<----------------------------------> < COLOSSEUM: ROAD TO FREEDOM > < Character Creation FAQ > < Version 1.0 > < December 27, 2006 > < By Jeremy Dziedzic (capncrustor) > <----------------------------------> -=Table of Contents=- 1. Version History 2. Character Creation Overview 3. Places of Origin 4. Professions 5. Paths 6. Gods 7. Unknowns 8. Acknowledgements -=1. Version History=- Version 1.0 (December 27, 2006) - First version of the FAQ. -=2. Character Creation Overview=- In Colosseum, character creation is a bit of a black box. You're given some choices for your character's place of origin, profession before becoming a gladiator, path (Destiny or Survival), and patron god/goddess. The manual and the game itself say nothing about how these choices affect your starting character or whether starting stats are randomly generated or derived from a formula. For stat-hungry gamers like me, this is bad news! Fortunately for you, the FAQ reader, I have gone through the painstaking process of picking choices, listening to Magerius and Largus repeat their opening spiels, checking the resulting stats, and going back to the title screen to repeat this process, over and over, so that you don't have to. It seems that starting stats are quite predictable in Colosseum, and, armed with the knowledge in this FAQ, you can get off on the right foot by making a gladiator that fits your playing style. The first thing to consider with character creation is your character's five core stats. Although the effects of stats themselves are a bit questionable, here is a general rundown of what each stat affects (for more information, consult Brian Nii's FAQ, which you should be looking at anyway): STR: How much damage you inflict with your attacks. DEX: How often you drop weapons and armor when hit. AGI: Your movement speed and how fast you attack. VIT: How much damage you can take before dying and your carrying capacity. STA: How much stamina you have, how fast it recovers, and carrying capacity. In addition to the five core stats, which are determined by the character creation process, your character has four body stats: HEAD, BODY, ARMS, and LEGS. These stats, which are also determined through character creation, determine how much damage your gladiator can take in the corresponding parts of his body. There are also four stats that affect your proficiency with different fighting styles, but these are not changed during character creation and are not covered by this FAQ. -=3. Places of Origin=- Now that you have a general idea of how stats work, let's get into the nitty- gritty of character creation. The first question Magerius will ask you is where you are from. This choice is the most important of all; not only does it have a major effect on your base stats and your body levels, it also determines your character's appearance, so choose wisely. Starting stats based on place of origin are listed as follows: Place (Type): STR/DEX/AGI/VIT/STA, HEAD/BODY/ARMS/LEGS The "Type" entry refers to the three different ways your character can look (not many options, I know). Type A has combed-back light hair and fair skin, Type B has tied-back dark hair and olive skin, and Type C has a black crew-cut and dark skin; if you've never played the game before, keep in mind that your character gets a shave and a haircut after the opening battles, so he may look a little different from what you expect. Without further ado, here's the list of places of origin and their corresponding stats (choices marked with a * will not appear until after you have completed the game once): Gallia (Type A): 19/16/14/19/12, 2/3/2/2 Brittania (Type A): 19/14/14/19/14, 2/3/2/2 Hispania (Type B): 20/12/15/19/14, 3/2/1/3 Numidia (Type C): 19/12/14/19/16, 2/2/2/3 Germania (Type A): 21/14/12/19/14, 1/3/3/2 Parthia (Type C): 20/13/13/20/14, 1/3/3/1 Dacia (Type B): 18/13/14/19/16, 2/3/1/3 Thracia (Type B): 20/15/14/18/13, 3/2/1/3 *Rome (Type A): 25/15/15/20/15, 3/3/3/3 *Greece (Type A): 21/16/16/21/16, 3/3/3/3 If you choose "Nowhere," your core stats, body stats, and appearance are randomized. Unfortunately, your starting stats usually end up fairly low with this option, so only use it if you're feeling lucky or want to challenge yourself. -=4. Professions=- Surprisingly, your character's profession has only a minor effect on his starting stats: each profession gives a small bonus to a single stat. Yep, that's it. The list is as follows (again, choices marked with a * will not appear until after you have completed the game once): Slave: +2 STA Farmer: +2 VIT Merchant: +2 DEX Criminal: +2 AGI *Soldier: +2 STR *Nobleman: +4 AGI *Gladiator: +4 STR Choosing "Nothing" nets you a random bonus between +1 and +3 to a random core stat, so if you really want to squeeze that extra point out of character creation (assuming you haven't unlocked the extra professions), feel free to give it a try. -=5. Paths=- Paths affect your starting core and body stats, as follows: Path of Destiny: +1 to all body stats Path of Survival: +1 to all core stats Choosing "Path of the Unknown" randomizes between Path of Destiny and Path of Survival; give it a whirl if you can't decide. -=6. Gods=- Choosing a deity will grant a bonus to your core stats, as shown here (as usual, choices marked with a * will not appear until after you have completed the game once): Hercules: +4 STR Amore: +4 DEX Victoria: +4 AGI Virtus: +4 VIT Mars: +4 STA *Jupiter: +2 to all core stats Self-reliance pays off for those who choose "Non-believer," as it will give you +6 to a random stat (which is still not better than picking Jupiter, though). -=7. Mysteries=- Even with extensive testing, there are certain aspects of character creation that remain a mystery. Here are some of them; if you ever find conclusive evidence that solves one of these, please email me at jdziedzic@gmail.com and let me know how you found the answer. - Why does every place of origin (excluding the "bonus" choices) give you a total of nine body levels except for Parthia (which gives you eight)? Poor Parthia... - Why does the choice of Soldier as a profession, which only grants you a +2 to Strength, appear only after you have cleared the game once? This seems silly, especially given that Gladiator, which is unlocked at the same time, gives you a +4 to Strength. - Do paths affect your chance to be revived by Prosperina and spend half your money to keep your equipment if you fall in battle? - Is there any additional effect from wearing a piece of equipment that corresponds to your chosen god? Maybe this has something to do with the "Offering" option that shows up when you eat to gain stats. - What stat affects the speed with which you swing your weapon? Agility would be the obvious choice, but do Strength or Dexterity play a part too? -=8. Acknowledgements=- Thank you to KOEI for making yet another addictive (if flawed) game, GameFAQs for saving my bacon time and time again, Brian Nii for writing a great FAQ that helped me get my bearings in this game, Brayton for introducing me to this madness in the first place, Karl for rhyming a word with "Venetian," and Natalie for putting up with a boyfriend who just never seems to get tired of hammer-induced animated violence.