Starting a character[]
Consider the type of character you wish to play; a hardy, self-sufficient ranger at home in the wilderness, perhaps? Or an oily cutpurse, preying on merchants in between bouts of drinking... Nay, a silken-tongued bard, wits as quick as her sword?
Like many RPGs, in Anachronia, your character's natural strengths are represented by attributes, trained abilities as skills. They should reinforce each other to be effective. Successful completion of quests & successful uses of skills earns experience, which accumulates until a new level is attained, unlocking more attribute & skill points. The wise spending of these points makes your character more powerful or versatile.
Combat Builds[]
Strength & Agility are both important for any combatant, willing or otherwise. Strength modifies effective range & bonus damage, Agility is needed for dodging attacks. If your character relishes melee combat then you will want to start with & maintain high Strength, Agility, Constitution & Stamina. If your character prefers to attack opponents from afar, then you might go with a high Dexterity instead of Constitution.
Spell Casters[]
Spell casters should have a high Wisdom, which boosts both spell quality & quantity.
Specialists[]
Characters that primarily craft or construct items for trade should steadily boost their Intellect, Memory & Charisma.
Keeping up with the curve[]
Since the amount of points granted each level steadily declines, keeping a particular stat 'high' is easier if you start at 10 or higher. At level 10 & higher, significant instantaneous boosts in stats are only possible with acquiring appropriate gear.
Your character starts with minimal gear appropriate to his or her background. The first trials your character will face are most likely to be finding food & shelter, then acquiring better equipment.
Character Advancement[]
Choosing a character race & path partially determines where in the world you start at, however, the possibility exists for every character to visit & explore every continent. After you master survival, you will want to explore the surrounding areas, acquire better equipment & learn a trade. After that, many options open up. You may decide to settle in an area, crafting & selling gear, making a name for yourself by honest work. For others, happiness is carving a bloody path to the nearest port, getting blackout drunk & waking up on a different continent.
Making Changes[]
The path you chose at character creation isn't cast in stone. Whether your character is failing skill checks more than expected or perhaps you just want a bit more versatility, it is necessary to first identify which attributes & skills are weak or lacking, then make changes gradually over several levels. Low level characters are granted more points at level-up than higher level characters, so major changes are best identified early.