Within this world, creatures (the general term used for all things that are living and sentient) are given stat values that govern their general abilities. These stat values are known by the creature.
A creature’s stats usually look like this:
Each stat fulfills its own purpose.
Strength (STR) is the stat that reflects the body’s physical sturdiness. A creature’s ability to lift, carry, push and pull, as well as to swing a weapon, are all governed by Strength.
Dexterity (DEX) is the stat that reflects the body’s physical agility and nimbleness. It also reflects the physical skill one has with their hands. Athleticism, such as vaulting and climbing, are functions of Dexterity, as well as skills with the hands such as pickpocketing, lockpicking, and tinkering.
Vitality (VIT) is the stat that reflects the body’s overall sturdiness and resilience. A creature’s Vitality governs how easily the creature goes into shock from damage, how well it tolerates pain, and how well it fights off disease.
Intelligence (INT) is the stat that reflects a creature’s ability to learn as well as its accumulated knowledge. Intelligence governs the speed at which a creature learns- though it does not affect its Experience gains- and also how well it remembers the things it has learned previously.
Wit (WIT) is the stat that reflects the speed at which a creature thinks, especially under pressure. Wit is also used as a general reflection of a creature’s reaction time.
Perception (PER) is the stat that reflects a creature’s ability to observe and understand its surroundings. Perception governs the five senses, as well as a creature’s ability to make sense of what it perceives.
Charisma (CHA) is the stat that reflects a creature’s persona and force of will. A creature’s Charisma represents its leadership, speech, and general presence as a person.
Luck (LCK) is the stat that reflects a creature’s luck. Luck is a much more vague stat than others, but serves to generally represent the odds of things happening in a creature’s favor.
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A creature’s stats can go from 0 to 99, and are generally found around 10-16 for an average adult.
A creature’s stats can be improved with a magical energy called Experience, which accrues naturally over time as well as being generated within the body in response to external factors. Experience and the act of improving stats- commonly called “leveling up-” are both biological processes, and intelligent creatures are aware of their Experience.
One unit of Experience is gained roughly in a week’s time by a healthy adult. Children develop Experience more slowly. Further Experience can be gained when the body recognizes certain external stimuli, such as moments of great pride or of great sadness, responding to the release of chemicals in the brain. As a result, repetitive activities can often stunt a creature’s Experience growth.
Experience can fuel a creature’s stats, permanently improving them. A stat can be increased by 1 by spending Experience equal to its current value. Once a child finishes developing, its only way to grow is to increase its stats. In old age, however, stats may regularly decrease as the body begins to malfunction with age.
In addition to improving stats, a great amount of Experience can be spent by an individual to gain or level-up their “class.” A creature’s class is an advanced categorization of what it is capable of; typically, anyone can fight, and most people can cast simple magic, but one must have an appropriate class in order to access the more intricate abilities of the world of Hoenheim. Most people acquire a class that already exists, while some individuals of exceptional power create a class for themselves. These individuals can then, in turn, allow that class to be taken by anyone, which is how the current classes came to be.
Acquiring a class takes a significant amount of Experience, and even more to continue to level a class up. The benefits of a class are many, reaching deep into the fundamentals of what a person can achieve and going beyond improvements to stats. However, due to the high Experience requirement, only those with extraordinary talent will ever achieve them; high-ranking adventurers, of course, but some professional artisans also acquire a class to further their abilities. For example, a very high-profile chef may acquire the Chef class, and become capable of cooking dishes a non-classed chef is incapable of.
Of the privileged few that can achieve a class, fewer still can forge their own. The act of creating a class is barely understood, but what is known is that the resulting new class is very personal to the person who forged it. Should that person wish, they can choose to teach others of their class, but most prefer the entitlement that comes with holding an entirely unique class. Unique classes are also believed to be inherently stronger; this is a fallacy. The truth is, all classes were, in the hands of their original owners, stronger than they are currently. Over time, as those owners’ teachings have faded, and the raw power of those classes have alongside them.
A creature can have only one class at a time. A creature can choose to relinquish their class at no Experience cost, but doing so returns none of the Experience, and as a result is rarely done.
A Talent is an ability granted to a creature by its class, or from other sources, such as magical artifacts. Talents come in all varieties, and typically grant the user an ability they would not have access to without their class. A Talent is learned with each level up, and can never be changed once learned.