Getting Started
Character Creation
How stats, bonus points, and the 25-point allocation system work on Crushbone — and how to fix a "weird" combo.
Crushbone enables any race × any class × any deity, but the starting stats themselves are still the canonical EQ values. That means some combinations — like a Half Elf Cleric or an Ogre Bard — will look stat-starved on the creation screen.
They aren't as punishing as they look. Here's why.
The 25 bonus points
Every character gets 25 bonus points to allocate freely at creation, on top of the race's base stats. Those 25 points are the primary design tool for fixing "wrong class for my race" picks.
- A Half Elf Cleric starts at WIS ≈ 65. Spend all 25 on WIS → WIS 90 at level 1.
- An Ogre Bard starts at CHA ≈ 50. Spend 25 on CHA → CHA 75 at level 1.
- A Troll Shaman starts at WIS 70. Spend 25 on WIS → WIS 95 at level 1.
The character creation screen shows a "Points Remaining: 25" counter in the
bottom-right. Click the + next to any stat to allocate. The server-default
pre-allocation is just a suggestion — override it freely.
Racial caps still apply
You can't spend all 25 points on a stat that's already near its racial cap. Examples:
- An Ogre's WIS cap at creation is ~100.
- A Gnome's STR cap at creation is ~95.
- A Halfling's CHA cap at creation is ~100.
If you hit the cap, the remaining points auto-spill into other stats per the server default. This is working as designed.
What stats actually do at low level
Starting stats matter most between levels 1-10. By level 20, gear and food close the gap. By endgame, AAs dominate and starting stats are absorbed.
| Stat | Level 1-10 effect | Long-term effect |
|---|---|---|
| STR | Carry weight, melee damage | Absorbed by gear |
| STA | HP pool | Mattersless with AAs |
| DEX | Proc rate, skill-ups | Gear + AAs dominate |
| AGI | AC bonus | Gear dominates |
| WIS | Priest mana pool | Crucial early, absorbed by gear/AAs mid-game |
| INT | Caster mana pool | Same as WIS |
| CHA | Bard song power, faction, charm | Early Bard/Enchanter key stat |
The practical point: a Half Elf Cleric with 90 WIS at level 1 is a functional priest. A Troll Shaman with 95 WIS at level 1 is a great priest. Don't let the creation screen's base numbers fool you — spend your 25 wisely and every race-class combo works.
Crushbone's small fixes
Crushbone has made minimal adjustments to starting stats — only where a combo's base stat was below 60 (the threshold where even dumping all 25 bonus points didn't bring it into playable range):
- Half Elf Cleric / Shaman / Beastlord — base WIS nudged 60 → 65.
- Ogre Bard / Troll Bard — 25-point allocation now correctly routes to CHA (earlier patch had a bug that spread the points). Base CHA stays canonical: Ogre 42, Troll 45.
- Off-canon caster combos (Barb/Dwarf/Troll/Ogre/Halfling/Vah Shir × Necro/Wiz/Mage/Enc) — reassigned to a caster-appropriate stat line. (Applied 2026-04-24 as P0.)
- Froglok and Drakkin — these two races used to roll the same 25-point allocation regardless of class (a Froglok Wizard got WIS+25 instead of INT+25). Each class now routes the 25 points to its actual primary stat while keeping the race's base stats exactly as they were. A Froglok Warrior still has the Froglok DEX/AGI signature; a Drakkin Enchanter still has the Drakkin STA/INT signature — only the bonus allocation changes.
- Iksar Beastlord / Vah Shir Beastlord — now share the Shaman priest template (WIS+25) instead of a generic 20-point spread.
Everything else is canonical EQ. A Gnome Warrior still has a tiny STR pool. A Wood Elf Shadow Knight still has low STA. Those are the cost of picking a flavor race — the 25-point bonus is the tool that makes them playable anyway.
Hard-mode Bards — canon quirks kept
Three Bard combos on Crushbone keep their canonically low starting CHA — the 25-point allocation routes to CHA, but the base stays as low as it is on live EQ. These are "hard mode" picks by design. Final CHA at creation:
- Ogre Bard — base CHA 42 + CHA+25 = 67
- Troll Bard — base CHA 45 + CHA+25 = 70
- Dwarf Bard — base CHA 45 + CHA+25 = 70
If you roll one of these, you're paying the price of low starting CHA for the flavor. Off-canon combos without canonical CHA support (Iksar Bard, Barbarian Bard, etc.) route to canonical race base + CHA+25 the same way.