Character Attributes in Ultima III

Characters in Ultima III have several features that affect gameplay. This article will attempt to cover most of these characteristics.

Like its predecessors - but unlike later Ultima games set in Britannia - Ultima III allows the player to choose from several different races. In this game, the playable races are humans, dwarves, elves, bobbits, and fuzzies. It was the last main Ultima game to do so. Ultima III also allows each character to have one of three genders: male, female, or "other".

Health and Magic
Characters have hit points that determine the maximum number of damage they can recieve, and mana points, that determine the spells they can cast. Even though the documentation mentions reagents, that is only background information. In the game, the only limitation to cast a spell is to have enough mana points to cast it. Better spells need more mana points. There are two types of magic in the game: sorcerer spells and priest spells, each having sixteen spells. For more about magic, see Sosarian Magic in the Third Age of Darkness.

Attributes
Characters in this game have four attributes or stats: strength, dexterity, intelligence and wisdom. The race a character has affect the maximum value each of the stats can be raised to. Strength modifies the damage done by a character. Dexterity changes a character's change to hit and avoid attacks and traps. Intelligence and Wisdom affect the mana points, either for sorcerer or priest spells, respectively.

The following table shows the maximum values each race can have in each of the four attributes.

Classes
Ultima III allows the player to choose from eleven classes for each character. Different classes allow for different restrictions on weapons and armour. For more details on these classes, see Older Professions.

For details about character advancement in this game, see Character advancement in Ultima III.