course reward

[Ara D.]

For those who choose to complete living in the wild or advanced adventures what do you think is the most useful reward, stats skills or spells? Why do you choose what you do.

[PALU]

Stats, without question. It's the only way to improve them, while the other two can be improved during the game play. Now, if you're trying to play as a character with specific stats (e.g. by using hacks I believe exist), it would disrupt the balance, but otherwise stats is the most powerful reward.

[Ara D.]

Which I typically grab. I have only check once so not a large amount of data but increasing stats did not increase my skills. Correct me if I'm wrong but skill are derived from stats plus culture modifiers. If and this is a big IF stat gains do not improve skills are stats checked when trying to do a task? For example would a char with 80 hide working and high touch stat produce more fine hides than one with 80 hide working and low touch? I know some checked stats directly like like speed eyesight and hearing. Also does any one think that the spells are more valuable now that we don't learn then on our own?

[PALU]

I think it should be easier to increase skills with better stats, although I don't know what the granularity is of that, so I don't know if you have to get lucky to get over a "star" threshold or similar to get some benefit. I've never noted any skill increases, but if such increases happen without a skill level increase indication I wouldn't have seen it except for some special skills (such as dodge).

I've seen that increased Speed can increase your movement rate, and Strength directly affects your carrying capacity. Similarly, Endurance is helpful directly, and having had a character that fainted more or less whenever damage was taken shows the value of increasing that stat (didn't help in the end, though: bit in the hand by an attacking wolf, fainted, and never woke up...). Thus, I think many stats are of importance, although some may or may not get disconnected from abilities at character generation -> initial skill level, but the remainder should still be useful.

Spells are a bit more valuable when they take longer to get, but none of them are very important (except, possibly, the blood staunching incantation, which took quite a few years to get, and which I have yet to use with my current character [apart from an accidental activation shortly after getting it, when I'd intended to make the daily sacrifice]).

[Saiko Kila]

I always choose attributes, though sometimes I make an archive save before finishing to be able to choose spells, for testing. But for continued play it's attributes.

Attributes generally are most important when creating the character (they govern how much initial skill will be), but some affect it all the time or during special events:

Endurance decreases penalty for encumbrance (and thus indirectly increases Mobility, and most if not all skills), it is also tested for shock (when you lose consciousness from heavy injuries). It's probably tested during swimming trouble (for drowning), though admittedly if this happens you're almost certain dead anyway.

Dexterity is tested with fumble tests (when you fight and drop your weapon it was a failed DEX test, in addition to failure in an attack/defence skill)

Agility is tested with stumble test (when you fight and trip over you failed AGL test)

Speed you mentioned, it increases Mobility directly

Touch is tested when eating for some reason (maybe how long it will take), it's also tested when performing crafting, at the start. It is actually tested when performing item related functions like shootin from bow or felling a tree, but I don't know it this is only to determine if you gain a skill point, or maybe if you don't drop a weapon or axe (something similar to fumble test but not in fight, but that's my speculation).

Eyesight is tested when on overland map, to notice animals and people (it is actually tested more if there are more tiles seen), maybe also when noticing tracks without explicitly involving tracking skill, but I'm not sure on this one.

Hearing is tested when on zoomed in map, for example when tracking unseen animal.

Smell probably too, though I'm not sure how important it is, I SUPPOSE you may detect the readiness of food from further distance with higher smell, but I'm not sure at all.

Also some attributes (probably Endurance, but maybe combination) are tested under certain conditions when deciding sickness or sickness level: for example flu or nausea. When I got influenza TWICE during my first summer, despite being decently clothed and warm, I'm sure it was a failed attribute test, END most probably.

Attributes also govern skill affinity (the asterisks to the right of skill), the higher affinity the easier it is to gain a skill after performing a task. I haven't noticed that affinity changes  when attributes increase though, so maybe it is set only in the beginning. The "resolution" of affinity is too small to be certain.

[Saiko Kila]

Strength directly affects your carrying capacity.

Sorry PALU, I have to correct you on this one - STR doesn't affect capacity, though it does affect heaviness of the load you can pickup at one time (it's tested then). Maybe you had this in mind, but for most people capacity is what the maximum encumbrance can be. Capacity is simply your own weight * 1.5. For example if you weight 179 176 lbs, your capacity is 264 lbs. This, unfortunately, cannot be raised now, because your weight doesn't change. no matter how much you will eat.

[Ara D.]

Wow thanks for that indepth testing on attributes. Alot of that information is not in the wiki

[Acolyte]

I think it should be easier to increase skills with better stats, although I don't know what the granularity is of that, so I don't know if you have to get lucky to get over a "star"

It is easier to increase skills with higher stats, but the course reward is not factored in. Your aptitude is generated at Character creation but not updated afterwards.

   - Shane

[Labtop 215]

Does strength increase the damage you do with many different weapons?  Like shooting an arrow with a bow, stabbing with a spear, slicing with an axe or a sword, smashing with a mace or a club, ect?  Not stabbing with a knife though.

[caius]

For those who choose to complete living in the wild or advanced adventures what do you think is the most useful reward, stats skills or spells? Why do you choose what you do.

I'm going to be contrary to popular opinion here.  I always choose skills.  I do so because I believe the purpose of the courses is do develop skills in-game.  Several of the tasks specifically involve skill advancement.  And skill advancement is more true to roleplaying. 

It is my personal opinion that boosting stats in this manner is a hack of the intention of the courses.  Especially for players already skilled and knowledgeable of the game mechanics. 

[Dungeon Smash]

Personally I like to do 1 attributes, 1 skills.  Some skills (eg. Carpentry) are quite important but quite hard to level up.  Other uses could be to shore up a critical weakness in a character (boost bow skill for a hunter, trapping for a woodsman) or just something interesting you would like to play around with... herbalism or cookery, for example, can be tedious to level up without decent skill prior skill investment.  I think it gives a nice spread this way

Does anybody choose Spells?  Just out of curiosity