Agility is basically how quick and accurate you are in your movements. It involves not only speed, but total body coordination as well. A character with high Agility attacks faster and more accurately, and a high Agility helps defend against physical attacks. Low Agility, of course, makes you slower and less accurate. An Elf will hit far more often than a Half-Ogre, though a Half-Ogre's incredible crushing blows may compensate. Agility is a component of most skills, and is extremely useful for a thief. A thief with high agility will have very good skills! Again, Agility is a necessary stat for any fighting class.
Agility is important for the following character skills: Stealth, Thievery, Traps and Picklocks. It contributes heavily to your Accuracy and Critical Hit Chance as well. Characters with above-average Agility will gain a small Dodge chance, while characters with low Agility will suffer from reduced defense.
Charm is a hard stat to pin down -- it is not an actual measure of a person's good looks, but people with high charm are quite attractive to others. It helps with interpersonal relations, such as buying items from store-owners, as a charming person can lower the price of an item substantially. Charm helps in combat, because people are more likely to attack an offensive person than someone with a disarming smile. Charm is a component in some skills, as Charm is not only a measure of a character's charm, but a person with good Charm leads a Charmed life, so to speak, and in general is much luckier than other characters. Such a one would find himself miraculously dodging out of the way of some attacks, where others would have been hit. Charm is the main stat for use in Bard spells, and a Bard with low Charm will be a very poor Bard indeed. All characters can use a good dose of Charm.
Charm directly affects the following skills and abilities: Stealth, Traps, Tracking, Critical Hit Chance and Perception.
Health is a character's vitality, toughness, and general physical well-being. Health governs how many Hit Points a character starts with, as well as how many are gained each time a new Level is reached. Poison is less effective on a healthier person, and Health is a component in Magic Resistance. Where Willpower is the toughness of the mind, Health is the toughness of the body. Health is a prime stat for any fighting classes, but is very useful for all characters, as everyone will sustain damage at some point in their perilous careers.
Having a high Health increases the rate at which you naturally heal, and the rate at which you gain HP through resting. It may also confer an increased resistance to some poisons and diseases. Characters with above- or below- average Health will notice a change in their Hit Points, which will vary depending on your Level and your Health. Health no longer has "stat breaks" where you must have a certain level of Health to obtain the increases (in the past, you needed to have 65, 80 or 95 Health for the bonuses), and now works as a gradual process that increases your HP as both your Health and Level increase. Therefore, it is possible that even a one-point increase in Health could increase your total HP.
Intellect is a combination of raw intelligence, creativity, reasoning and basic awareness. Intellect is useful for all classes in respect to their Perception, which is a skill that helps notice hidden and concealed items (and people!). A character with a low Intellect may not notice things very often, such as people sneaking around, robbing them, etc. Intellect is a main component in many skills, and is useful to a thief, but it is vital to a mage! Mages use Intellect as the main stat for their spells. A Mage with low Intellect will be at a severe disadvantage with spells when compared to a mage with higher Intellect. Druids use both Intellect and Wisdom for their spells, so they need to have good levels in both stats. Warrior-types can usually get along without much Intellect, and historically many have done so -- but Intellect is also a component of Critical Hits, so a canny fighter will do heavy blows more often than a dull-witted opponent.
Intellect directly affects the following skills and abilities: Stealth, Thievery, Traps, Picklocks, Tracking, Perception, Magic Resistance, Spellcasting, and Critical Hit Chance.
Strength is a measure not just of your raw muscle mass, but also how well you can use that strength. Good Strength adds to the damage you do in combat, and some weapons need a high Strength to use effectively. Conversely, low strength reduces the damage you do. A Halfling warrior may be extremely quick and accurate, but he will do fairly poor damage when compared to a Dwarf! Strength also governs how much weight you can carry without being encumbered. Strength is a necessary stat for any fighting class, but is useful for magic-using classes as well, because no-one has an unlimited supply of magic! It is used when bashing down doors and in some instances for moving heavy objects.
Strength increases your maximum damage roll according to the following chart:
| STR | Damage | STR | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | -3 | 90 | +4 |
| 30 | -2 | 100 | +5 |
| 40 | -1 | 110 | +6 |
| 50 | +0 | 120 | +7 |
| 60 | +1 | 130 | +8 |
| 70 | +2 | 140 | +9 |
| 80 | +3 | 150 | +10 |
This stat is a measure of the character's cool-headedness, determination, mental focus and strength of faith. It is a must for any Priestly character, as this is the stat they use for their spell-casting. Druids use both Willpower and Intellect, so they need to have good levels in both stats. Willpower is the prime component in Magic Resistance, so anyone needing to resist spells had better have a good value in this stat. A Witchunter with high WIL would have a formidable MagicRes! As for Intellect, a Warrior-type could probably get along with a low Wisdom, but would then be much more vulnerable to magic spells.
Willpower directly affects the following skills and abilities: Spellcasting, Tracking, Perception and Magic Resistance.
