About Characters

Character Attributes

Each player interacts in the Crossfire world through the persona of a character. In turn, the interaction between the character and the game world is mediated by the ``attributes'' of the character. After all, the player is not going to play him/herself! In Crossfire we chose to parameterize the acceptable limits of player behavior via the values of the character attributes which, in turn, help to determine the success of any action taken by the player. There are no limits per se on what you can attempt to do with your character; rather, the attributes of a character indicate the certain ``natural'' talents and inclinations. Two concepts which are relevant to Crossfire character attributes are ``stats'' and ``class''.

2.1.1. Character Stats

Character statistics (or ``stats'' for short) can be divided into two types: primary and secondary. What's the difference between them? Secondary stats are calculated from a number of things including the primary stats. But the reverse isn't true, secondary stats never have any influence on the primary stats. In playing the game, the player may find that either of these kinds of stats may be changed for better or worse. In general, the primary stats change much less often than the secondary stats. Equipment, magic, and death are just three examples of the many things which can alter the values of the character stats. The current values of both the primary and secondary stats may be viewed in the stat window. Four important secondary stats - food, grace, hitpoints and mana also appear again in the stat-bar window.

Primary stats

The seven primary stats are:

Primary stats have a ``natural'' range between 0 and ~20. The actual upper limit on each primary stat is set by the chosen character class (see character classes.) You can raise your primary stats by drinking potions up to your class natural limit.

There are plenty of items which give you bonuses to your stats even beyond your class limit - swords, armour and rings to name the most important. You can also read scrolls or cast spells (incantations or prayers) to temporarily raise your stats. The ultimate maximum value is 30, and the player class doesn't matter here. Some quantitative effects of the primary stats are summarized in the table below. The top row in the column header specifies a particular bonus (i.e. HpB, MgB, AcB, DmB, etc.) while the second row in the header indicates the stat which is used to calculate the value of that column. Where no stat appears, one of several stats may be used to calculate that value. See later parts of the text (particularly section statistics calculation) for further details.

StatHpBMgB¹AcBDmB Thac0Max CarrySpeed %learn²Buy/Sell
(CON)(DEX)(STR)(STR) (STR)(DEX)(CHA)
1-5-103-2-240.607.92/0.757576
2-4-92-2-170.707.74/0.775194
3-3-82-1-1110.717.56/0.793651
4-2-71-10160.827.38/0.813008
5-1-61-10220.847.2/0.833333
6-1-5100290.887.02/0.854701
70-4000370.9126.84/0.877193
80-3000460.9166.66/0.900901
90-2000560.9256.48/0.925926
100-1000670.95366.3/0.952381
1110000791456.12/0.980392
1221010921555.94/1.0101
13320101061655.76/1.04167
1443-1111211.05705.58/1.07527
1554-1211371.1755.4/1.11111
1665-1211541.1805.22/1.14943
1776-2221721.2855.04/1.19048
1887-2321911.3904.86/1.23457
1998-2322111.4954.68/1.28205
20109-3332321.51004.5/1.33333
211210-3432541.61004.32/1.38889
221412-3432771.81004.14/1.44928
231615-454 30121003.96/1.51515
241820-4543262.21003.78/1.5873
252025-4653522.4 1003.6/1.66667
26 22 30-5654002.61003.42/1.75439
272540-5764502.81003.24/1.85185
283050-68750031003.06/1.96078
294070-61086003.51002.88/2.08333
3050100-71510100041002.7/2.22222
Selected primary stat bonuses/penalties.

¹ Either POW or WIS can be used to calculate MgB (magic bonus).
² Percentage for learning either skills (INT), incantations (INT) or prayers (WIS).

Secondary stats

The secondary stats are :

Character Classes

Much like the older ``paper and pencil'' role-playing games Crossfire has adopted the idea of character ``class''. Each class is meant to be a template of a particular ``style'' of play; therefore each choice of class modifies both the starting values and sets the natural upper limit on the primary stats. Important note: character class is chosen at the time a character is created and can't be changed later on.

Type StrDexConIntWisPowChaSpecial
Wizard17201723202320Ac 10, Wc 21, Dam 1
Barbarian24212414192018Ac 10, Wc 21, Dam 1
Cleric20191918222121Ac 10, Wc 21, Dam 1
Dwarf23162420202017Ac 10, Wc 21, Dam 1
Elf18241821172122Ac 10, Wc 21, Dam 1
Fireborn13241722232016Flying, Ac 0, Wc 21, Dam 0
Attacks: fire
Immune: fire, poison
Halfling16232420172020Ac 10, Wc 21, Dam 1
Human20202020202020Ac 10, Wc 21, Dam 1
Mage20211921202217Ac 10, Wc 21, Dam 1
Monk22222119192017Ac 10, Wc 21, Dam 1
Ninja22222018192019Ac 10, Wc 21, Dam 1
Half orc22212220181916Wc 21, Ac 10, Dam 1
Protected: poison
Priest17181820232222Ac 10, Wc 21, Dam 1
Quetzalcoatl24162410102720Ac 5, Wc 21, Dam 10
Immune: fire
Swashbuckler21232116182021Ac 10, Wc 21, Dam 1
Thief20241821202017Ac 10, Wc 21, Dam 1
Viking21212218192019Ac 10, Wc 21, Dam 1
Warrior23192217202019Ac 10, Wc 21, Dam 1
Wraith16241622172310Ac 6, Wc 21, Dam 1
Attacks: cold
Protected: physical, cold
Immune: drain, ghosthit
Table 2.2 Crossfire character classes

The table shows the various available character classes with the natural stat limits for each. Under the ``special'' column several bits of information are included. ``Ac'' indicates the base armour class for the character; ``damage'' indicates the base Dam value. Some character classes have special attack abilities and certain vulnerabilities, protections from, and immunities to various attacktypes. Read section combat for more information about what effect these can have.

Generally, the titles of the character classes speak for themselves. But you can get a better idea of the potential of a class by checking out a few things. Take a look at the starting equipment (table starting equipment) and, if you are using Crossfire compiled with the skills system, checkout the starting skills for those classes your interested in (table starting skills).

TypeStarting Equipment
BarbarianSack, Horned helmet, Mace, Leather armour
ClericSmall shield, Prayer book, Holy symbol, Ring mail, Morningstar
DwarfHelmet, Chain mail, Shield, Hammer
ElfArrows, Cloak, Bow, Talisman
FirebornSpell book, Spell book, Spell book, Prayer book, Amulet, Power crystal, Ring
Half orcSack, Scale mail, Round shield, Mace
HalflingDagger, Leather armour
HumanCloak, Sack, Helmet, Axe, Leather armour
MageSpell book, Spell book, Quarterstaff, Robe, Talisman
MonkSandals, Ruck sack, Robe
NinjaCloak, Bag, Leather armour, Nunchacu
PriestAmulet, Prayer book, Prayer book, Quarterstaff, Robe
QuetzalcoatlSpell book, Spell book
SwashbucklerSack, Amulet, Dagger, Light sword
ThiefSack, Leather armour, Lockpicks, Dagger, Cloak
VikingBighorned helmet, Small shield, Sword, Leather armour
WarriorSack, Plate mail, High shield, Sword
WizardDagger, Spell book, Spell book, Robe
WraithDagger, Spell book, Spell book, Robe
Table 2.3 Starting equipment by character class.

Character ClassAdditional Skills¹
BarbarianWoodsman, Mountaineer, Missile weapons
ClericOratory, Praying (holy symbol), Missile weapons
DwarfSmithery, Missile weapons
ElfWoodsman, Bowyer, Spellcasting (talisman), Missile weapons
FirebornPraying, Spellcasting, Flame touch, Missile weapons
Half orcStealing, Missile weapons
HalflingHide, Stealing, Missile weapons
HumanRandom skill, Missile weapons
MageSpellcasting (talisman), Missile weapons
MonkSense magic, Karate, Meditation, Missile weapons
NinjaHide, Jumping, Missile weapons
Priest Praying, Spellcasting
QuetzalcoatlSpellcasting, Clawing, Missile weapons
SwashbucklerSinging, Stealing, Missile weapons
ThiefStealing, Missile weapons
VikingBargaining, Missile weapons
WarriorOratory, Missile weapons
Wizard Praying, Spellcasting
Wraith Praying, Spellcasting
Table 2.4 Starting skills.

¹ All character classes start with the skills melee weapons, find traps, use magic item, literacy, and disarm traps.

Finally, here are some notes concerning a couple of the more ``exotic'' classes:

Fireborn
Attacks: fire, physical
Protections: immune: fire, poison; vulnerable: ghosthit, drain, cold
Special: fly, no armour, no weapons. Ac 0
Fireborns are fire spirits. They're closely in tune with magic and learn all types of magic easily. Being fire spirits, they are immune to fire and poison, and vulnerable to cold. They are vulnerable to ghosthit and drain because being mostly non-physical, anything which strikes directly at the spirit hits them harder.

Monk
Attacks: physical
Protections: none
Special: no weapons.
Monks are members of various martial arts orders. They have devoted themselves to a life of contemplation and revelation though physical fighting! Their life-long secret vows keep them from using all hand-held melee weapons, but in return they are allowed to learn secret techniques of meditation.

Quetzalcoatl
Attacks: physical
Protections: immune: fire; vulnerable: paralyze, poison, cold
Special: no armour, Ac 5
Quetzalcoatls are an odd mixture of magic and combat abilities. They are born knowing the spell of burning hands (heh, its their ``dragon breath''). But because of their low natural intelligence/wisdom, they have a very hard time learning new spells. All the same, they may become potent wizards/priests as they have the highest power bonus, and they will typically have a large amount of mana and a fair amount of grace. Quetzalcoatls can be very devastating fighters at low level. A combination of their low natural Ac and high base damage tend to make mincemeat out of low-level monsters. However, at mid-level, they really begin to have problems because they cannot use armour.

Wraith
Attacks: cold, physical
Protections: immune: drain, ghosthit; protected: physical, cold; vulnerable: fire
Special: Ac 6
The Wraith is a creature of the undead. These characters represent revenging spirits come back to life to work their unholy will on the living. Their undead nature makes them immune to life-damaging forces and their etherealness protects them from physical harm. Like all undead, they succumb to fire readily.

Generating a character

When you start up Crossfire , you will be asked for a character name followed by a password. If you are playing for the first time, type any name you like; this will be your character name for the rest of the life of that character. Next, type in any password. Remember!: you will need to type the same password again to play that character again! One more note: its not a good idea to use ``real'' passwords to your computer accounts! Doing so may make your system vulnerable to unscrupulous Crossfire server administrators.

Your next step will be to generate random (primary) stats for your character. You aren't limited to the number of times you can roll your stats - so have fun. Notice that the stats are always arranged that the STR stat has the highest value, the CHA stat has the lowest. You may re-arrange the order of these values when you decide that you have rolled some decent stats. Two points: you can never roll a character with better stats than an average of straight 15's, and you can't roll higher than 18 in a stat.

When you roll your character, the stats displayed are the stats you will get as a human (which are unmodified). When satisfied, you can step through a number of classes, each with special bonuses in stats.

Table 2.2 shows how your basic stats will be changed by choosing a different class. The difference between the natural stat limit and 20 indicates the bonus/penalty assigned to rolled primary stats. For example, a barbarian has a maximum strength which is 4 higher than 20-that means he will begin with an additional 4 points added to his strength roll. On the other hand, a barbarian can never get above 14 in intelligence. This means that your rolled character will have 6 less in intelligence if you choose that class. It also means that you can't be a barbarian if you roll less than 7 in intelligence; the poor barbarian would have had a stat below 1.

Selecting a character

While each class has its particular strengths and weaknesses, in summary its just a fact that some classes are easier to play than others.

For beginning players, the ``simple fighter'' characters are the easiest to play successfully. The Dwarf, Human, and Warrior are among good earlier choices. As you gain experience with using Crossfire you may wish to branch out into other ``fighter'' characters such as the Thief or Elf, or try your hand at playing ``spellcaster'' characters like the Wizard, Mage, Cleric or Priest. The ``exotic'' classes (e.g. Fireborn, Monk, Quetzalcoatl, and Wraith) are the hardest classes to master.

One more note: If you are using the default game (compiled with the skills system), you will probably find any character class that has a low natural INT (for example, the Barbarian class) will have a fairly difficult time at higher levels. Skills, and most importantly, spells, will be more difficult learn. Plan to spend a lot of loot on grimores, prayer books and skill scrolls.

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