be easier if you play as a cook for the first 2-3 days and stockpile a massive stack of food before switching to a more permanent choice. If I were to do it over again, I'd have made a 200 stack of steamed buns before taking up herbalism.