Ultima III. Class selection

 What occupations will I choose for my team of 4? Considering that I will be spending a lot of time with these party members, I better choose carefully!

Fighter: Using all weapons and all armor is quite attractive! I do need somebody that can take a hit. But I wish he could use magic!

Paladin: She can use all weapons but not all armor. I am ok with that as the strongest armor in the game can be worn by anybody. That armor won't arrive until much later in the game, however! Having that 2nd healer (and chest opener) is clutch. 

Barbarian: He can use all weapons. But he has no magic ability whatsoever and he can only wear leather armor. Is it just me or does this strike you as simply a worse Fighter?

Cleric: This Wisdom class is mandatory. The heals and resurrections and utility spells are the difference between a scary and fun dungeon vs a miserable dungeon. She is the only one who has access to the full Cleric spell list.

Wizard: This Intelligence class is also mandatory. The firepower considerably speeds up mid and late-game battles. I would take 2 of them if I wanted to minmax. But it feels sacrilegious to use the same classes twice when a game offers 11 different classes! Also, the early game would be too grueling if most of my characters become useless after their MP runs out. 

Illusionist: I love her sprite! I now see how similar she is to the Shepherd class that will make its first appearance in Ultima IV. Oh, Jaana. The Illusionist is a master of Cleric attack spells but she is somehow an even worse fighter than the Cleric! She cannot rez, so I would only take her if I want to go very deep into the RP aspect. 

Druid: He is Ultima's archmage. He is the best at having both books of magic. Unfortunately, his Wisdom and Intelligence cap out at INT/WIS 49, as opposed to INT/WIS 99 for the pure classes. He is phenomenal until late game, at which point he is one big detriment to the entire party. Can't really attack, can't use high-level magic, and can't take a hit.

Thief: The Thief is better in Ultima than in most RPGs! His ability to safely open chests will serve you for the entire game. He is a decent fighter in early game and he is quite accurate. He can steal in town and do so without alerting guards. But having no ability to use high-level weapons, high-level armor, or ANY magic puts him in Illusionist territory. Simply trade out low-level cleric spells for the Steal/Open command.

Lark: She can use all weapons and she has half the Wizard spellbook. THIS is what I mean by having a useful character! She does not become useless after her MP runs out. She can't use armor, however. That makes her as frail as a Wizard. But my songstress can use all the best long-range weapons, so she is able to make up for her greatest weakness. 

Ranger: He can do everything! He has access to all armor, which is rare. But other than armor, he has middling ability in everything else. He cannot use the high-level weapons and he can only use a THIRD of the Wizard and Cleric spellbooks. Since he only gets 1/2 of his Wisdom & Intelligence points added to his spellbook and he caps out at 37, he takes a while to get started. And then stops developing by midgame. Even the Druid will be a joy until late game! But the Ranger is still appealing, due to having that early game utility + fighting ability.

Alchemist: I love his sprite so much. He is so cool! But he can't fight, can't take a hit, has no special abilities and cannot cast Cleric spells. He gets Wizard spells that cap out at 49, so he is a worse Wizard. I assume that he is a bug in the game design. How can one class be the worst at EVERYTHING?!

As far as Races, I keep it simple. Bobit for WIS classes, Fuzzy for INT classes, Dwarf for STR classes, and Elf for DEX classes. 

Humans in video game D&D games are nearly always the best choice. Early D&D video games have level limits on non-Human races that are fine for tabletop campaigns. But those limits translates to video game characters that cannot advance, being that leveling becomes the point. Modern D&D no longer has the level limits for other races, but Humans get extra Feats that are too useful to ignore. 

Humans in Ultima 3 are worse. They cap out at 75 for all their stats, so the spellbooks would be limited to 37 MP. That is unacceptable for a caster class. Interestingly, the Human is a great class for a Ranger! Rangers don't have the ability to take full (or even half) advantage of their spellbooks, so why waste the points! Make them a well-rounded Occupation that exists entirely for RP. They can hang out with the Alchemist that doesn't even gets potions or bombs.

I am excited to play this game!