The cheapest and most commonly employed method is pick mining. It involves the use of a [[pick-axe]] or a [[mattock]] to strike stones and break them into pieces that can be picked up and later processed. It is also the most physically demanding, as every strike is done manually and demands considerable effort over long periods of time.
When pick mining, a character will strike at the ore in a patch for a chance to damage the surrounding rock and break an ore bundle out of the patch. The chances of success damage per strike depend on the Mining skill level, and every strike will burn a certain amount of [[nutrition]] and [[hydration]].
For every strike, you will need to make a '''strike check.''' The check depends on the character's current Mining skill level; refer to the [[Mining#Mining skill levels|skill levels table]].