Character Advancement

Character Advancement describes the mechanisms employed in the various Ultima games when a character either gains a level, or raises his or her statistics. These mechanisms vary from game to game, making it neccassary to give an overview how advancement is achieved.

Ultima I
Hit points are the most important aspect of advancement. They can be gained by giving tribute to any king. The higher the tribute, the bigger the gain. Alternatively, killing monsters in Dungeons and then exiting gives hit points as well. Character levels exist (each 1,000 xp = +1 level), mostly as an indicator of how far the character is progressing, but they also may determine:


 * The volume of monsters that appear on the overland map, and
 * What items are available in certain shops.

Stats can be raised by finding the various signposts after getting a quest to do so by the king, but they may also be visited when not on a quest. Note that no signpost can be used twice in a row, meaning that the player first has to find a different signpost, before returning for another quest and receiving the boost.



Ultima II
Experience levels exist as in Ultima I; hit points are again the most important part of advancement in this game, and again they are gained by "bribing" the kings with enough gold. Note that the higher the hit points are, the lower the gain per unit of gold.

As for stats, this time the player has to go to the Hotel California in New San Antonio and give the clerk money (in donations of 100). It gives a 75% chance of him saying "Alkazam!" and raising one random statistic. In the remaining 25% of times, he just pockets the money.

The process is as follows: Whenever money is given, the game picks randomly out of 8 slots which stat to rise. Since there only are 6 stats, this means that two slots are duds, where the clerk just pockets the money. Thus the 75-25 chance of rising at stat. Any assumptions at number of steps are due to influencing the numbers generator, which calculates due to the current game status.

The Ultima II Upgrade Patch removes this mechanic. The player can now always choose which stat they want to rise.

''Even more useful was Alfred's observation that, though the Clerk seemed to randomly pick the Attribute to be raised, he actually did so in a very specific order, essentially rotating through the Attributes with each "move" Alfred made. This information enabled Alfred to choose the Attribute to be raised. To do so, Alfred would first "save game," then carefully follow the most direct route from the entrance to the Clerk, noting the Attribute that was raised when he paid the fee. If he raised Alfred's Strength when it was Intelligence he really needed to work on, Alfred would just "reboot" and follow the same route to the Clerk (thus making sure he stopped directly in front of him in the same number of moves from the entrance).''



Ultima III
Experience and levels are only useful to determine the maximum number of hit points a character has, for the first time in the Ultima series. Experience is obtained by killing monsters. One hundred experience points (xp) are needed to go up one level. Levels are given by Lord British after gaining enough experience points. Lord British will increase the maximum hit points for a character to (100*current level) plus 50. However, Lord British will only advance players to level 5. Only after getting the Mark of Kings will he advance up to level 25. After level 25, there is no effect for getting more experience or reaching further levels. (The newer Mac OS X port of Ultima III allows characters to continue advancing past level 25 once Exodus is defeated, but this is mostly for amusement, as monsters remaining on the now-altered contient of Sosaria are all friendly!).

Stats are gained by going to Ambrosia and donating at the shrines there. Each shrine raises a specific attribute and each multiple of 100 gold donated will raise the respective attribute by one point. The maximum value each stat can have depends on the character's race.



Ultima IV
Again, Lord British grants levels after enough experience points are collected. From now on, level 8 is the maximum. Maximum hit points are determined by level (1st level = 100 HP max, etc.). The number of XP required to advance doubles with each level (100 xp for 2nd, 200 for 3rd, 400 for 4th, 800 for 5th, etc.). The player's main character will advance more quickly than the other companions, as only this character gains XP bonuses from certain found items.

Statistics are raised somewhat randomly upon leveling up; improving them in a more structured way is possible, but difficult. There are Magic Orbs in the dungeons that when touching them, give a stat-boost. Each dungeon gives different bonuses (and these stat bonuses tie into the virtue each dungeon represents), but the more bonuses are given, the higher the damage from touching the orb.

A third is virtue, which is gained by doing the right things, and not doing the wrong things.



Ultima V
Since Lord British was kidnapped, level advancement is a little difficult in Ultima V. After acquiring the needed experience points (see Ultima IV), the party has to hole up and camp for the maximum # of hours. Now a little luck is needed for the spirit of Lord British to appear and grant any earned levels. Starting with this installment, characters gain 30 HP with each new level.

Stats are also given by Lord British during leveling up, although they are chosen rather randomly. Stats are also granted by the shrines after fulfilling the quest given by the shrine (reading the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom).



Ultima VI
The shrines grant new levels. After getting enough experience points (see Ultima IV), the party has to meditate at a shrine, and then levels are granted. The shrines also give the stat raises in the game with a level advancement, which adds a tactical element, as each shrine raises stats according to the virtue it represents. This allows players to tactically build characters.

It also serves as a possible way to raise the difficulty as one can also use the Shrine of Humility, which grants no bonuses.



Savage Empire + Martian Dreams


When enough experience points are reached (see Ultima IV), characters will level up and gain new maximum HP automatically upon resting. Before awakening, each party member who has gained a level will have some sort of "vision," which allows the player to choose which stat to raise with the level advancement:


 * Martian Dreams: Sword = Strength, Heart = Dexterity, Book = Intelligence


 * Savage Empire: Bear = Strength, Jaguar = Dexterity, Monkey = Intelligence



Ultima VII + Serpent Isle
Levels are gained automatically in this game, after getting the needed experience points and, apart from determining the available spell circles, have no other meaning in the game than giving a rough overview of the character.

Instead, gaining experience points also grants training points. These points can then be used in training sessions with the various trainers in the game to gain stats. Each trainer has a different training program, adding much tactic to it. Also new are the "combat" stat, which determines battle abilities; and the "magic" stat, the casting ability.



Ultima Underworld I+II
In the Underworld games, levels are gained with experience points. However, simply gaining levels does not help to raise statistics, which are fixed. Instead, training points are gained, which then can be used to train with various trainers to gain points in various abilities available.

While in Ultima Underworld the trainers are shrines where the Avatar has to pray using the correct mantra, in Ultima Underworld II the trainers are actual people who each have their own unique training regime.



Ultima VIII
Levels do not exist in Pagan.

Stats are gained purely by using them. This means fighting, throwing things, jumping and climbing, reading magic books, preparing and using magic. There is little else that can be done, apart from quickening the process a little.



Ultima IX
Levels and stats are directly tied. For each of the eight level advancements, a stat is increased as well, after freeing a shrine. Karma determines magic ability, and is gained by doing good things, and taken away for doing bad things.

Various trainers are also used to increase skill in one of five weapon categories, each of which has three techniques within, and must be learned in a certain order.