Creating a Character

Now that you've chosen a shard, you'll need to create your first player character. Your player character (or PC) will be your representation in the world of Ultima Online and will be visible to any other players who interact with you.

Note: Here is a simple rule to keep in mind: You are unlikely to continue playing your first character once you begin to grow accustomed to Ultima Online. And that's perfectly all right. Think of your first character as the one you use to dip your toes into the virtual world of Britannia and test the water.

To create a new character, click on any "Create New Character" bar on the Character Selection menu. This will open the Character Customization screen, allowing you to customize the look of your character. In the SA client it will ask you to pick your race prior to your profession.

Race Selection

Picking your race is almost as important as picking your profession. Choosing your race goes hand in hand with  the type of profession you would like to choose. Each race has their own Racial Abilities. 

Humans

•  Strong Back
  • Increased Carrying Capacity
• Tough
  • Generates hit points faster
• Workhorse
  • Better chance at finding resources
• Jack of all Trades
  • Base 20 skill in every skill

Elves

• Night Sight
  • Has the effect of a full strength Night Site Spell
• Infused with Magic
  • Naturally increased Energy Resistance cap of +5
• Knowledge of Nature
  • Recive an increase to their chance of acquiring special resources 
• Difficult to Track
  • More difficult to track than Humans or Gargoyles
• Perception
  • Gain an increased chance to passively detect hidden monsters and enemys
• Wisdom 
  • Receives a bonus +20 to their maximum mana

Gargoyles -  Stygian Abyss Only

• Flying
  • Their powerful wings carry them over lands as fast as a horse and grant access to special Gargoyle-only areas. 
• Berserk
  • In situations of great danger, a Gargoyles natural ferocity will take over.
• Master Artisan
  • A natural increased chance to imbue, enhance, and unravel magical items
• Deadly Aim
  • Gargoyles are traind in the skill of Throwing, Giving them a basic competence with missile weapons
• Mystic Insight
  • Allows the Gargoyle to cast basic Mysticism spells.

Ultima Online uses a skill-based advancement system; meaning that you choose your path in Britannia by the skills you focus your attention on. With over 50 different skill types, you may customize your character in nearly any way you wish by mixing and matching complimentary skills.

However, we certainly don't expect you to understand each and every skill on your first day in Britannia, so we've created a series of templates where your skills will automatically be set to those we feel are optimal for a starting character.

• The Samurai is a bold warrior who embodies the very essence of honorable combat.. A Samurai can perform an array of special abilities that are defensive in nature, but can be used to quickly and honorably defeat the toughest of opponents.
• The Ninja combines the arts of stealth, espionage and assassination. A Ninja can evoke a number of special abilities including transforming into a variety of creatures that give unique bonuses, using stealth to attack unsuspecting opponents or just plain disappear into thin air.
• The Paladin is for those who prefer the virtuous way of life. While you fight much like a warrior, you also have special powers that you will be able to tap into and use against the dark powers that threaten the balance of the world.
• The Necromancer is a follower of the dark arts that can curse foes, animate the dead, transform into wicked creatures and summon some of the deadliest spells known in all the lands.
• A Warrior is much like the typical fantasy hero or heroine. If you're interested in fighting monsters or slaying dangerous beasts in up close and personal melee combat, the Warrior would be a good choice.
• The Magician prefers the mystic art of Magery. Choose this option if you're interested in using a wide variety of spells to protect your friends and defeat your foes.
• A Blacksmith is suited towards a more peaceful life in Britannia. Choose this option if you enjoy chatting, social interaction, and crafting trade goods.

The 'Advanced' option is for those players that are already comfortable with the UO skill system, and are interested in building a character from scratch.

The Advanced character selection allows you to manipulate your attributes directly by dragging the brass sliders to the desired settings, and you can change your skills by clicking on the Skill field on the lower right of the screen. The text window will change to a list of skills. Simply click on the one you want and it will move to that field. You can then adjust the slider to determine how many points you wish to allocate to that skill. Remember that you only have so many points to distribute across all three skills!

In the 2D client you begin with 100 skill points that may be adjusted between your three starting skills, or you may choose to leave the skills at their default settings. The SA client you will allow you to start with120 skill points between four starting skills.

Additionally, you begin with 80 points distributed between Strength, Dexterity, and Intelligence. The minimum for a starting statistic is 10, the maximum, 60.

Strength

governs how much you can carry, how much damage you can do in combat, and which weapons and armor you may use. Your Strength is the primary stat used to calculate your maximum Hit Points, which determine how much damage you can take before dying.

Dexterity

governs how quickly you react. Your Dexterity is used to calculate your maximum Stamina, which determines how long you may keep moving, fighting, or engaging in other strenuous activity.

Intelligence

is extremely important to a number of skills, including Magery and many craft and lore skills. Intelligence is also used to calculate your maximum Mana, which determines how much energy you have available for spell casting at any given moment, as well as plays a role in determining your maxium Hit Points. Mana is also used for executing special moves.

Note: It is not advised that you change these attributes and skills until you are experienced in the game.

Your character's name is probably the first impression other players will have of you. Offensively named characters may be assumed to be offensive and treated rudely. If you wish to be taken seriously, choose a name for your character wisely, as your character will be stuck with it for life.

Ultima Online allows redundant naming, so there may be other characters at loose in the world with a name identical to yours. Most names are allowed, although egregiously offensive names are screened, and a few names of important characters (e.g., British, Blackthorn) are reserved.

Seriously offensive names will be changed or deleted without warning. For more information on the naming policy, click here.

Once you've decided on your name, it's time to mold your character to look the role. An alcove on the screen shows the current state of your figure. This figure will represent you in the game, so you should take your time and decide what you want to look like.

On the left you will see a list of physical attributes you can change about your figure. Simply double-click on each field to see the pull-down menu of possible options for that field. Once you make a selection, the appropriate change will appear on your character. Unselect the attribute to change back, select another attribute to try another style.

In the 2D client you may choose your gender, skin color, hairstyle and color, pants/skirt color and, if you've chosen to play a male character, facial hair style and color. In the SA client you will be able to choose your hair color and skin tone after choosing your profession. You will receive an outfit suited for your profession and race. 

For example, to change your hairstyle and color, select the 'Hairstyle' option. You will be presented with a scrolling list of hairstyle choices. As you click on each choice, it will appear on your character. If you wish to change to a different hairstyle, simply select the 'Hair Select' option again.

Once you've chosen a hairstyle, you may want to change your hair color. Select the 'Hair Color' option. You will be presented with a palette of available hair colors. To preview hair colors on your character, simply hold your mouse pointer over each color. The color preview will appear on your paperdoll. To choose a hair color and return to the main menu, single-click the color choice.

When you are satisfied with your name and appearance, click the small green arrow to continue. In the SA client click the next button to continue.

You will start off in the city of New Haven right in front of a host Non-player character called "Sir Helper". If you double click on him he will tell you the direction of the trainer for each of the skills listed. 

If you go through the SA tutorial the ending step will leave you outside of old Haven. You will want to follow the path to the west to get to New Haven. If you quit the tutorial you will appear in front of "Sir Helper" in New Haven.