Top Story
Character creation
In the Ultima games, there are only a few attributes and no sprawling skill trees, as is the case in today's usual role-playing games. Nevertheless, character creation and the associated values are quite complex and not easy to figure out.
Questioning by the Gypsy
When questioned by the gypsy (in the games Ultima IV, Ultima V, Ultima VI and Ultima IX) virtues are compared in a process of elimination, which proceeds as follows. The gypsy asks a total of seven questions. In each question a situation is described and one must decide for one of two possibilities how to react to this situation. The two answer choices offered are representative of a virtue. All eight virtues are included in the first four questions. Four of these virtues are now eliminated, and the remaining virtues compete again in the second round. The two remaining virtues then move on to the final question, which determines the favored virtue. Most importantly, the virtue ultimately chosen is not the only important one. Each virtue that survives a round contributes to the character's stats, which means that careful selection of the virtues that can still be eliminated at the end can shape the character accordingly.
Honesty: +2 INT
Compassion: +2 DEX
Valor: +2 STR
Justice: +1 DEX und +1 INT
Sacrifice: +1 STR und +1 DEX
Honor: +1 STR und +1 INT
Spirituality: +1 STR, +1 DEX und +1 INT
Humility: does not contribute to the stats at all
In Ultima IV, the result of the questioning by the gypsy has even more far-reaching consequences. The following things are also determined:
Starting location
Starting equipment
Which of the companions cannot join
Magic ability
Forbidden weapons and armor
This does not apply to Ultima IX; the questions and the exclusion procedure are the same, but here only the final choice of virtue determines the distribution of attribute points.