Statistics

A player's statistics (or "stats") are measures of advanced a player is in certain aspects of his development. There are currently six stats that you can raise on Darkwind.

Strength

Strength is a measure of how muscular a person is. High strength allows a character to lift heavier objects, and carry more weight while adventuring. All things being equal, strong characters will find their packs less encumbering than weaker ones. Strength is also very important in combat, influencing how much power a character is able to put into each swing. Naturally, a stronger character will be able to do more damage with each swing than a weaker one.

Constitution

Constitution is a measure of physical toughness and stamina. High constitution allows a player to perform strenuous tasks for a longer time. It increases the amount of hit points the player has, and therefore increases the amount of damage that can be taken before needing to rest or heal.

Dexterity

Dexterity encompasses a number of physical attributes including hand-eye coordination, agility, reflexes, balance, precision, and speed of movement. Dexterity affects a character's accuracy with missile weapons (darts, arrows, cats, etc.) and in the ability to swing weapons at moving targets. Dexterity is also important for dodging attacks. Dexterity is particularly important for roguish guilds which rely on quick reflexes and the manipulation of small objects.

Intelligence

Intelligence is similar to what is currently known as intelligence quotient, but also includes mnemonic ability, reasoning, and learning ability outside those measured by any written test. In melee combat, more intelligent characters are able to better use their equipment, and discern their enemies' weaknesses, leading to greater success at hitting their enemies, and also in deflecting incoming blows using their armor. Intelligence is essential for guilds that make heavy use of mental powers to manipulate the world directly, or indirectly through arcane spells.

Wisdom

Wisdom is both a measure of a character's common sense, and also of his general awareness of the world around him. Wisdom is important for all characters since awareness of one's immediate situation is essential for survival. The use of priestly powers is often heavily influenced by wisdom since the character must tap into his awareness of a divine source. Wisdom is especially important in the heat of combat, where the wrong choice can lead to a hasty demise. A wise character can often see a battle unfolding and where an enemy's next strike may land. Wisdom is also important in using armor more effectively to deflect the blows that do land.

Charisma

Charisma is a measure of force of personality. It measures how well a character is able to influence others by word or action. A charismatic character is more likely to be listened to, respected, and trusted by others. If you have a high charisma, the shopkeepers might give you some extra gold just because they like you. Charisma is useful for guilds that require some subtlety in their dealings, or who seek to guide people along a particular path.

Stat Raises

Upon entering DarkWind, players will have 1 in each of the 6 stats. Characters start with 10 stat raises and can allocate them as they see fit. Starting out, you may want to split those raises across different stats, making sure to include some CON, STR, and DEX. You may not raise a stat higher than three times your level (e.g., at level 1, you could have 5 different stats at a base of 3 and 1 stat at a base of 1, or 4 stats at 3, and 2 stats at 2). The base value for a stat can be raised to a maximum of 300.

Each level grants a player 5 additional stat raises. Every 10 levels (e.g., levels 10, 20, 30) players are granted 10 additional stat raises, for a total of 15.

Each of the level ranks mentioned in Leveling grants an additional 10, for a total of 25 stat raises at levels 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250. This is a total of 1555 stat raises for a maximum level player.

Bonuses and Negatives

Different Clades can provide bonuses and penalties to different stats. Additionally, abilities, equipment, and other sources can all affect the total of a stat.