Selecting skills and stats
There are many schools of thought on this. We call the end result of character developent a "template". Knowing which skills, and which level of skills, you want to finish with simplifies your starting decisions.
For some reading on professions, we suggest asking questions in the
Skills forum. You should also do some reading in the
UO.Stratics professional forums, and the detailed skills descriptions on the
UO.Stratics main page (lower left side links).
One thing that leads people astray who are new to the game is the concept of classes. There are NO classes, per se, in UO. There are only skills. Many skills complement each other, but are not REQUIRED (i.e., you don't get them by default). There is no ALIGNMENT in UO. Just because you choose Chivalry does not mean you are a Paladin like it would in Dungeons-n-dragons. It just means you have more skill options. You always have the OPTION to role play a paladin. It is not a requirement, but a personal choice.
Once you have an idea of which skills you want to wind up with, you will have two options in the character generation panel. Advanced or templates. For your first character, it might be wise to select a template.
In UO, the default starting TOTAL skill points is 120, and the default TOTAL starting stats are 125.
Perhaps the most common starting template is that of a paladin. This is a wise choice, as chivalry gives you options of magical transportation, healing, and damage.
Bear in mind, if you think you made a poor choice, IT IS NOT A PROBLEM. Basically, it is only 100 skill points. Each skill may be raised or lowered at will. Gaining skill up to 50 is rather easy in MOST cases.
Additional information
For your first character, there is also an option through
UO.com or
brokers (people who sell UO items for RL cash as a hobby or career) called "Advanced Character" token. This option costs RL money, or a token may be purchased in game for Gold Pieces (several million) from another player.
It puts your character at 55 to 85 skill in pre-determined areas depending on your selected template. This option is preferred for
animal tamers, as that skill is notoriuosly hard to achieve mastery in.
*NOTE* When purchasing from a broker, exercise all due caution. The brokers in our links page are recommended by us, but this is by NO MEANS a guarantee. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably IS.